In this paper we provide some bounds for the quantity $\Vert f(y)-f(x)\Vert$, where $f:D\rightarrow \mathbb{C}$ is an analytic function on the domain $D\subset \mathbb{C}$ and $x$, $y\in {\mathcal{B}}$, a Banach algebra, with the spectra $\unicode[STIX]{x1D70E}(x)$, $\unicode[STIX]{x1D70E}(y)\subset D$. Applications for the exponential and logarithmic functions on the Banach algebra ${\mathcal{B}}$ are also given.

We develop an algebraic approach to constructing short-time asymptotic expansions of solutions of a class of abstract semilinear evolution equations. The expansions are typically valid for both the solution of the equation and its gradient. We apply a perturbation approach based on the symbolic calculus of pseudo-differential operators and heat kernel methods. The construction is explicit and can be done to arbitrary order. All results are rigorously formulated in terms of Banach algebras. As an application we obtain a novel approach to finding approximate solutions of Markovian backward stochastic differential equations.

Let $A$ be a Banach algebra and let $\pi :\,A\,\to \,\mathcal{L}\left( H \right)$ be a continuous representation of $A$ on a separable Hilbert space $H$ with dim $H\,=\,\text{m}$. Let ${{\pi }_{ij}}$ be the coordinate functions of $\pi $ with respect to an orthonormal basis and suppose that for each $1\,\le \,j\,\le \,\text{m,}\,{{C}_{j}}\,=\,\sum\nolimits_{i=1}^{\text{m}}{\left\| {{\pi }_{ij}} \right\|}{{A}^{*}}\,<\,\infty $ and ${{\sup }_{j}}\,{{C}_{j}}\,<\,\infty $. Under these conditions, we call an element $\overline{\Phi }\,\in \,{{\iota }^{\infty }}\,\left( \mathfrak{m},\,{{A}^{**}} \right)$ left $\pi $-invariant if $a\,\cdot \overline{\Phi }\,={{\,}^{^{t}\pi }}\left( a \right)\overline{\Phi }$ for all $a\in A$ In this paper we prove a link between the existence of left $\pi $-invariant elements and the vanishing of certain Hochschild cohomology groups of $A$. Our results extend an earlier result by Lau on $F$-algebras and recent results of Kaniuth, Lau, Pym, and and the second author in the special case where $\pi :\,A\,\to \text{C}$ is a non-zero character on $A$.

By introducing a new notion of approximate biprojectivity we show that nilpotent ideals in approximately amenable or pseudo-amenable Banach algebras, and nilpotent ideals with the nilpotency degree larger than two in biflat Banach algebras cannot have the special property which we call ‘property (𝔹)’ (Definition 5.2 below) and hence, as a consequence, they cannot be boundedly approximately complemented in those Banach algebras.

We show that if the general real method ${{\left( \cdot \,,\,\cdot \right)}_{\Gamma }}$ preserves the Banach-algebra structure, then a bilinear interpolation theorem holds for ${{\left( \cdot \,,\,\cdot \right)}_{\Gamma }}$.

Let G be a discrete group.We give a decomposition theorem for the Hochschild cohomology of l1(G) with coefficients in certain G-modules. Using this we show that if G is commutative-transitive, the canonical inclusion of bounded cohomology of G into simplicial cohomology of l1(G) is an isomorphism.

Let G be a locally compact group and ρ a non-unitary finite dimensional representation of G. We consider tensor products of ρ by some unitary representations of G in order to define two Banach algebras analogous to the group C*-algebras, C*(G) and C*r(G). We calculate the K-theory of such algebras for a large class of groups satisfying the Baum-Connes conjecture.

Nous construisons une $KK$-théorie pour les algèbres de Banach équivariante par l’action d’un groupoïde et nous montrons la conjecture de Baum–Connes à coefficients commutatifs pour les groupes hyperboliques et pour les groupoïdes de Poincaré des feuilletages à base compacte qui peuvent être munis d’une métrique riemannienne longitudinale à courbure sectionnelle strictement négative.

We construct a $KK$-theory for Banach algebras, equivariant with respect to the action of a groupoid. We prove the Baum–Connes conjecture with commutative coefficients for hyperbolic groups and for the Poincaré groupoids of foliations with a compact base and a longitudinal Riemannian metrics with negative sectional curvature.

For a Banach space $\mathfrak{X}$, let $\mathcal{B}(\mathfrak{X})$ denote the Banach algebra of all continuous linear operators on $\mathfrak{X}$. First, we study the lattice of closed ideals in $\mathcal{B}(\mathfrak{J}_p)$, where $1 \lt p \t \infty$ and $\mathfrak{J}_p$ is the $p$th James space. Our main result is that the ideal of weakly compact operators is the unique maximal ideal in $\mathcal{B}(\mathfrak{J}_p)$. Applications of this result include the following.

(i) The Brown–McCoy radical of $\mathcal{B}(\mathfrak{X})$, which by definition is the intersection of all maximal ideals in $\mathcal{B}(\mathfrak{X})$, cannot be turned into an operator ideal. This implies that there is no ‘Brown–McCoy’ analogue of Pietsch’s construction of the operator ideal of inessential operators from the Jacobson radical of $\mathcal{B}(\mathfrak{X})/\mathcal{A}(\mathfrak{X})$.

(ii) For each natural number $n$ and each $n$-tuple $(m_1,\dots,m_n)$ in $\{k^2\mid k\in\mathbb{N}\}\cup\{\infty\}$, there is a Banach space $\mathfrak{X}$ such that $\mathcal{B}(\mathfrak{X})$ has exactly $n$ maximal ideals, and these maximal ideals have codimensions $m_1,\dots,m_n$ in $\mathcal{B}(\mathfrak{X})$, respectively; the Banach space $\mathfrak{X}$ is a finite direct sum of James spaces and $\ell_p$-spaces.

Second, building on the work of Gowers and Maurey, we obtain further examples of Banach spaces $\mathfrak{X}$ such that all the maximal ideals in $\mathcal{B}(\mathfrak{X})$ can be classified. We show that the ideal of strictly singular operators is the unique maximal ideal in $\mathcal{B}(\mathfrak{X})$ for each hereditarily indecomposable Banach space $\mathfrak{X}$, and we prove that there are $2^{2^{\aleph_0}}$ distinct maximal ideals in $\mathcal{B}(\mathfrak{G})$, where $\mathfrak{G}$ is the Banach space constructed by Gowers to solve Banach’s hyperplane problem.

AMS 2000 Mathematics subject classification: Primary 47D30; 47D50; 46H10; 16D30

For a closed set $E$ contained in the closed unit interval, we show that the big Lipschitz algebra $\varLambda_{\gamma}(E)$ $(0\lt\gamma\lt1)$ is sequentially weak$^{\ast}$ generated by its idempotents if and only if it is weak$^{\ast}$ generated by its idempotents if and only if the little Lipschitz algebra $\lambda_{\gamma}(E)$ is generated by its idempotents, and we describe a class of perfect symmetric sets for which this holds. Moreover, we prove that $\varLambda_1(E)$ is sequentially weak$^{\ast}$ generated by its idempotents if and only if $E$ is of measure zero. Finally, we show that the quotient algebras

$$ \mathcal{A}_{\beta}/\overline{J_{\beta}(E)}^{\text{weak}^{\ast}} $$

of the Beurling algebras need not be weak$^{\ast}$ generated by their idempotents, when $E$ is of measure zero and $\beta\ge\tfrac{1}{2}$.

AMS 2000 Mathematics subject classification: Primary 46J10; 46J30; 26A16; 42A16

Semisimple Banach algebras are well-known to have a unique (complete) algebra norm topology, but such uniqueness may fail if the radical is even one-dimensional. We obtain a necessary condition for uniqueness of norm when the algebra has finite-dimensional radical. In the case where the Banach algebra is separable, the condition is shown to be also sufficient for a large class of algebras, and in particular under various hypotheses of commutativity. Examples are given to show the limitations of the various sufficiency results, and these also give a good indication of where the difficulties lie in general. We conjecture that, at least in the separable case, our condition is both necessary and sufficient.

1991 Mathematics Subject Classification: 46H20, 46H40.