We use a tensor C*-category with conjugates and two quasitensor functors into the category of Hilbert spaces to define a *-algebra depending functorially on this data. If one of them is tensorial, we can complete in the maximal C*-norm. A particular case of this construction allows us to begin with solutions of the conjugate equations and associate ergodic actions of quantum groups on the C*-algebra in question. The quantum groups involved are A_u(Q) and B_u(Q).
The spectral functor of an ergodic action of a compact quantum group G on a unital C*-algebra is quasitensor, in the sense that the tensor product of two spectral subspaces is isometrically contained in the spectral subspace of the tensor product representation, and the inclusion maps satisfy natural properties. We show that any quasitensor *-functor from Rep(G) to the category of Hilbert spaces is the spectral functor of an ergodic action of G on a unital C*-algebra. As an application, we associate an ergodic G-action on a unital C*-algebra to an inclusion of Rep(G) into an abstract tensor C*-category. If the inclusion arises from a quantum subgroup of G, the associated G-system is just the quantum quotient space. If G is a group and the category has permutation symmetry, the associated system is commutative, and therefore isomorphic to the classical quotient space by a closed subgroup of $G$. If a tensor C*-category has a Hecke symmetry making an object of dimension d and q-quantum determinant one then there is an ergodic action of S_qU(d) on a unital C*-algebra, having the spaces of intertwiners from the tensor unit to powers of the object as its spectral subspaces. The special case od S_qU(2) is discussed.
To a proper inclusion Nsubset M of II_1 factors of finite Jones index [M:N], we associate an ergodic C*-action of the quantum group S_mu U(2). The deformation parameter is determined by -1<mu<0 and [M:N]=|mu+mu^{-1}|. The higher relative commutants can be identified with the spectral spaces of the tensor powers of the defining representation of the quantum group. This ergodic action may be thought of as a virtual subgroup of S_mu U(2) in the sense of Mackey arising from the tensor category generated by M regarded as a bimodule over N. mu is negative as M is a real bimodule.
A general form of contractive idempotent functionals on coamenable locally compact quantum groups is obtained, generalising the result of Greenleaf on contractive measures on locally compact groups. The image of a convolution operator associated to a contractive idempotent is shown to be a ternary ring of operators. As a consequence a one-to-one correspondence between contractive idempotents and a certain class of ternary rings of operators is established.
Suppose that a compact quantum group $clq$ acts faithfully on a smooth, compact, connected manifold $M$, i.e. has a $C^*$ (co)-action $alpha$ on $C(M)$, such that the action $alpha$ is isometric in the sense of cite{Goswami} for some Riemannian structure on $M$. We prove that $clq$ must be commutative as a $C^{ast}$ algebra i.e. $clqcong C(G)$ for some compact group $G$ acting smoothly on $M$. In particular, the quantum isometry group of $M$ (in the sense of cite{Goswami}) coincides with $C(ISO(M))$.
Correspondence between idempotent states and expected right-invariant subalgebras is extended to non-coamenable, non-unimodular locally compact quantum groups; in particular left convolution operators are shown to automatically preserve the right Haar weight.