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First suppose $x$ is a positive linear functional, without assuming boundedness. Every Hermitian C-star element $h$ is a difference of positive elements, since $\Vert h\Vert 1\pm h\ge 0$. Thus $x(h)$ is real. For a Hermitian C-star element $h$ of norm at most one, $-1\le h\le 1$ gives $|x(h)|\le x(1)$.

For arbitrary $a$, choose a scalar $\zeta$ of modulus one so that $\zeta x(a)=|x(a)|$. The real part of $\zeta a$ is a Hermitian C-star element and has norm at most $\Vert a\Vert$. Since $x$ is real on Hermitian C-star elements, it respects real parts, givingThis proves boundedness and $\Vert x\Vert \le x(1)$. Evaluation at the unit gives the reverse inequality, so positivity implies $\Vert x\Vert =x(1)$.

Conversely let $x$ be bounded with $x(1)=\Vert x\Vert =c\ge 0$. If $c=0$, $x=0$ is positive. Otherwise normalize to $c=1$. For a Hermitian C-star element $h$ and real $t$, the C-star identity givesWriting $x(h)=a+ib$ and squaring yields $-2tb+t^2(a^2+b^2)\le t^2\Vert h{\Vert }^2$. Taking $t\to 0$ through positive and negative values forces $b=0$. Hence $x$ is real on Hermitian C-star elements. If $0\le a\le 1$, then $1-a$ has norm at most one, so $x(1-a)\le 1$ and $x(a)\ge 0$. Scaling proves nonnegativity on every positive element, in particular every $b^{\ast }b$. Therefore

A Unitary element of a C-star algebra satisfies $u^{\ast }u=u{u}^{\ast }=1$. A projection in a C-star algebra satisfies $p=p^{\ast }=p^2$.

If $q=u^{\ast }u$ is a projection in a C-star algebra, the C-star identity gives $\Vert u(1-q){\Vert }^2=\Vert (1-q)q(1-q)\Vert =0$. Hence $u=uq=u{u}^{\ast }u$. Conversely $u{u}^{\ast }u=u$ implies $(u^{\ast }u{)}^2=u^{\ast }u$, and $u^{\ast }u$ is a Hermitian C-star element, so it is a projection in a C-star algebra. Taking adjoints of the triple-product equality gives the corresponding equality for $u^{\ast }$, provingFor nonzero $u$, let $p=u{u}^{\ast }$ and $q=u^{\ast }u$. These are projections, $u=pu=uq$, and $\Vert u\Vert =1$. The rectangular corner $pAq$ is closed because it is the range of the bounded idempotent map $a\mapsto paq$.

Define $\Theta :pAq\to qAq$ by $\Theta (a)=u^{\ast }a$. It lands in the corner, and its inverse is $b\mapsto ub$. The identities $u{u}^{\ast }a=pa=a$ and $u^{\ast }ub=qb=b$ verify both compositions. Both maps are contractive because $\Vert u\Vert =\Vert u^{\ast }\Vert =1$, so $\Theta$ is an isometry. For the proposed multiplication and involution,Thus the operations correspond exactly to the ordinary operations in the closed C-star algebra $qAq$. This proves associativity, closure, all involution identities and the C*-norm identity at once. Moreover $\Theta (u)=q$, so the unit of $A_u$ is $u$. If $u$ is unitary, $p=q=1$, and the map $a\mapsto u^{\ast }a$ is an onto isometric *-isomorphism from $A_u$ to $A$.

The spectrum of an element is ${\sigma }_A(a)=\{\lambda \in \mathbb{C}:a-\lambda 1_A\text{ is not invertible in }A\}$. A Normal element of a C-star algebra satisfies $a^{\ast }a=a{a}^{\ast }$.

For a Hermitian C-star element $h$, the C-star identity gives $\Vert h^2\Vert =\Vert h{\Vert }^2$. For normal $a$, commutation givesAll powers remain normal, so induction yields $\Vert a^{2^k}\Vert =\Vert a{\Vert }^{2^k}$. Taking the spectral-radius limit along these powers givesLet $\phi :A\to B$ be a C-star homomorphism, without assuming continuity or preservation of the ambient unit. Put $p=\phi (1_A)$, a projection in a C-star algebra. If $p=0$, then $\phi =0$. Otherwise its image lies in the unital corner $pBp$ and it is unital as a map into that corner. An inverse in $A$ maps to an inverse in the corner, so ${\sigma }_{pBp}(\phi (b))\subseteq {\sigma }_A(b)$. Apply this to the normal element $b=a^{\ast }a$ and use the C-star identity in both algebras:Thus every C-star homomorphism is norm non-increasing, including nonunital maps.

For the real lattice version of the Stone-Weierstrass theorem, let $f\in C_{\mathbb{R}}(\Omega )$ and $\epsilon >0$. For any $x,y\in \Omega$, separation of points and constants give $h_{xy}\in L$ matching $f$ at both $x$ and $y$: take an affine combination of a separating function, and for $x=y$ take a constant. Fix $x$. The open sets where $h_{xy}>f-\epsilon$ cover $\Omega$ as $y$ varies. Compactness gives finitely many such functions; their maximum $g_x$ belongs to the lattice $L$, satisfies $g_x>f-\epsilon$ everywhere, and has $g_x(x)=f(x)$. The open sets where $g_x<f+\epsilon$ now cover $\Omega$ as $x$ varies. Choose finitely many and take their minimum $h\in L$. Then $f-\epsilon <h<f+\epsilon$ everywhere. Thus $L$ is uniformly dense in the real continuous functions.

For the complex *-algebra, its real subalgebra $A_{\mathbb{R}}$ of Hermitian C-star elements contains the real and imaginary parts of every member. It separates points, because at least one of those parts distinguishes any pair distinguished by a complex function. Its uniform closure is a unital real subalgebra and is a lattice by the allowed result. The real theorem makes this closure all of $C_{\mathbb{R}}(\Omega )$. Approximating the real and imaginary parts separately proves $A$ is uniformly dense in $C(\Omega )$.

On $[0,1]$, the algebra of polynomials in $t^2$ is unital, closed under conjugation, and separates points because $t\mapsto t^2$ is injective there. Choose $p(t^2)$ within $\epsilon /3$ of $a(t)$, and correct its endpoints byThis is still a polynomial in $t^2$ and has exactly the requested endpoint values. The correction has absolute value at most $\epsilon /3$, because it is a convex combination of two errors of that size. Therefore

The open mapping theorem says that a bounded surjective linear map $T:E\to F$ between Banach spaces is open. Here is a proof using only Baire and completeness. Surjectivity gives $F={\bigcup }_{n\ge 1}T(n{\overline{B}}_E)$, hence also a cover by their closures. Baire makes one such closure contain a ball $B(y_0,r)$. Taking differences gives $B(0,r)\subseteq \overline{T(2n{\overline{B}}_E)}$. Scaling yields some $\delta >0$ withIf $\Vert y\Vert <\delta /2$, recursively use scaled versions of this inclusion to choose $x_k$ with $\Vert x_k\Vert \le 2^{-k}$ and residual $\Vert y-T{\sum }_{j=1}^k{x}_j\Vert <\delta 2^{-k-1}$. The sum converges in $E$ to an element of norm at most one, whose image is $y$. Thus $B(0,\delta /2)\subseteq T({\overline{B}}_E)$, and scaling gives $B(0,\delta /4)\subseteq T(\frac{1}{2}{\overline{B}}_E)\subseteq T(B_E)$. Translating and scaling proves openness on every open set. This proof does not use the closed graph or inverse mapping theorem.

Apply it to the evaluation map $E:X\to {\ell }^{\infty }$, $Ef=(f(z_n){)}_n$. It is bounded with norm at most one and onto by hypothesis. Hence its image of the unit ball contains a ball about zero, yielding a constant $c$ and, for every $\alpha$, an interpolant $g$ withFor completeness, scale a ball of radius $\eta$ inside $E(B_X)$ by $2\Vert \alpha {\Vert }_{\infty }/\eta$ to obtain $c=2/\eta$; zero data use $g=0$.

For each $n$, interpolate the data which are one at index $n$ and zero elsewhere, obtaining $g_n$ of norm at most $c$. The supplied factorization property gives $g_n=k_n{h}_n$ with $\Vert k_n{\Vert }_{\infty }=\Vert g_n{\Vert }_{\infty }\le c$. Evaluation at $z_n$ gives $1=|k_n(z_n)h_n(z_n)|\le c|h_n(z_n)|$, soThe three enumerated properties of $h_n$ are supplied hypotheses for this argument, rather than additional requests to prove them.

A state on a C-star algebra is a positive linear functional of norm one. A cyclic representation of a C-star algebra is a representation of a C-star algebra $\pi :A\to B(H)$ with a vector $\xi$ whose orbit $\pi (A)\xi$ has dense linear span in $H$. On $c$, pointwise multiplication and coordinatewise complex conjugation preserve convergence; the constant sequence one is the unit. The supremum norm is submultiplicative and obeys $\Vert {\alpha }^{\ast }\alpha {\Vert }_{\infty }=\Vert \alpha {\Vert }_{\infty }^2$. Completeness is given, so $c$ is a commutative unital C-star algebra.

If $F=\varphi (\beta )$ is a state, testing its positivity on the coordinate projections gives ${\beta }_{j+1}\ge 0$. To recover the independent coefficient at infinity, let $q_N$ have its first $N$ coordinates zero and all later ones one. This is a positive element of $c$, and $F(q_N)={\beta }_1+{\sum }_{j>N}{\beta }_{j+1}\ge 0$. Passing to the limit gives ${\beta }_1\ge 0$. By the given isometry, $\Vert F\Vert =\Vert \beta {\Vert }_1={\sum }_j{\beta }_j$, which is one. Conversely these nonnegative unit-sum coefficients make $F({\alpha }^{\ast }\alpha )$ a sum of nonnegative weighted squares, and the isometry gives norm one. Thus the stated coefficient conditions are necessary and sufficient.

For the specified state, all other coefficients are zero because they are nonnegative and the first three already sum to one. Its GNS null ideal isEvaluation at infinity and the first two coordinates identifies $c/N_x$ with ${\mathbb{C}}^3$, with inner product $\frac{1}{2}{u}_{\infty }\overline{v_{\infty }}+\frac{1}{4}{u}_1\overline{v_1}+\frac{1}{4}{u}_2\overline{v_2}$. Left multiplication induces the diagonal representation; the class of the unit is $(1,1,1)$. In the equivalent standard inner product the resulting GNS triple isIts coefficient is exactly $\frac{1}{2}{\alpha }_{\infty }+\frac{1}{4}{\alpha }_1+\frac{1}{4}{\alpha }_2=F(\alpha )$. The three evaluations can be assigned arbitrary independent values by a convergent sequence, and all three entries of ${\xi }_x$ are nonzero. Therefore its orbit spans ${\mathbb{C}}^3$, verifying cyclicity and the required state identity directly.

The continuous functional calculus for a Hermitian element of a C-star algebra identifies its generated unital C-star algebra with continuous functions on its real spectrum, preserves the involution and norm, and sends functions to the corresponding spectral values by spectral mapping. Consequently an element is a square of a Hermitian element of a C-star algebra exactly when it is a Hermitian element of a C-star algebra with nonnegative spectrum: the reverse direction uses the continuous square root on that spectrum.

Nonnegative scalar multiples preserve this property directly. For positive $a,b$ put $C=\Vert a\Vert +\Vert b\Vert$. Functional calculus gives $\Vert \Vert a\Vert 1-a\Vert \le \Vert a\Vert$ and similarly for $b$, so $\Vert C1-(a+b)\Vert \le C$. The sum is a Hermitian element of a C-star algebra, and spectral mapping now places its spectrum in $[0,2C]$. It therefore has a positive square root in a C-star algebra. If $C=0$ both elements are zero. Thus $A_{+}$ is a cone. It is pointed because an element positive with its negative has spectrum contained in $\{0\}$ and hence is zero by the self-adjoint norm formula. It is closed as well: for a converging sequence of Positive elements of a C-star algebra use a common norm bound $C$ and pass to the limit in $\Vert C1-a_n\Vert \le C$.

For the two-by-two matrix the exact criterion isA positive matrix is Hermitian with nonnegative eigenvalues; evaluating its quadratic form at the coordinate vectors gives the diagonal conditions, and its determinant, the eigenvalue product, gives the final inequality. Conversely if $a_{11}>0$, completing the square writes the quadratic form as $a_{11}|z_1+(a_{12}/a_{11})z_2{|}^2+(a_{22}-|a_{12}{|}^2/a_{11})|z_2{|}^2$, which is nonnegative. If $a_{11}=0$, the determinant inequality forces $a_{12}=0$ and the conclusion is immediate. The spectral theorem then gives nonnegative eigenvalues and their Hermitian square root, proving positivity in the question's sense.