multiplicative linear functional
1 Definition
Let be an algebra over .
A multiplicative linear functional is an nontrivial algebra homomorphism , i.e. is a non-zero linear functional such that .
Multiplicative linear functionals are also called characters of .
2 Properties
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If is a multiplicative linear functional in a Banach algebra over then is continuous. Moreover, if has an identity element then .
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Suppose is a Banach algebra over . The set of multiplicative linear functionals in is a locally compact Hausdorff space in the weak-* topology. Moreover, this set is compact if has an identity element.
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Suppose is a commutative Banach algebra over with an identity element. There is a bijective correspondence between the set of maximal ideals in and the set of multiplicative linear functionals in . This correspondence is given by
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Suppose is a commutative -algebra (http://planetmath.org/CAlgebra). Multiplicative linear functionals in are exactly the irreducible representations (http://planetmath.org/BanachAlgebraRepresentation) of .
3 Character space of a Banach algebra
As stated above, the set of all multiplicative linear functionals in a Banach algebra is a locally compact Hausdorff space with the weak-* topology. It becomes a compact set if has an identity element.
There are several designations for this space, such as: the of , the maximal ideal space, the character space.
4 Examples
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Let be a topological space and the algebra of continuous functions . Every point evaluation is a multiplicative linear functional of . In other words, for every point , the function
that gives the evaluation in , is a multiplicative linear functional of .
Title | multiplicative linear functional |
Canonical name | MultiplicativeLinearFunctional |
Date of creation | 2013-03-22 17:22:25 |
Last modified on | 2013-03-22 17:22:25 |
Owner | asteroid (17536) |
Last modified by | asteroid (17536) |
Numerical id | 29 |
Author | asteroid (17536) |
Entry type | Definition |
Classification | msc 46H05 |
Synonym | character (of an algebra) |
Related topic | LinearFunctional |
Related topic | GelfandTransform |
Related topic | BanachAlgebra |
Defines | character |
Defines | maximal ideal space |
Defines | character space |