This paper concerns HH-relations in the lattices P(M) of all projections of W*-algebras M. If M is a finite algebra, all these relations are generated by trails in P(M). If M is an infinite countably decomposable factor, they are either generated by trails or associated with them.

We provide an equivariant extension of the bivariant Cuntz semigroup introduced in previous work for the case of compact group actions over C*-algebras. Its functoriality properties are explored, and some well-known classification results are retrieved. Connections with crossed products are investigated, and a concrete presentation of equivariant Cuntz homology is provided. The theory that is here developed can be used to define the equivariant Cuntz semigroup. We show that the object thus obtained coincides with the one recently proposed by Gardella [‘Regularity properties and Rokhlin dimension for compact group actions’, Houston J. Math.43(3) (2017), 861–889], and we complement their work by providing an open projection picture of it.

In this paper we generalize the notion of the C-numerical range of a matrix to operators in arbitrary tracial von Neumann algebras. For each self-adjoint operator C, the C-numerical range of such an operator is defined; it is a compact, convex subset of ℂ. We explicitly describe the C-numerical ranges of several operators and classes of operators.

In the 1970s, Feldman and Moore classified separably acting von Neumann algebras containing Cartan maximal abelian self-adjoint subalgebras (MASAs) using measured equivalence relations and 2-cocycles on such equivalence relations. In this paper we give a new classification in terms of extensions of inverse semigroups. Our approach is more algebraic in character and less point-based than that of Feldman and Moore. As an application, we give a restatement of the spectral theorem for bimodules in terms of subsets of inverse semigroups. We also show how our viewpoint leads naturally to a description of maximal subdiagonal algebras.

We define the Schur multipliers of a separable von Neumann algebra with Cartan maximal abelian self-adjoint algebra , generalizing the classical Schur multipliers of (ℓ2). We characterize these as the normal -bimodule maps on . If contains a direct summand isomorphic to the hyperfinite II1 factor, then we show that the Schur multipliers arising from the extended Haagerup tensor product ⊗eh are strictly contained in the algebra of all Schur multipliers.

In this short note we present a common characterisation of the logarithmic function and the subspace of all trace zero elements in finite von Neumann factors.

We show that for any type III1 free Araki–Woods factor = (HR, Ut)″ associated with an orthogonal representation (Ut) of R on a separable real Hilbert space HR, the continuous core M = ⋊σR is a semisolid II∞ factor, i.e. for any non-zero finite projection q ∈ M, the II1 factor qM q is semisolid. If the representation (Ut) is moreover assumed to be mixing, then we prove that the core M is solid. As an application, we construct an example of a non-amenable solid II1 factor N with full fundamental group, i.e. (N) = R*+, which is not isomorphic to any interpolated free group factor L(Ft), for 1 < t ≤ = +∞.

Let ℳ be a von Neumann algebra acting on a Hilbert space and let be a von Neumann subalgebra of ℳ. If is singular in for every Hilbert space , is said to be completely singular in ℳ. We prove that if is a singular abelian von Neumann subalgebra or if is a singular subfactor of a type-II1 factor ℳ, then is completely singular in ℳ. is separable, we prove that is completely singular in ℳ if and only if, for every θ∈Aut(′) such that θ(X)=X for all X ∈ ℳ′, θ(Y)=Y for all Y∈′. As the first application, we prove that if ℳ is separable (with separable predual) and is completely singular in ℳ, then is completely singular in for every separable von Neumann algebra . As the second application, we prove that if 1 is a singular subfactor of a type-II1 factor ℳ1 and 2 is a completely singular von Neumann subalgebra of ℳ2, then is completely singular in .

In this paper we prove that, for a type-II1 factor N with a Cartan maximal abelian subalgebra, the Hochschild cohomology groups Hn(N,N)=0 for all n≥1. This generalizes the result of Sinclair and Smith, who proved this for all N having a separable predual.

We investigate the role of projections in norming a $C^*$-algebra by a type II1 subfactor. Applications are given for factors with property $\varGamma$ and for free-product factors.