Let $n geq 2$ be an integer. An emph{$n$-potent} is an element $e$ of a ring $R$ such that $e^n = e$. In this paper, we study $n$-potents in matrices over $R$ and use them to construct an abelian group $K_0^n(R)$. If $A$ is a complex algebra, there i
s a group isomorphism $K_0^n(A) cong bigl(K_0(A)bigr)^{n-1}$ for all $n geq 2$. However, for algebras over cyclotomic fields, this is not true in general. We consider $K_0^n$ as a covariant functor, and show that it is also functorial for a generalization of homomorphism called an emph{$n$-homomorphism}.
Let A and B be normal matrices with coefficients that are continuous complex-valued functions on a topological space X that has the homotopy type of a CW complex, and suppose these matrices have the same distinct eigenvalues at each point of X. We us
e obstruction theory to establish a necessary and sufficient condition for A and B to be unitarily equivalent. We also determine bounds on the number of possible unitary equivalence classes in terms of cohomological invariants of X.
A subbundle of variable dimension inside the tangent bundle of a smooth manifold is called a smooth distribution if it is the pointwise span of a family of smooth vector fields. We prove that all such distributions are finitely generated, meaning tha
t the family may be taken to be a finite collection. Further, we show that the space of smooth sections of such distributions need not be finitely generated as a module over the smooth functions. Our results are valid in greater generality, where the tangent bundle may be replaced by an arbitrary vector bundle.
Let $X$ be a compact Hausdorff space, let $Gamma$ be a discrete group that acts continuously on $X$ from the right, define $widetilde{X} = {(x,gamma) in X times Gamma : xcdotgamma= x}$, and let $Gamma$ act on $widetilde{X}$ via the formula $(x,gamma)
cdotalpha = (xcdotalpha, alpha^{-1}gammaalpha)$. Results of P. Baum and A. Connes, along with facts about the Chern character, imply that $K^i_Gamma(X) otimes mathbb{C} cong K^i(widetilde{X}slashGamma) otimes mathbb{C}$ for $i = 0, -1$. In this note, we present an example where the groups $K^i_Gamma(X)$ and $K^i(widetilde{X}slashGamma)$ are not isomorphic.
Suppose that $phi$ and $psi$ are smooth complex-valued functions on the circle that are invertible, have winding number zero with respect to the origin, and have meromorphic extensions to an open neighborhood of the closed unit disk. Let $T_phi$ and
$T_psi$ denote the Toeplitz operators with symbols $phi$ and $psi$ respectively. We give an explicit formula for the determinant of $T_phi T_psi T_phi^{-1} T_psi^{-1}$ in terms of the products of the tame symbols of $phi$ and $psi$ on the open unit disk.
An n-homomorphism between algebras is a linear map $phi : A to B$ such that $phi(a_1 ... a_n) = phi(a_1)... phi(a_n)$ for all elements $a_1, >..., a_n in A.$ Every homomorphism is an n-homomorphism, for all n >= 2, but the converse is false, in gener
al. Hejazian et al. [7] ask: Is every *-preserving n-homomorphism between C*-algebras continuous? We answer their question in the affirmative, but the even and odd n arguments are surprisingly disjoint. We then use these results to prove stronger ones: If n >2 is even, then $phi$ is just an ordinary *-homomorphism. If n >= 3 is odd, then $phi$ is a difference of two orthogonal *-homomorphisms. Thus, there are no nontrivial *-linear n-homomorphisms between C*-algebras.
