State on a C-star algebra

A state is a positive functional of norm one. The state space $S(A)$ is a weak-star compact convex subset of $A^{\ast }$.

For a nonzero unital C-star algebra, a positive functional on a C-star algebra obeys $\Vert x\Vert =x(1_A)$, and conversely this equality for a bounded functional implies positivity. Therefore its state on a C-star algebra functionals are exactly the maximizers of the real linear evaluation $x\mapsto \mathrm{Re}x(1_A)$ on the closed dual unit ball. If a convex combination reaches that maximum, each constituent must reach it: each real part is at most one, and their weighted mean is one. The modulus bound then forces evaluation to equal one, so each constituent is again a state. Hence the state space is an exposed face and a face of a convex set.

For a unital represented C-star algebra $A\subseteq \mathcal{B}(H)$, the displayed functional is a state. It is linear under the first-argument-linear inner-product convention, has $x_{\eta }(1)=1$, and is positive because $x_{\eta }(a^{\ast }a)=\Vert a\eta {\Vert }^2\ge 0$. The Cauchy-Schwarz inequality gives $|x_{\eta }(a)|\le \Vert a\Vert$, while evaluation at the unit gives equality of its norm with one. Its GNS null left ideal consists exactly of the operators annihilating $\eta$.

For a state on a C-star algebra $x$ on a unital algebra $A$, put $⟨[a],[b]⟩=x(b^{\ast }a)$ on $A/N_x$, with the inner product linear in its first argument. The Cauchy–Schwarz inequality for positive C-star functionals makes the null vectors pair to zero with every vector. Moreover $c^{\ast }c\le \Vert c{\Vert }^{2}1$ gives $x((ca{)}^{\ast }(ca))\le \Vert c{\Vert }^{2}x(a^{\ast }a)$, so $N_x$ is a left ideal and $[a]\mapsto [ca]$ is well-defined and bounded by $\Vert c\Vert$. Completion gives a Hilbert space $H_x$ and a star-representation ${\pi }_x(c)[a]=[ca]$. The adjoint identity follows from $x(b^{\ast }ca)=⟨[a],{\pi }_x(c^{\ast })[b]⟩$. The unit vector ${\xi }_x=[1]$ is cyclic and recovers the state as $x(a)=⟨{\pi }_x(a){\xi }_x,{\xi }_x⟩$.

On the C-star algebra of convergent complex sequences, a functional in the displayed coordinate representation is a state on a C-star algebra exactly when all its weights are nonnegative and sum to one. Coordinate projections test positivity of $w_j$ at finite indices. Positive sequences with the first $N$ terms zero and the rest one test $w_{\infty }$ after passage to the limit. The known dual isometry makes the norm the sum of the absolute weights, proving necessity and sufficiency.

If only finitely many weights are positive, the GNS construction identifies the quotient by $\{\alpha :F({\alpha }^{\ast }\alpha )=0\}$ with the values at precisely those supporting indices. Its inner product is the weighted coordinate inner product. Passing to the standard Hilbert norm gives diagonal evaluation operators and cyclic vector whose entries are the square roots of the weights. Arbitrary finite coordinate values and the limiting value can be assigned independently by a convergent sequence, which proves cyclicity. For weights $1/2$ at infinity and $1/4$ at each of the first two indices, the space is ${\mathbb{C}}^3$ and the cyclic vector is $(1/\sqrt{2},1/2,1/2)$.

For the state on a C-star algebra $a\mapsto \mathrm{Tr}(\rho a)$ on $M_d(\mathbb{C})$, the GNS construction has the displayed Hilbert-space dimension. Here $\rho$ is a density matrix. Its null space for the GNS seminorm consists of $b$ with $b{\rho }^{1/2}=0$, because $\mathrm{Tr}(\rho b^{\ast }b)=\Vert b{\rho }^{1/2}{\Vert }_{\mathrm{HS}}^2$. Thus the GNS space is the space of matrices $b{\rho }^{1/2}$ with the Hilbert-Schmidt inner product. If $\rho$ has rank $r$, diagonalization identifies these matrices with $r$ arbitrary columns, giving dimension $dr$. Left multiplication is the representation and ${\rho }^{1/2}$ is its cyclic vector. In particular a pure rank-one matrix state gives the defining $d$-dimensional representation, while a full-rank state gives a $d^2$-dimensional space.

For a vector state on a C-star algebra, $N=\{a:a\eta =0\}$ and $⟨[a],[b]⟩=⟨a\eta ,b\eta ⟩$. Thus $U_0[a]=a\eta$ is a well-defined linear isometry from the quotient pre-Hilbert space onto $A\eta$. It extends to an isometry from the completed GNS space onto $K=\overline{A\eta }$: its range is complete and therefore closed, and contains the dense subspace $A\eta$. The space $K$ is invariant under both $A$ and its adjoints. On quotient vectors, $U\pi (a)[b]=ab\eta =aU[b]$, proving the displayed unitary equivalence after continuity. The cyclic vector maps to $\eta$.

If $A=\mathcal{B}(H)$, then $A\eta =H$, since the rank-one map $v\mapsto ⟨v,\eta ⟩\zeta$ sends $\eta$ to any chosen $\zeta$. In this case, for the rank-one orthogonal projection $p_{\eta }$, $a\eta =0$ is equivalent to $a{p}_{\eta }=0$, by evaluating at $\eta$ and using $(a{p}_{\eta })v=⟨v,\eta ⟩a\eta$.

Write $x=h+ik$ with both terms Hermitian. At least one is nonzero; its norm equals its spectral radius, so it has a nonzero spectral value. Spectral values attained by C-star states gives a state taking that nonzero value on the chosen term. Both state values on $h,k$ are real, so the corresponding complex value on $x$ cannot vanish. This also detects nonzero quasinilpotent elements, which cannot be separated by looking only at their own spectrum.

On the linear span of $1,x$, define $g(a1+bx)=a+b\lambda$. Affine spectral mapping gives $|a+b\lambda |\le \Vert a1+bx\Vert$, making this well-defined with norm one and $g(1)=1$. A norm-preserving Hahn-Banach theorem extension to the whole C-star algebra remains unital; the norm characterization of a positive functional on a C-star algebra makes it a state on a C-star algebra attaining the spectral value.

A pure state is an extreme point of the state space. The Krein-Milman theorem guarantees pure states, and every positive element attains its norm at some pure state.