Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 November 2018
We say that two elements e and f of a lattice are moderately separated provided e ∧ f = 0 and both (e′, f′) and (f′, e′) are modular pairs for all e′ ≦ e and f′ ≦ f. Here (e′, f′) a modular pair means that, for all g ≧ e′,
In the lattice of projections of a factor we show that e and f, with e ∧ f = 0, are modularly separated if and only if ‖(e – k)f‖ < 1 for some finite projection k ≦ e. From there we can show that a kind of “independence property” holds for modular separation in this case: if e and f are modularly separated and if e ∨ f and g are modularly separated, then e and f ∧ g are modularly separated.