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Closed ideal quotient is a Banach algebra

Statement

Assume the Axiom of Countable Choice (The Axiom of Countable Choice (ACω)). Let A be a unital complex Banach algebra (Unital Banach algebra) and let I⊆A be a proper two-sided ideal which is closed in the norm of A. Then the quotient A/I, with the quotient norm and coset multiplication, is a nonzero unital complex Banach algebra with unit 1+I of norm one, and the quotient map A→A/I is a unital algebra homomorphism of norm one.

The hypothesis of Countable Choice is inherited from the completeness of the quotient (A quotient of a Banach space by a closed subspace is Banach) and is spent nowhere else; the algebraic verification is a theorem of ZF.

Facts & Assumptions

Given: A proper closed two-sided ideal I of a unital complex Banach algebra A, and the quotient vector space A/I with quotient norm ∥a+I∥=inf⁡{∥a−x∥:x∈I}.

[L1]

A is a complex vector space with an associative bilinear multiplication, a complete submultiplicative norm, a unit 1 with 1a=a1=a and ∥1∥=1, and 0≠1 (Unital Banach algebra).

[L2]

I is a linear subspace of A with ax∈I and xa∈I for all a∈A, x∈I (two-sided ideal).

[L3]

Under Countable Choice, for a Banach space X and a closed linear subspace M≤X the quotient X/M is Banach for the quotient norm (A quotient of a Banach space by a closed subspace is Banach, The Axiom of Countable Choice (ACω)).

[L4]

If ∥y∥<1 then 1−y is invertible in A, with two-sided inverse ∑n≥0yn (Neumann series).

Proof

technique · direct
1.1L2algebra

Coset multiplication (a+I)(b+I):=ab+I is well defined: if a′=a+x and b′=b+y with x,y∈I, then a′b′=ab+ay+xb+xy, and ay,xb,xy∈I because I is a two-sided ideal; hence a′b′−ab∈I and a′b′+I=ab+I.

1.2L2L3

A/I is a complex vector space with the quotient norm ∥a+I∥=inf⁡x∈I∥a−x∥, and it is complete, hence a Banach space, by [L3] applied to the closed subspace I≤A under Countable Choice.

1.3L1L2

A/I is nonzero: were 1+I=0+I then 1∈I, and then a=a⋅1∈I for every a, so I=A, contradicting that I is proper.

2.1step 1.1L1

Coset multiplication is complex-bilinear: it is the composition of the bilinear product on A with the linear quotient map, so (λa+μa′)b+I=λ(ab+I)+μ(a′b+I) and similarly in the second variable.

2.2step 1.1step 1.2L1L2algebra

Submultiplicativity. For a,b∈A and x,y∈I one has ab−(a−x)(b−y)=ay+xb−xy∈I, so (a−x)(b−y)∈ab+I and hence ∥ab+I∥≤∥(a−x)(b−y)∥≤∥a−x∥ ∥b−y∥; given ε>0 choose x,y∈I with ∥a−x∥≤∥a+I∥+ε and ∥b−y∥≤∥b+I∥+ε (the two infima are approximated independently), which gives ∥ab+I∥≤(∥a+I∥+ε)(∥b+I∥+ε) and hence ∥(a+I)(b+I)∥≤∥a+I∥ ∥b+I∥ after ε↓0.

2.3step 1.3L1L2L4algebra

The quotient unit is normalized. The coset 1+I satisfies (1+I)(a+I)=a+I=(a+I)(1+I) by [L1], so it is a two-sided identity, and ∥1+I∥≤∥1−0∥=1 since 0∈I; conversely if ∥1+I∥<1 there is x∈I with ∥1−x∥<1, so x=1−(1−x) is invertible by [L4], whence 1=x−1x∈I and I=A by [step 1.3], a contradiction. Hence ∥1+I∥=1.

3.1step 1.1step 1.2step 1.3step 2.1step 2.2step 2.3∎

By [step 1.2] A/I is a Banach space, by [step 2.1] and [step 1.1] its multiplication is an associative complex-bilinear product (associativity descends from A cosetwise), by [step 2.2] the quotient norm is submultiplicative, and by [step 2.3] the coset 1+I is an identity of norm one; together with [step 1.3] this says that A/I is a nonzero unital complex Banach algebra. The quotient map q(a)=a+I is linear, multiplicative, unital and satisfies ∥q∥≤1 with ∥q(1)∥=1, so ∥q∥=1.

Remarks

  • Why the ideal must be closed. Completeness of the quotient is exactly what fails for a non-closed ideal; the argument above uses closedness only through [L3].
  • Countable Choice is genuinely used. The completeness of the quotient is inherited from the published quotient theorem, which assumes ACω; no other step selects from infinitely many nonempty sets, and the two near-minimizing representatives in step 2.2 are chosen for a single pair (a,b) at each fixed ε.
  • Properness is used twice. It gives 1∉I (nonzero quotient) and the distance bound ∥1+I∥≥1 through the Neumann series.

Depends on

Dependency tree · 2 levels

Sources