Hilbert C*-modules

Lisbon 2009. Lecture 1.

Hilbert C*-modules
Contents
Introduction and denition
Basic properties
Operators on Hilbert C*-modules
Hilbert C*-modules
(some) References
Original papers
W. L. Paschke. Inner product modules over B

-algebras. Trans.
Amer. Math. Soc. 182 (1973), 443468.
W. L. Paschke. The double B-dual of an inner product module
over a C

-algebra B. Canad. J. Math. 26 (1974), 12721280.

M. A. Rieffel. Induced representations of C

-algebras. Adv.
Math. 13 (1974), 176257.
G. G. Kasparov. Hilbert C

-modules: theorems of Stinespring

and Voiculescu. J. Operator Theory 4 (1980), 133150.
Hilbert C*-modules
(some) References
Textbooks
E. C. Lance. Hilbert C

-modules a toolkit for operator

algebraists. London Math. Soc. Lecture Note Series 210.
Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 1995.
N. E. Wegge-Olsen. K-Theory and C

-Algebras. A friendly
approach. Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford, 1993.
V. M. Manuilov, E. V.Troitsky. Hilbert C

-modules. Transl. Math.

Monographs 226. Amer. Math. Soc. Providence, 2005.
Bibliography on Hilbert C

-modules
by M. Frank:
http://www.imn.htwk-leipzig.de/mfrank/mlit.pdf
Hilbert C*-modules
Introduction
Let A be a C

-algebra.
Idea:
Take the denition of a Hilbert space and replace the eld of
scalars by A.
This was done independently by W. Paschke in 1973 and M.
Rieffel in 1974.
Note that scalars play a two-fold role for Hilbert spaces:
Hilbert spaces are linear spaces (modules) over scalars
Inner product takes values in scalars
Hilbert C*-modules
Some basics from C

-algebra theory
An involutive Banach algebra A is called a C

-algebra if the
equality |a

a| = |a|
2
holds for each a A.
Any C

-algebra can be realized as a norm-closed subalgebra of

the algebra of all bounded operators B(H) on a Hilbert space H.
We do not assume here existence of the unit element in
C

-algebras.
An element a A is positive (a 0) if it is selfadjoint and
Spa [0, ).
a 0 iff (a) 0 for any positive linear functional on A.
We write a b if a b is positive.
Ifa 0 then b

ab |a|b

b for any b A.
Hilbert C*-modules
Pre-Hilbert modules
Let M be a right module over a C

-algebra A. An action of
a A on M we denote by x a, x M.
Denition
A pre-Hilbert A-module is a (right) A-module M equipped with a
sesquilinear form , ) : M M A satisfying the following
properties:
x, x) is a positive element in A for any x M;
x, x) = 0 implies that x = 0;
y, x) = x, y)

for any x, y M;
x, y a) = x, y)a for any x, y M and any a A.
The map , ) is called an A-valued inner product.
Hilbert C*-modules
Examples
Example
Let J A be a right ideal. Then J can be equipped with the
structure of a pre-Hilbert A-module with the inner product of
x, y J dened by x, y) := x

y.
In particular, if J = A, A is a pre-Hilbert C

-module over itself.

Example
Let J
1
, . . . , J
n
be right ideals of a C

-algebra A and let M be the

linear space of all n-tuples (x
1
, . . . , x
n
), x
i
J
i
. Then M
becomes a right A-module if the action of A is dened by
(x
i
) a := (x
i
a) for (x
1
, . . . , x
n
) M, a A, and becomes a
pre-Hilbert A-module if the inner product of elements
(x
1
, . . . , x
n
), (y
1
, . . . , y
n
) M is dened by
(x
1
, . . . , x
n
), (y
1
, . . . , y
n
)) :=

n
i =1
x

i
y
i
.
Hilbert C*-modules
Examples
Example
Let J
i

i N
be a countable set of right ideals of a C

-algebra A.
Then their direct sum M =

i N
J
i
is a right module over A. It
becomes a pre-Hilbert A-module if the inner product of
elements (x
i
)
i N
, (y
i
)
i N
M is dened by
(x
i
), (y
i
)) :=

i N
x

i
y
i
.
The sum in the last example converges because it consists of a
nite number of summands, which makes the last example
unsatisfactory from the point of view of analysis.
Hilbert C*-modules
Examples
Our next example comes from topology.
Example
Let X be a compact metric space, : E X a (locally trivial,
nitedimensional) vector bundle over X.
Let (E) be the set of all continuous sections of E, i.e. maps
s : X E such that s = id
X
.
Then (E) is a module over the C

-algebra C(X) of continuous

functions on X.
A metric on E is a sesquilinear form E E C(X) such that
its restriction to each ber is an inner product.
Any metric on E makes (E) a pre-Hilbert C

-module over
C(X).
Hilbert C*-modules
Norm
Denition
Let M be a pre-Hilbert A-module, x M. Put
|x|
M
:= |x, x)|
1/2
.
We usually skip the subscript M when it does not lead to
confusion of norms.
Proposition
| |
M
is a norm on M and satises the following properties:
1
|x a|
M
|x|
M
|a| for any x M, a A;
2
x, y)y, x) |y|
2
M
x, x) for any x, y M;
3
|x, y)| |x|
M
|y|
M
for any x, y M.
(1) is obvious; (3) follows from (2), so let us prove (2).
Hilbert C*-modules
Proof of the Cauchy inequality
Let be a positive linear functional on A. Then (, )) is a
usual (scalar-valued) inner product on M, possibly degenerate.
Applying the usual Cauchy inequality for this inner product, we
obtain, for any x, y M,
(x, y)y, x)) = (x, y y, x)))
(x, x))
1/2
(y y, x), y y, x)))
1/2
= (x, x))
1/2
(x, y)y, y)y, x))
1/2
(x, x))
1/2
|y, y)|
1/2
(x, y)y, x))
1/2
.
Thus, for any positive linear functional , we have
(y, x)x, y)) |y|
2
M
(x, x)), hence
x, y)y, x) |y|
2
M
x, x).
Hilbert C*-modules
Hilbert C

-modules
Denition
A pre-Hilbert A-module M is called a Hilbert C

-module if it is
complete with respect to the norm | |
M
.
If M is a pre-Hilbert C

-module over A then the action of the

C

-algebra A and the A-valued inner product on M can be

extended to the completion of M, which thus becomes a Hilbert
C

-module.
Consider some examples:
Example
If J A is a closed right ideal then the pre-Hilbert module J is
complete with respect to the norm | |
J
= | |.
In particular, the C

-algebra A itself is a free Hilbert A-module.

Hilbert C*-modules
Examples
Example
If M
1
, . . . , M
n
be Hilbert C

-modules over A then one can dene

their direct sum M =

n
i =1
M
i
. The inner product on M is given
by the formula x, y) :=

n
i =1
x
i
, y
i
), where
x = (x
i
), y = (y
i
) M.
The direct sum of n copies of a Hilbert module M we denote by
M
n
or by L
n
(M).
Example
If M
i

i N
is a countable set of Hilbert C

-modules over A then

let M be the space of all sequences x = (x
i
) : x
i
M
i
such that
the series

i N
x
i
, x
i
) is norm-convergent in the C

-algebra A.
We dene the inner product on M by
x, y) :=

i N
x
i
, y
i
) for x, y M.
Hilbert C*-modules
Let us check that the series

i N
x
i
, y
i
) is convergent.
Since the series

i N
x
i
, x
i
) and

i N
y
i
, y
i
) are convergent,
for any > 0 there exists a number N such that, for all n N,
we have
_
_

N+n
i =N
x
i
, x
i
)
_
_
< ,
_
_

N+n
i =N
y
i
, y
i
)
_
_
< .
Then, by the generalized Cauchy inequality,
_
_

N+n
i =N
x
i
, y
i
)
_
_
2

_
_

N+n
i =N
x
i
, x
i
)
_
_

_
_

N+n
i =N
y
i
, y
i
)
_
_
<
2
.
This proves that the inner product on M is well dened.
Exercise
Prove that the module M is complete with respect to the norm
| |
M
.
Hilbert C*-modules
Standard Hilbert C

-module
If each M
i
equals A then the construction of the last Example
gives the Hilbert C

-module over A that consists of all

sequences (a
i
)
i N
, where a
i
A, i N, such that the series

i N
a

i
a
i
is convergent in A.
This module is usually denoted by l
2
(A) or H
A
and is called the
standard Hilbert C

-module over A.
If A is the eld C of complex numbers, then l
2
(A) is the usual
Hilbert space l
2
.
Hilbert C*-modules
Standard module in the commutative case
In the commutative case there is the follwing description of
l
2
(A).
Let X be a locally compact Hausdorff space, A = C
0
(X). Let
l
2
= l
2
(C) be usual Hilbert space with the norm topology and let
C
0
(X; l
2
) be the space of continuous l
2
-valued functions on X
vanishing at innity.
Proposition
The map
j : l
2
(A) C
0
(X, l
2
), j (f )(x) := (f
1
(x), f
2
(x) . . . ),
where f = (f
1
, f
2
, . . . ) l
2
(A), f
1
, f
2
, . . . C
0
(X), is an isometric
isomorphism.
The proof reduces to verication of surjectivity of j .
Hilbert C*-modules
Submodules and orthogonal complements
Denition
Let N M be a closed submodule of a Hilbert C

-module M.
We dene the orthogonal complement N

by
N

= y M : x, y) = 0 for all x N.
Then N

is a closed submodule of the Hilbert C

-module M.
However, the equality M = N N

does not always hold, as

the following example shows.
Example
Let A = C[0, 1] be the C

-algebra of all continuous functions on

[0, 1]. Consider, in the Hilbert A-module M = A, the submodule
N = C
0
(0, 1) of functions that vanish at the end points of [0, 1].
Then, obviously, N

= 0.
In such a case we say that N is not orthogonally
complementable in M
Hilbert C*-modules
Generators and basis
A Hilbert C

-module M is called nitely generated if there exists

a nite set x
i
M such that M equals the linear span (over C
and A) of this set.
A Hilbert C

-module M is called countably generated if there

exists a countable set x
i
M such that M equals the
norm-closure of the linear span (over C and A) of this set.
Let now A be unital.
An element x of a Hilbert C

-module M is called non-singular if

x, x) A is invertible.
The set x
i

i
of elements of M is called orthonormal if
x
i
, x
j
) =
ij
.
It is called a basis of M if nite sums of the form

i
x
i
a
i
,
a
i
A, are dense in M.
E.g. the set e
1
= (1, 0, 0, . . .), e
2
= (0, 1, 0, ), etc. is a basis in
l
2
(A).
Hilbert C*-modules
DuprFillmore lemma
Since Hilbert C

-submodules may be not orthogonally

complementable, we cannot imitate the GramSchmidt
orthogonalization. The following result is its weak version.
Lemma (DuprFillmore)
Let M be a Hilbert A-module, e
1
, . . . , e
n
M are orthonormal,
x M, > 0.
If y M satises y, y) = 1 and y x, e
1
, . . . , e
n
, then there
exists e
n+1
M such that
1
e
1
, . . . , e
n
, e
n+1
are orthonormal,
2
e
n+1
Span
A
(e
1
, . . . , e
n
, x, y),
3
dist(x, Span
A
(e
1
, . . . , e
n+1
)) .
Hilbert C*-modules
Proof
Let x

= x

n
i =1
e
i
e
i
, x), x

= x

+ y.
Then x

, x

) = x

, x

) +
2
1
2
1 > 0.
Therefore the element x

is nonsingular. Put
e
n+1
= x

, x

)
1/2
, then
e
n+1
Span
A
(x

, y) e
1
, . . . , e
n
.
Therefore the elements e
1
, . . . , e
n
, e
n+1
are orthonormal.
Since we have taken x

Span
A
(x, e
1
, . . . , e
n
) and
e
n+1
Span
A
(x

, y), we obtain (2). Finally, put

w = e
n+1
x

, x

)
1/2
+

n
i =1
e
i
e
i
, x) Span
A
(e
1
, . . . , e
n+1
),
then the equality |w x| = |x

| = |y| = proves
(3).
Hilbert C*-modules
Kasparov stabilization theorem
The following theorem shows that the standard Hilbert
C

-module absorbs any countably generated Hilbert

C

-module over A just as the usual l

2
absorbs any other
separable Hilbert space.
Theorem (Kasparov)
Let A be a C

-algebra and M a countably generated Hilbert

A-module. Then
M l
2
(A)

= l
2
(A).
Proof
We start by proving the theorem for the case, where A is unital.
Hilbert C*-modules
Proof (continued)
Let y
n

nN
be the sequence of all generators of M.
By e
n

nN
we denote the standard basis of the module l
2
(A).
Let x
n

nN
= e
n

nN
y
n

nN
be a sequence, in which each
element e
n
and each element y
n
is repeated innitely many
times. Then the set x
n

nN
is generating for M H
A
.
Lets argue by induction. Assume that the orthonormal
elements e
1
, . . . , e
n
M H
A
and a number m(n) n are
already constructed in such a way that
1
e
1
, . . . e
n
Span
A
(x
1
, . . . , x
n
, e
1
, . . . , e
m(n)
),
2
dist(x
k
, Span
A
(e
1
, . . . , e
k
))
1
k
, 1 k n.
Since each element x
i
is equal to e
j
or y
k
, one can nd a
number m

> m(n) such that e

m
x
1
, . . . , x
n+1
. Since
e
m
e
1
, . . . , e
m(n)
, it follows from (1) that
e
m
x
n+1
, e
1
, . . . , e
n
.
Hilbert C*-modules
Proof (continued)
By the DuprFillmore lemma, there exists an element
e
n+1
Span
A
(e
1
, . . . , e
n
, x
n+1
, e
m
) ()
such that the elements e
1
, . . . , e
n
, e
n+1
are orthonormal and
dist(x
n+1
, Span
A
(e
1
, . . . , e
n+1
))
1
n+1
.
It follows from () that
e
1
, . . . , e
n+1
Span
A
(x
1
, . . . , x
n+1
, e
1
. . . , e
m
).
By setting m(n + 1) = m

, we complete the step of induction.

Thus, an orthonormal sequence e
n
satisfying the properties (1)
and (2) has been constructed. But the property (2) means that
this sequence generates the whole module M l
2
(A), so
M l
2
(A)

= l
2
(A).
Hilbert C*-modules
Proof (end)
Thus, Theorem is proved for unital C

-algebras.
Let A be a non-unital C

-algebra and let A

+
be its unitalization.
Dening the action of A
+
on the Hilbert C

-module M over A by
the formula
x (a, ) := x a + x, x M, (a, ) A
+
, C,
we equip M with the structure of a Hilbert C

-module over A
+
.
Consider the C

-module l
2
(A
+
) over A
+
and denote by l
2
(A
+
)A
the closure of the linear span of all the elements of the form
x a, x l
2
(A
+
), a A, in l
2
(A
+
).
It is easy to see that l
2
(A
+
)A = l
2
(A).
The isomorphism M l
2
(A
+
)

= l
2
(A
+
) implies the isomorphism
M l
2
(A) = MA l
2
(A
+
)A = (M l
2
(A
+
))A

= l
2
(A
+
)A = l
2
(A)
(we use here that M = MA, which can be proved by using an
approximate unit in A).
Hilbert C*-modules
Projective modules
Denition
A Hilbert A-module M is nitely generated projective if there
exists a Hilbert A-module N such that M N

= A
n
for some n.
The following two theorems of Dupr and Fillmore show that
nitely generated projective submodules lie in Hilbert
C

-modules in the simplest way.

Theorem (DuprFillmore)
Let A be a unital C

-algebra and let M be a nitely generated

projective A-submodule in l
2
(A). Then
1
the nonsingular elements of M

are dense in M

;
2
l
2
(A) = M M

;
3
M

= l
2
(A).
Hilbert C*-modules
Proof
We begin with the case, where M

= A
n
.
Let g
1
, . . . , g
n
be an orthonormal basis in M. Fix > 0 and for
each m put
e

m
= e
m

n
i =1
g
i
g
i
, e
m
).
Then e

m
M

and
e

m
, e

m
) = 1

n
i =1
e
m
, g
i
)g
i
, e
m
).
Since x, e
m
) 0 for each x l
2
(A), as m , we conclude
that e

m
, e

m
) 1. So there exists a number m
0
such that for
any m m
0
, the element e

m
is nonsingular.
Then one can dene
e

m
= e

m
e

m
, e

m
)
1/2
with e

m
, e

m
) = 1. Let x M

. Then
e

m
, x) = e

m
, e

m
)
1/2
e

m
, x) = e

m
, e

m
)
1/2
e
m
, x) 0.
Hilbert C*-modules
Proof (continued)
Choose a number m m
0
such that |e

m
, x)| < and set
x

= x + e

m
.
It is easy to see that
_
_
x

x
_
_
= . (1)
Let us check that the element x

is nonsingular. Put
u = x e

m
e

m
, x), v = e

m
(e

m
, x) + 1).
Then u v (since u e

m
), and x

= u + v. Therefore
x

, x

) = u, u) +v, v)
= u, u) + (e

m
, x) + 1)

(e

m
, x) + 1),
and the right hand side is invertible, since |e

m
, x)| < .
Therefore x

, x

) is invertible too.
Together with the estimate (1), this proves density of
nonsingular elements in M

.
Hilbert C*-modules
Proof (continued)
Let x
n
be a sequence, in which each element e
m
is repeated
innitely many times. Put x = x
1

n
i =1
g
i
g
i
, x
1
).
Then (taking = 1) one can nd g
n+1
M

such that
g
n+1
, g
n+1
) = 1 and dist(x, g
n+1
A) 1. Therefore
dist(x
1
, Span
A
(g
1
, . . . , g
n+1
)) 1. At the next step we replace
the module M by Span
A
(g
1
, . . . , g
n+1
), x
1
by x
2
, and = 1 by
= 1/2.
Going on with this procedure, we obtain an orthonormal
sequence g
k

kN
, extending the basis g
1
, . . . , g
n
of M, such
that
dist(x
i
, Span
A
(g
1
, . . . , g
n+i
)) <
1
i
,
so it is a basis for l
2
(A) and the remaining part g
k
: k > n is a
basis of M

. Hence l
2
(A) = M M

and M

= l
2
(A).
Hilbert C*-modules
Proof (end)
We pass now to the case of an arbitrary nitely generated
projective module M. Let M N

= A
n
.
By Kasparov stabilization theorem, N l
2
(A)

= l
2
(A), hence
A
n

= N M N l
2
(A)

= l
2
(A).
Therefore, if K is the orthogonal complement to the submodule
N M in the module N l
2
(A), then K

= l
2
(A) and
N M K = N l
2
(A).
But K = M

is obviously the orthogonal complement to the

submodule M in the module l
2
(A).
Hilbert C*-modules
Projectivity implies complementability
Theorem (DuprFillmore)
Let A be a unital C

-algebra and let M be a nitely generated

projective Hilbert submodule in an arbitrary Hilbert C

-module
N over A. Then N = M M

.
Proof
As in the previous theorem, the proof can be reduced to the
case, when M is a free module, M = A
n
. If g
1
, . . . , g
n
is the
standard basis of M, then put, for x N, x

= x

n
i =1
g
i
g
i
, x).
Then x

M and x x

, hence N = M M

.
Hilbert C*-modules
Dual modules
For a Hilbert C

-module M over a C

-algebra A let us denote

by M

the set of all bounded linear A-module homomorphisms

from M to A.
The structure of a vector space over C is given by the formula
( f )(x) := f (x), where C, f M

, x M.
The formula (f a)(x) := a

f (x), a A, introduces the

structure of a right A-module on M

.
M

is obviously complete with respect to the norm

|f | = sup|f (x)| : |x| 1.
M

is called the dual (Banach) module for M.

The elements of M

are called functionals on M.

Note that there is an obvious isometric inclusion M M

, which
is dened by x x, ) =

x.
Denition
A Hilbert module M is called self-dual if M = M

.
Hilbert C*-modules
Self-dual modules
Here is some information about self-dual modules (without
proof).
If A is unital, A
n
is self-dual.
Any nitely generated projective Hilbert C

-module over a unital

C

-algebra is self-dual.
The condition of self-duality is very strong there are quite a
few self-dual modules:
Any Hilbert module over a C

-algebra A is self-dual iff A is

nitedimensional.
Self-dual Hilbert C

-modules behave quite like Hilbert spaces.

Let N be a Hilbert C

-module and let M N be a self-dual

submodule. Then N = M M

.
Hilbert C*-modules
Dual modules
For an arbitrary Hilbert C

-module M, M

may be strictly greater

than M, moreover, the Banach module M

may not admit the

structure of a Hilbert C

-module at all.
Description of the dual module for the standard Hilbert module
l
2
(A) is given by the following statement.
Proposition
Consider the set of sequences f = (f
i
)
i N
, f
i
A, such that the
norms of partial sums
_
_
_

N
i =1
f

i
f
i
_
_
_ are uniformly bounded.
If A is a unital C

-algebra, then this set coincides with l

2
(A)

;
the action of f on elements of the module l
2
(A) is given by
f (x) =

i N
f

i
x
i
,
where x = (x
i
) l
2
(A), and the norm of f is given by
|f |
2
= sup
N
_
_
_

N
i =1
f

i
f
i
_
_
_ .
Hilbert C*-modules
Bidual modules
Let M

be the second dual (bidual) module for M.

For x M, f M

, put

x(f ) := f (x)

.
The map x

x is an isometric map from M to M

:
|

x| = sup|f (x)| : f M

, |f | 1 |f | |x| |x| ;
|

x|
1
_
_

x
_
_
_
_

x(x)
_
_
=
1
_
_

x
_
_
|x, x)| = |x| .
For F M

, dene the functional

F M

by

F(x) := F(

x).
Identifying M with

M =

x : x M M

, we obtain that

F is
the restriction of F onto M M

.
Note that (

x)=

x for all x M.
It is clear that the map F

F is an A-module map from M

to
M

and |

F| |F|. (In fact, this map is an isometry.)

Hilbert C*-modules
Inner product on bidual modules
Dene the inner product , ) : M

A by
F, G) := F(

G), F, G M

.
It can be directly checked that F a, G) = a

F, G) for a A.
Besides, for x, y M, one has

x,

y) =

x((

y)) =

x(

y) = (

y(x))

= y, x)

= x, y).
Therefore the inner product dened above is an extension of
the inner product on M.
Theorem (Paschke)
M

is a Hilbert C

-module with respect to this inner product. In

particular, F, F) 0 and |F, F)| = |F|
2
.
Hilbert C*-modules
Further duals. Reexivity
We may consider the further duals, M

etc., but, unlike the

Banach spaces case, they stabilize: M

= M

, so we have only
three different modules
M M

,
the rst two of which are Hilbert modules, and all possible
variants can be realized:
M = M

= M

; M ,= M

= M

; M = M

,= M

; M ,= M

,= M

.
Denition
M is called reexive if M = M

.
Reexive modules are more frequent than self-dual ones. In
the commutative case there is a criterium
Theorem
Let X be a compact Hausdorff space, A = C(X).
l
2
(A) is reexive iff X contains a copy of the Stone

Cech
compactication N of N.
Hilbert C*-modules
Operators on Hilbert C

-modules
Denition
Let M, N be Hilbert C

-modules over a C

-algebra A. A
bounded C-linear A-module homomorphism from M to N is
called an operator from M to N.
Let Hom
A
(M, N) denote the set of all operators from M to N. If
N = M, then End
A
(M) = Hom
A
(M, M) is obviously a Banach
algebra. However, we shall see soon that there is no natural
involution on this algebra.
Denition
Let T Hom
A
(M, N). We say that T is adjointable if there
exists an operator T

Hom
A
(N, M) such that
Tx, y) = x, T

y) for all x M, y N.
It is easy to check that if an adjoint operator T

exists then it is
unique.
Hilbert C*-modules
Non-adjointable operators
The main difference between Hilbert spaces and Hilbert
C

-modules is that a bounded operator is not necessarily

adjointable, as the next example shows.
Example
Let A = l

be the C

-algebra of bounded sequences,

a
n
= (0, . . . , 0, 1, 0, 0, . . .) A with 1 at n-th place.
Note that the series

nN
a
n
is bounded by 1, but not
convergent.
Let M = l
2
(A), e
n

nN
an orthonormal basis in M.
Let T End
A
(M) be dened by Te
n
= e
1
a
k
. Take x l
2
(A),
x =

nN
e
n
a
n
, where

nN
x

n
x
n
is norm-convergent in A.
Then Tx = e
1

nN
a
n
x
n
.
Hilbert C*-modules
Example (continued)
The series

nN
a
n
x
n
is convergent: by the Cauchy inequality
for Hilbert C

-modules,
_
_

m
n=k
a
n
x
n
_
_
2

_
_

m
n=k
a
2
n
_
_
_
_

m
n=k
x

n
x
n
_
_
=
_
_

m
n=k
x

n
x
n
_
_
and the latter series is convergent by the denition of l
2
(A), so
T is well dened. Also
|Tx, Tx)| =
_
_

nN
a
n
x
n
_
_
|x, x)| ,
so T is bounded.
If T

would exist as a bounded operator then

T

e
k
, e
n
) = e
k
, Te
n
) =
_
0, k ,= 1;
e
n
a
n
, k = 1.
But the series

nN
a

n
a
n
is not norm-convergent in A, so T

e
1
is not well dened.
Hilbert C*-modules
Operators on Hilbert C

-modules
Denote by Hom

A
(M, N) the set of all adjointable operators from
M to N.
The algebra End

A
(M) = Hom

A
(M, M) is an involutive Banach
algebra. Moreover, it is a C

-algebra: this follows from the

estimate
|T

T| sup
xB
1
(M)
T

Tx, x) = sup
xB
1
(M)
Tx, Tx) = |T|
2
,
where B
1
(M) denotes the unit ball of the module M.
Example
Let M = N N

. Dene P : M M to be the projection onto

N along N

. Then P is bounded, |P| = 1, and P

= P, hence
P End

A
(M).
Hilbert C*-modules
A non-adjointable projection
Example
Let J A be a closed ideal such that the equality Ja = 0,
a A, implies a = 0 (such ideals are called essential).
Put M := A J, N := (b, b) : b J M.
Then N

= (c, c) : c J. Therefore N N

= J J ,= M.
However, the submodule L = (a, 0) : a A M is a
topological (non-orthogonal) complement to N in M.
Let P be a projection on N along L, P(a, j ) = (a j , 0), where
(a, j ) M, and |P| 2.
Then P

, if dened, should satisfy P

(a, j ) = (a, a), which

doesnt lie in M, so P End
A
(M), but P / End

A
(M).
Hilbert C*-modules
Positivity
Positivity for operators can be understood in two different ways.
Lemma
For T End

A
(M) the following conditions are equivalent
1
T is positive in the C

-algebra End

A
(M);
2
m, Tm) is positive in A for each m M.
Proof. If (1) holds then (selfadjoint) T
1/2
exists, hence
m, Tm) = T
1/2
m, T
1/2
m) 0.
If (2) holds then m, Tm) is selfadjoint, hence
Tm, m) = m, Tm) and polarization shows that
Tn, m) = n, Tm) for any m, n M, hence T is selfadjoint.
Therefore, T = R S, where R, S End

A
(M) are positive and
RS = 0. Then m, S
3
m) = Sm, TSm) 0. But S
3
0,
hence m, S
3
m) = 0. So S
3
= 0, hence S = 0 and T = R 0.
Hilbert C*-modules
Compact operators
Let M, N be Hilbert C

-modules over A, x N, y M.
Dene the operator
x,y
: M N by

x,y
(z) := xy, z), z M.
Operators of this form are called elementary operators. They
clearly satisfy the equalities
1
(
x,y
)

=
y,x
;
2

x,y

u,v
=
xy,u,v
=
x,vu,y
for u M, v N;
3
T
x,y
=
Tx,y
for T Hom
A
(N, L);
4

x,y
S =
x,S

y
for S Hom

A
(L, M).
We denote the closed linear span of the set of all elementary
operators by K(M, N).
The elements of K(M, N) are called compact operators.
In the case N = M, the equalities (1)(4) mean that the algebra
K(M) = K(M, M) is a closed two-sided ideal in the C

-algebra
End

A
(M).
Hilbert C*-modules
Compact operators acting on Hilbert modules are not compact
operators in the usual sense, when one considers them as
operators from one Banach space to another.
However, they are a natural generalization of compact
operators on a Hilbert space.
Proposition
Let l
2
(A) be the standard Hilbert module over a unital
C

-algebra A and let N

n
l
2
(A), N
n

= A
n
be the free
submodule generated by the rst n elements of the standard
basis.
An operator K End
A
(l
2
(A)) is compact if and only if the norms
of restrictions of K onto the orthogonal complements N

n
of the
submodules N
n
vanish as n .
Hilbert C*-modules
Proof
Denote by P
n
the projection in l
2
(A) onto the submodule N

n
.
Then, for any z N
n
one has
|
x,y
(z)|
2
= |
x,y
(z),
x,y
(z))| = |y, z)

x, x)y, z)|
|x|
2
|y, z)|
2
= |x|
2
|P
n
y, z)|
2
|x|
2
|P
n
y|
2
|z|
2
.
Since |P
n
y| tends to zero, we have |
x,y
[
N
n

| 0.
If K K(l
2
(A)) then it is a limit of nite linear combinations of
the form

i

i

x
i
,y
i
, hence
_
_
_K[
N

n
_
_
_ 0 as n .
Hilbert C*-modules
Proof (end)
Let us assume now that for some operator K, one has
_
_
_K[
N

n
_
_
_ 0.
Then, since

n
m=1
Ke
m
e
m
, z) = 0 for any z N
n
, one has, for
|z| 1 and z N
n
,
sup
z
_
_
_Kz

n
m=1
Ke
m
e
m
, z)
_
_
_ = sup
z
|Kz| 0 ()
as n .
If z N
n
, then Kz =

n
m=1
Ke
m
e
m
, z).
This means that () still holds if the supremum is taken over the
unit ball of the whole module l
2
(A). Therefore the operator K is
the norm limit of the operators K
n
=

n
m=1

Ke
m
,e
m
.
Hilbert C*-modules
Compact operators
Proposition
K(A)

= A.
Proof. If A is unital, this is obvious (and K(A) = End

A
(A)).
In general, identify
a,b
with the left multiplication by ab

. This is
an isometric -homomorphism and its range contains a dense
set ab : a, b A A, so it is an isomorphism,
Corollary
K(A) = End

A
(A) iff A is unital.
Proof. End

A
(A) is unital.
Corollary
K(A
n
)

= M
n
(A); K(l
2
(A))

= KA.
Proof. The rst assertion is obvious; to obtain the second one,
one has to pass to the limit n .
Hilbert C*-modules
Description of operators in the commutative case
In the commutative case there is the following description for
End

A
(l
2
(A)) and for K(l
2
(A)).
Let X be a locally compact Hausdorff space, A = C
0
(X).
Let K = K(l
2
) be the space of (usual) compact operators on the
Hilbert space l
2
with the norm topology.
Let C
0
(X; K) be the space of continuous K-valued functions on
X vanishing at innity.
Let B = B(l
2
) be the space of all bounded operators with the
-strong topology.
Let C
b
(X; B) be the space of bounded continuous B-valued
functions on X.
Theorem (Frank)
There are canonical identications K(l
2
(A))

= C
0
(X; K) and
End

A
(l
2
(A))

= C
b
(X; B).
Hilbert C*-modules
Non-adjointable compact operators
One can get rid of the adjointability condition in the denition of
elementary operators and dene them as

f ,x
: y x f (y), x N, y M, f M

.
The closed linear span of all
f ,x
, f M

, x N, is a
non-adjointable (not necessarily adjointable) analog for
K(M, N).
When N = M, we get a closed two-sided ideal of such
non-adjointable compact operators in the Banach algebra
End
A
(M).
Although these algebras are not C

-algebras, in some aspects

they behave like the usual compact and bounded operators.
Hilbert C*-modules
When Kernel and Range are complemented
Theorem (Mishchenko)
Let M, N be Hilbert A-modules and T Hom

A
(M, N) an
operator with closed range. Then
Ker T is an orthogonally complemented submodule in M,
RanT is an orthogonally complemented submodule in N.
Proof
Let RanT = N
0
and let T
0
: M N
0
be an operator such that
its action coincides with the action of T. By the open mapping
theorem, the image of the unit ball, T
0
(B
1
(M)), contains some
ball of radius > 0 in N
0
. Therefore, for each y N
0
, one can
nd some x M such that T
0
x = y and |x|
1
|y|. One
has
_
_
T

0
y
_
_
2
=
_
_
y, T
0
T

0
y)
_
_
|y|
_
_
T
0
T

0
y
_
_
,
Hilbert C*-modules
Proof (continued)
hence
|y|
2
= |T
0
x, y)| = |x, T

0
y)| |x| |T

0
y|

1
|y| |y|
1/2
|T
0
T

0
y|
1/2
,
Whence
|y|
2
_
_
T
0
T

0
y
_
_
for any y N
0
.
Let us show that the spectrum of the operator T
0
T

0
does not
contain the origin. Suppose the opposite, i.e. that
0 Sp(T
0
T

0
). Let f be a continuous function on R such that
f (0) = 1 = |f | , f (t ) = 0 if [t [
1
2

2
.
Using functional calculus in the C

-algebra End

A
(M), we dene
the operator S End

A
(M) by the formula S = f (T
0
T

0
).
Hilbert C*-modules
Proof (continued)
Then |S| = 1 and
_
_
T
0
T

0
S
_
_

1
2

2
.
Choose x M such that |x| = 1 and |Sx| >
1
2
. Then the
inequality
|T
0
T

0
Sx|
1
2

2
<
2
|Sx|
contradicts the assumption (with y = Sx).
So 0 / Sp(T
0
T

0
).
Therefore T
0
T

0
is invertible and, in particular, surjective, so, for
any z M, one can nd w N
0
such that T
0
z = T
0
T

0
w.
Then z T

0
w Ker T.
Hilbert C*-modules
Proof (end)
Since z T

0
w Ker T,
z = (z T

0
w) + T

0
w Ker T + RanT

0
.
Since RanT

0
is obviously orthogonal to Ker T, it is a
complement for Ker T. This completes the proof of orthogonal
complementability for Ker T.
Now pass to RanT.
Since M = Ker T RanT

0
, the submodule RanT

0
is closed.
Note that RanT

0
= RanT

, so one can apply the previous

argument to T

instead of T, which gives the orthogonal

decomposition N = Ker T

RanT.
Hilbert C*-modules
Corollaries
Corollary
If P End

A
(M) is an idempotent, then RanP is an orthogonally
complemented submodule in M.
Corollary
Let M, N be Hilbert A-modules and let F : M N be a
topologically injective (i.e. |Fx| |x| for some > 0 and for
all x M ) adjointable operator, then F(M) F(M)

= N.
Corollary
Let M be a Hilbert A-module and let J End

A
(M) be
topologically injective and selfadjoint. Then J is an
isomorphism.
Hilbert C*-modules
More Corollaries
Lemma
Let M be a nitely generated submodule in a Hilbert C

-module
N over a unital C

-algebra A. Then M is an orthogonal direct

summand in N.
Proof
Let x
1
, . . . , x
n
M be a nite set of generators. Dene the
operator F : A
n
N by F(e
i
) = x
i
, where e
1
, . . . , e
n
A
n
is
the standard basis.
It is easy to see that F is adjointable with the adjoint
F

: N A
n
acting by the formula
F

(x) = (x
1
, x), . . . , x
n
, x)), where x N.
By the previous Theorem, RanF = M is an orthogonal direct
summand.
Hilbert C*-modules
When a projection is adjointable
Proposition
Let A be a unital C

-algebra, l
2
(A) = M N, P : l
2
(A) M a
projection and N a nitely generated projective module. Then
l
2
(A) = M M

if and only if P is adjointable.

Proof
If P

exists, then (1 P)

= 1 P

exists as well. Therefore,

Ker(1 P) = M is the range of a selfadjoint projection.
To prove the converse, let us verify rst that l
2
(A) = N

+ M

.
By the Kasparov stabilization theorem, one can assume,
without loss of generality, that
N = Span
A
e
1
, . . . , e
n
), N

= Span
A
e
n+1
, e
n+2
, . . . ).
Hilbert C*-modules
Proof (continued)
Let g
i
be the image of e
i
under the projection onto M

:
e
1
= f
1
+ g
1
, . . . , e
n
= f
n
+ g
n
, f
i
M, g
i
M

.
Since the projection induces an isomorphism of A-modules
N

= M

, the elements g
1
, . . . , g
n
are free generators and
g
k
, g
k
) > 0 (i. e. the spectrum of this positive operator is
separated from 0 and hence it is invertible).
So, if f
k
=

i =1
f
i
k
e
i
, then e
k
f
k
k
e
k
=

i =k
f
i
k
e
i
+ g
k
.
On the other hand,
1 = e
k
, e
k
) = f
k
, f
k
) +g
k
, g
k
), 1 (f
k
k
)(f
k
k
)

g
k
, g
k
) > 0,
i.e. the spectrum of the element 1 f
k
k
is separated from the
origin, hence this element is invertible in A,
Hilbert C*-modules
Proof (end)
e
k
= (1 f
k
k
)
1
_

i =k
f
i
k
e
i
+ g
k
_
N

+ M

(k = 1, . . . , n),
thus N

+ M

= l
2
(A).
Let x N

. Since any element y l

2
(A) = M N has
the form y = m + n, one has x, y) = x, m) +x, n) = 0; in
particular, x, x) = 0, thus x = 0. Therefore l
2
(A) = N

.
Consider the map Q =
_
1 on N

0 on M

, which is a bounded
projection, since l
2
(A) = N

.
Let x + y M N, x
1
+ y
1
N

. Then
P(x + y), x
1
+ y
1
) = x, x
1
+ y
1
) = x, x
1
),
x + y, Q(x
1
+ y
1
)) = x + y, x
1
) = x, x
1
).
Therefore P

exists and equals Q.

Hilbert C*-modules