C*-Algebras: 1943-1993 : A Fifty Year Celebration : Ams Special Session Commenorating the First Fifty Years of C*-Algebra Theory January 13-14, 1993 (Contemporary Mathematics)

This volume contains the proceedings of an AMS Special Session held at the Joint Mathematics Meetings in San Antonio in January 1993 to celebrate the first fifty years of C]*-algebra theory. The book contains carefully written expository and research articles by leaders in the field. Also included is a reprinting of the original 1943 paper on C]* -algebras by Gelfand and Neumark, which has had such a profound influence on the field. The volume covers a broad spectrum of topics, including the Gelfand-Neumark theorems, C] *-algebras and quantization, projections in C]*-algebras, Mackey's theory of group representations and their relation to C]*-algebras, transformation group C]*-algebras, the influence of algebraic topology on C]*-algebras, K-theory and index theory in operator algebras, exponential rank in C]*-algebras, and a survey of the development of type III von Neumann algebras. With historical perspectives and up-to-date overviews to orient readers new to the field, this book will interest mathematicians, physicists, and mathematical historians.