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Graduate Texts in Mathematics

Konrad Schmüdgen

An Invitation
to Unbounded
Representations
of ∗-Algebras
on Hilbert Space
Graduate Texts in Mathematics 285
Graduate Texts in Mathematics

Series Editors

Sheldon Axler, San Francisco State University

Kenneth Ribet, University of California, Berkeley

Advisory Board

Alejandro Adem, University of British Columbia

David Eisenbud, University of California, Berkeley & MSRI
Brian C. Hall, University of Notre Dame
Patricia Hersh, University of Oregon
J. F. Jardine, University of Western Ontario
Jeffrey C. Lagarias, University of Michigan
Eugenia Malinnikova, Stanford University
Ken Ono, University of Virginia
Jeremy Quastel, University of Toronto
Barry Simon, California Institute of Technology
Ravi Vakil, Stanford University
Steven H. Weintraub, Lehigh University
Melanie Matchett Wood, University of California, Berkeley

Graduate Texts in Mathematics bridge the gap between passive study and
creative understanding, offering graduate-level introductions to advanced topics in
mathematics. The volumes are carefully written as teaching aids and highlight
characteristic features of the theory. Although these books are frequently used as
textbooks in graduate courses, they are also suitable for individual study.

More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/136

Konrad Schmüdgen

An Invitation to Unbounded
Representations of

-Algebras on Hilbert Space

123
Konrad Schmüdgen
Fakultät für Mathematik und Informatik
Universität Leipzig
Leipzig, Germany

ISSN 0072-5285 ISSN 2197-5612 (electronic)

Graduate Texts in Mathematics
ISBN 978-3-030-46365-6 ISBN 978-3-030-46366-3 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46366-3

Mathematics Subject Classification: 47L60, 16G99, 16W10, 81S05

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature
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Preface and Overview

Everything Should Be Made as Simple as Possible, But Not

Simpler1

The purpose of this book is to give an introduction to the unbounded representation

theory of
-algebras on Hilbert space. As the title indicates, the book should be
considered as an invitation to this subject rather than a monograph or a compre-
hensive presentation.
Let us briefly explain the two main concepts explored in this book.
A complex
-algebra A is a complex algebra with an involution, denoted by
a 7! a þ . An involution is an antilinear mapping of A into itself which is
antimultiplicative (that is, ðabÞ þ ¼ b þ a þ ) and involutive (that is, ða þ Þ þ ¼ a).
The complex conjugation of functions and the Hilbert space adjoint of operators are
standard examples of involutions.
Just as rings are studied in terms of their modules in algebra, it is natural to
investigate
-representations of
-algebras. Let D be a complex inner product space,
that is, D is a complex vector space equipped with an inner product h; i, and let H
be the corresponding Hilbert space completion. A
-representation of a
-algebra A
on D is an algebra homomorphism … of A into the algebra of linear operators on D
such that

h…ðaÞu; wi ¼ hu; …ða þ Þwi; u; w 2 D; ð1Þ

for all a 2 A. In general, the operators …ðaÞ are unbounded. Equation (1) is crucial,
because it translates algebraic properties of elements of A into operator-theoretic
properties of their images under …. For instance, if a 2 A is hermitian (that is,
a þ ¼ a), then the operator …ðaÞ is symmetric, or if a is normal (that is,
a þ a ¼ aa þ ), then …ðaÞ is formally normal (that is, k…ðaÞuk ¼ k…ða þ Þuk;
u 2 D). Since the closure of the symmetric operator …ðaÞ for a ¼ a þ on the Hilbert
space H is not necessarily self-adjoint, we are confronted with all the difficulties of
unbounded operator theory.

1
Attributed to Albert Einstein.

v
vi Preface and Overview

In quantum mechanics the canonical commutation relation

PQ  QP ¼ i
hI ð2Þ

plays a fundamental role. Here P is the momentum operator, Q is the position

operator, and
h ¼ 2…
h
is the reduced Planck’s constant. Historically, relation (2) is
attributed to Max Born (1925)2. It implies Werner Heisenberg’s uncertainty prin-
ciple [Hg27]. Born and Jordan [BJ26] found a representation of (2) by infinite
matrices. Schrödinger [Schr26] discovered that the commutation relation (2) can be
represented by the unbounded operators P and Q, given by

du
ðQuÞðxÞ ¼ xuðxÞ and ðPuÞðxÞ ¼ i

h ; ð3Þ
dx

acting on the Hilbert space L2 ðRÞ. It was shown later by Wielandt [Wie49] and
Wintner [Wi47] that (2) cannot be realized by bounded operators. For the mathe-
matical treatment of the canonical commutation relation (2), there is no loss of
h1 P.
generality in setting
h ¼ 1, upon replacing P by

The unital
-algebra W with hermitian generators p and q satisfying the relation
pq  qp ¼ i  1 is called the Weyl algebra. Since relation (2) cannot hold for
bounded operators, W has no
-representation by bounded operators, but it has
many unbounded
-representations. Among them there is one distinguished
“well-behaved” representation, the Schrödinger representation …S , or its unitarily
equivalent version, the Bargmann–Fock representation. The
-representation …S
acts on the Schwartz space SðRÞ, considered as a subspace of the Hilbert space
L2 ðRÞ, by

…S ðpÞu ¼ Pu and …S ðqÞu ¼ Qu; u 2 SðRÞ;

where P and Q are given by (3) with
h ¼ 1. The Weyl algebra has a rich algebraic
structure and an interesting representation theory. This
-algebra will be our main
guiding example through the whole book; it is treated in detail in Chap. 8.

Aims of the Book

For decades, operator theory on Hilbert space and operator algebras have provided
powerful methods for quantum theory and mathematical physics. Among the many
books on these topics, two can be recognized as standard textbooks for graduate
students and researchers. These are the four volumes [RS72]–[RS78] by

2
In a letter to Pauli [Pa79, pp. 236–241], dated September 18, 1925, Heisenberg called the
commutation relation (2) “eine sehr gescheite Idee von Born” (“a very clever idea of Born”). In the
literature the relation (2) was first formulated by Born and Jordan [BJ26] and by Dirac [D25].
Preface and Overview vii

Reed–Simon covering operator theory and the two volumes [BR87]–[BR97] by

Bratteli-Robinson for C
- and W
-algebras. The present book might be considered a
supplement covering unbounded representations of general
-algebras.
The aims and features of this book are the following:
• The main aim is to provide a careful and rigorous treatment of the basic
concepts and results of unbounded representation theory on Hilbert space.
Our emphasis is on representations of important nonnormed
-algebras. In
general, representations of
-algebras on Hilbert space act by unbounded operators.
It is well known that algebraic operations involving unbounded operators are del-
icate matters, so it is not surprising that unbounded representations lead to new and
unexpected difficulties and pathologies. Some of these are collected in Sect 4.7. In
fact, these phenomena already occur for very simple algebras such as the Weyl
algebra or polynomial algebras.
Compared to bounded Hilbert space representations, many results and devel-
opments require additional assumptions, concepts, and technical arguments. We
point out possible pathologies and propose concepts to circumvent them.
• In the exposition and presentation we try to minimize the use of technicalities
and generalities.
So we treat the representation theory of the Weyl algebra only in dimension one;
positivity only for functionals rather than complete positivity of mappings;
decomposition theory only for functionals and not for representations; and we avoid
details from the theory of quantum groups. Some results with long and technically
involved proofs, such as the trace representation Theorem 3.26 and the integrability
Theorems 9.49 and 9.50 for Lie algebra representations, are stated without proofs.
(The reader can find these topics and complete proofs in the author’s monograph
[Sch90].) We hope to fulfill Einstein’s motto stated above in this manner, at least to
some extent.
• The choice of topics illustrates the broad scope and the usefulness of unbounded
representations.
There are various fields in mathematics and mathematical physics where repre-
sentations of general
-algebras on Hilbert space appear. The canonical commutation
relation of quantum mechanics was already mentioned and is only one example.
Quantum algebras and noncompact quantum groups can be represented by
unbounded operators. Unitary representations of Lie groups lead to in general
unbounded representations of enveloping algebras. Representations of polynomial
algebras play a crucial role in the operator approach to the classical multi-dimensional
moment problem. Noncommutative moment problems are closely related to Hilbert
space representations. Properties of states on general
-algebras are important in
noncommutative probability theory. Dynamical systems appear in the representation
theory of operator relations. Noncomutative real algebraic geometry asks when ele-
ments, which are positive operators in certain representations, are sums of hermitian
viii Preface and Overview

squares, possibly with denominators. These topics will appear in this book; for most
of them we provide introductions to these subjects. Some of them are treated in great
detail, while others are only touched upon.
• Our aim is to present fundamental general concepts and their applications and
basic methods for constructing representations.
The GNS construction is a powerful tool that is useful to reformulate or to solve
problems by means of Hilbert space operators. We carry out this construction in
detail and apply it to the study of positive functionals on
-algebras. Further, we
develop general methods for the construction of classes of representations such as
induced representations, operator relations, and well-behaved representations.
Representations on rigged modules or Hilbert C
-modules is a new topic which
belongs to this list as well. Throughout, our main focus is on basic ideas, concepts,
examples, and results.
• For some selected topics self-contained and deeper presentations are given.
This concerns the representation theory of the Weyl algebra and the theory of
infinitesimal representations of enveloping algebras. Both topics are extensively
developed including a number of advanced and deep results. Also, Archimedean
quadratic modules and the corresponding C
-algebras are explored in detail.

Brief Description of the Contents

Chapter 1 should be considered as a prologue to this book. We give a brief and

informal introduction into the algebraic approach to quantum theories thereby
provided some physical motivation for the study of general
-representations and
states of
-algebras.
Chapter 2 deals with the algebraic structure of general involutive algebras. Basic
constructions (tensor products, crossed products, matrix algebras), examples
(semigroup
-algebras,
-algebras defined by relations), and concepts (characters,
positive functionals, quadratic modules) are introduced and investigated.
Chapter 3 gives a short digression into O
-algebras. These are
-algebras of
linear operators on an invariant dense domain of a Hilbert space. The involution is
the restriction of the Hilbert space adjoint to the domain. We treat three special
topics (graph topology, bounded commutants, and trace functionals) that are used
later in the study of representations.
With Chap. 4 we enter the main topic of this book:
-representations on Hilbert
space. We develop basic concepts (closed, biclosed, self-adjoint, essentially
self-adjoint representations), in analogy to single operator theory, and standard
notions on representations (invariant subspaces, irreducible representations). The
heart of this chapter is the GNS construction which associates a
-representation
with each positive functional. It is probably the most important and useful technical
tool in Hilbert space representation theory.
Preface and Overview ix

Chapter 5 is devoted to a detailed study of positive linear functionals on
-

algebras. The GNS representation allows one to explore the interplay between
properties of Hilbert space representations and positive functionals. Ordering,
orthogonality, transition probability, and a Radon–Nikodym theorem for positive
functionals are treated in this manner. Choquet’s theory is applied to obtain
extremal decompositions of states. Quadratic modules defined by representations
are introduced.
Chapters 6–9 are devoted to the representation theories of some important
special classes of
-algebras.
Chapter 6 deals with tensor algebras and free
-algebras. Positive functionals are
approximated by vector functionals of finite-dimensional representations and
faithful representations are constructed. We define topological tensor algebras such
as the field algebra of quantum field theory and develop continuous representations.
Chapter 7 is about “well-behaved” representations and states of commutative
-
algebras. We characterize these representations by a number of conditions and
express well-behaved representations of finitely generated
-algebras in terms of
spectral measures.
Chapters 8 and 9 are two core chapters that stand almost entirely by themselves.
Chapter 8 gives an extensive treatment of Hilbert space representations of the
canonical commutation relation (2) and the Weyl algebra. After collecting algebraic
properties of this algebra we treat the Bargmann–Fock representation and the
corresponding uniqueness theorem. Then the Schrödinger representation is studied
and the Stone–von Neumann uniqueness theorem is proved. The Bargmann
transform establishes the unitary equivalence of both representations. Kato’s the-
orem on the characterization of Schrödinger pairs in terms of resolvents is derived.
Further, the Heisenberg uncertainty principle and the Groenewold-van Hove
“no-go” theorem for quantization are developed in detail.
Chapter 9 is about infinitesimal representations of universal enveloping algebras
of finite-dimensional Lie algebras. Each unitary representation of a Lie group yields
a
-representation of the corresponding enveloping algebra. Basic properties
of these representations (C 1 -vectors, Gårding domains, graph topologies, essential
self-adjointness of symmetric elements) are studied in detail and elliptic regularity
theory is used to prove a number of advanced results.
Analytic vectors, first for single operators and then for representations, are
investigated. They play a crucial role for the integrability theorems of Lie algebra
representations due to Nelson and to Flato, Simon, Snellman, and Sternheimer.
These results are presented without proof, but with references. Finally, we discuss
K-finite vectors for unitary representations of SLð2; RÞ and the oscillator
representation.
Chapter 10 is concerned with Archimedean quadratic modules and the associ-
ated
-algebras of bounded elements. Two abstract Stellensätze give a glimpse into
noncommutative real algebraic geometry. As an application we derive a strict
Positivstellensatz for the Weyl algebra. Finally, a theorem about the closedness
of the cone of finite sums of hermitian squares in certain
-algebras is proved and
some applications are obtained.
x Preface and Overview

Chapter 11 examines the operator relation XX
¼ FðX
XÞ, where F is Borel

function on ½0; þ 1Þ and X is a densely defined closed operator on a Hilbert space.
The representation theory of this relation is closely linked to properties of the
dynamical system defined by the function F. For instance, finite-dimensional
irreducible representations correspond to cycles of the dynamical system. The
hermitian q-plane and the q-oscillator algebra are treated as important examples.
Chapter 12 presents an introduction to unbounded induced representations of

-algebras. For group graded
-algebras there exists a canonical conditional
expectation which allows one to define induced representations. We develop this
theory for representations which are induced from characters of commutative
subalgebras. The Bargmann–Fock representation of the Weyl algebra is obtained in
this manner.
An important topic of advanced Hilbert space representation theory is to describe
classes of “well-behaved” representations of general
-algebras. In Chap. 13 we
propose some general methods (group graded
-algebras, fraction algebras, com-
patible pairs) and apply them to the Weyl algebra and to enveloping algebras.
Chapter 14 provides a brief introduction to
-representations on rigged modules
and Hilbert C
-modules. This is a new subject of theoretical importance. A rigged
space is a right or left module equipped with an algebra-valued sesquilinear map-
ping which is compatible with the module action. First we explore
-representations
of
-algebras on rigged modules purely algebraically. If the riggings are positive
semi-definite (in particular, in the case of Hilbert C
-modules), induced represen-
tations on “ordinary” Hilbert spaces can be defined and imprimitivity bimodules
yield equivalences between
-representations of the corresponding
-algebras.

Guide to Instructors and Readers

Various courses and advanced seminars can be built on this book. All of them
should probably start with some basics on
-algebras (Sects. 2.1 and 2.2), positive
functionals and states (Sect. 2.4), and
-representations (Sect. 4.1).
One possibility is a graduate course on unbounded representation theory. The
basics should be followed with important notions and tools such as irreducibility
(Sect. 4.3), GNS representations (Sect. 4.4), and bounded commutants (Sects. 3.2
and 5.1). Then there are many ways to continue. One way is to treat representations
of special classes of
-algebras such as tensor algebras (Chap. 6), commutative
algebras (Chap. 7), or the Weyl algebra (Chap. 8). One may also continue with a
detailed study of states (with material taken from Chap. 5) or by developing general
methods such as induced representations (Chap. 12), operator relations (Chap. 11),
and fraction algebras (Sects. 13.2 and 13.3).
Another possible course for graduate students of mathematics and theoretical
physics is on representations of the canonical commutation relation and the Weyl
algebra. Such a course could be based entirely on Chap. 8. Here, after considering
some basics and algebraic properties of the Weyl algebra, the Bargmann–Fock and
Preface and Overview xi

Schrödinger representations, the Fock space, the Bargmann–Segal transform, the

Stone–von Neumann uniqueness theorem should be developed and continued until
the sections on the Heisenberg uncertainty principle and the Groenewald–von Hove
“no-go” theorem.
Chapter 9, which treats integrable representations of enveloping algebras, could
be used in general or advanced courses or as a reference for researchers. Material
from this chapter, for example, the “elementary” parts from Sect. 9.2 on
infinitesimal representations, C1 -vectors and Garding domains, can be integrated
into any general course on infinite-dimensional unitary representation theory of Lie
groups. More complex material such as elliptic elements or analytic vectors (see
e.g. Sects. 9.4 and 9.6) would suit an advanced course. Because Chap. 9 contains a
number of strong results on infinitesimal representations, their domains, and
commutation properties, it might be also useful as a reference for researchers.
Apart from basic concepts and facts, most chapters are more or less
self-contained and could be studied independently of each other. Special topics can
be easily included into courses, treated in seminars or read on their own. Examples
are the noncommutative Positivstellensätze (Chap. 10) or operator relations and
dynamical systems (Chap. 11).
Each chapter is followed by a number of exercises. They vary in difficulty and
serve for different purposes. Most of them are examples or counter-examples
illustrating the theory. Some are slight variations of results stated in the text, while
others contain additional new results or facts that are of interest in themselves.

Prerequisites

The main prerequisite for this book is a good working knowledge of unbounded
Hilbert space operators such as adjoint operators, symmetric operators, self-adjoint
operators, and the spectral theorem. The corresponding chapters of the author’s
Graduate Text [Sch12] contain more material than really needed. The reader should
be also familiar with elementary techniques of algebra, analysis, and bounded
operator algebras. Chapter 9 assumes a familiarity with the theory of Lie groups and
Lie algebras. In three appendices, we have collected some basics on unbounded
operators, C
-algebras and their representations, and locally convex spaces and
separation of convex sets. In addition, we have often restated facts and notions at
the places where they are most relevant.
For parts of the book or for single results, additional facts from other mathe-
matical fields are required, which emphasize the interplay with these fields. There
we have given links to the corresponding literature. In most cases these results are
not needed elsewhere in the book, so the unfamiliar reader may skip these places.

Leipzig, Germany Konrad Schmüdgen

March 2020
xii Preface and Overview

Acknowledgements I am grateful to Prof. J. Cimprič and Prof. V. L. Ostrovskyi for careful

reading of some chapters and for many useful comments. Also, I would like to thank Dr. R. Lodh
from Springer-Verlag for his indispensable help getting this book published.
Contents

1 Prologue: The Algebraic Approach to Quantum

Theories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2
-Algebras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.1
-Algebras: Definitions and Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.2 Constructions with
-Algebras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.3 Quadratic Modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.4 Positive Functionals and States on Complex
-Algebras . . . . . 20
2.5 Positive Functionals on Real
-Algebras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2.6 Characters of Unital Algebras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.7 Hermitian Characters of Unital
-Algebras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2.8 Hermitian and Symmetric
-Algebras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
2.9 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
2.10 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3 O
-Algebras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3.1 O
-Algebras and Their Graph Topologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3.2 Bounded Commutants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
3.3 Trace Functionals on O
-Algebras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
3.4 The Mittag-Leffler Lemma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
3.5 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
3.6 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
4
-Representations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ............. 59
4.1 Basic Concepts on
-Representations . . . . . . ............. 59
4.2 Domains of Representations in Terms of
Generators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ............. 67
4.3 Invariant Subspaces and Reducing Subspaces ............. 73

xiii
xiv Contents

4.4 The GNS Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

4.5 Examples of GNS Representations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
4.6 Positive Semi-definite Functions on Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
4.7 Pathologies with Unbounded Representations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
4.8 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
4.9 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
5 Positive Linear Functionals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......... 93
5.1 Ordering of Positive Functionals . . . . . . . . . . . . .......... 93
5.2 Orthogonal Positive Functionals . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......... 97
5.3 The Transition Probability of Positive
Functionals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......... 99
5.4 Examples of Transition Probabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
5.5 A Radon–Nikodym Theorem for Positive
Functionals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
5.6 Extremal Decomposition of Positive Functionals . . . . . . . . . . . 113
5.7 Quadratic Modules and
-Representations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
5.8 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
5.9 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
6 Representations of Tensor Algebras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
6.1 Tensor Algebras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
6.2 Positive Functionals on Tensor Algebras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
6.3 Operations with Positive Functionals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
6.4 Representations of Free Field Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
6.5 Topological Tensor Algebras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
6.6 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
6.7 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
7 Integrable Representations of Commutative
-Algebras . . . . . . . . . 137
7.1 Some Auxiliary Operator-Theoretic Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
7.2 “Bad” Representations of the Polynomial Algebra C½x1 ; x2  . . . 139
7.3 Integrable Representations of Commutative
-Algebras . . . . . . 142
7.4 Spectral Measures of Integrable Representations . . . . . . . . . . . 148
7.5 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
7.6 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
8 The Weyl Algebra and the Canonical Commutation Relation . . . . . 153
8.1 The Weyl Algebra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
8.2 The Operator Equation AA
¼ A
A þ I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
8.3 The Bargmann–Fock Representation of the Weyl
Algebra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
8.4 The Schrödinger Representation of the Weyl
Algebra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Contents xv

8.5 The Stone–von Neumann Theorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

8.6 A Resolvent Approach to Schrödinger Pairs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
8.7 The Uncertainty Principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
8.8 The Groenewold–van Hove Theorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
8.9 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
8.10 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
9 Integrable Representations of Enveloping Algebras . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
9.1 Preliminaries on Lie Groups and Enveloping Algebras . . . . . . 188
9.2 Infinitesimal Representations of Unitary Representations . . . . . 189
9.3 The Graph Topology of the Infinitesimal Representation . . . . . 196
9.4 Elliptic Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
9.4.1 Preliminaries on Elliptic Operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
9.4.2 Main Results on Elliptic Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
9.4.3 Applications of Elliptic Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
9.5 Two Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
9.6 Analytic Vectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
9.6.1 Analytic Vectors for Single Operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
9.6.2 Analytic Vectors for Unitary Representations . . . . . . . . 215
9.6.3 Exponentiation of Representations of Enveloping
Algebras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
9.7 Analytic Vectors and Unitary Representations of SLð2; RÞ . . . . 217
9.8 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
9.9 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
10 Archimedean Quadratic Modules and Positivstellensätze . . . . . . . . 225
10.1 Archimedean Quadratic Modules and Bounded Elements . . . . 225
10.2 Representations of
-Algebras with Archimedean
Quadratic Modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
. .
10.3 Stellensätze for Archimedean Quadratic Modules . . . . . . . . 233
. .
10.4 Application to Matrix Algebras of Polynomials . . . . . . . . . . 235
. .
10.5 A Bounded
-Algebra Related to the Weyl Algebra . . . . . . 237
. .
10.6 A Positivstellensatz for the Weyl Algebra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
. .
P 2
10.7 A Theorem About the Closedness of the Cone A ... . . . . 244
10.8 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
10.9 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
11 The Operator Relation XX
¼ FðX
XÞ . . . .......... . . . . . . . . . 251
11.1 A Prelude: Power Partial Isometries . .......... . . . . . . . . . 252
11.2 The Operator Relation AB ¼ BFðAÞ . .......... . . . . . . . . . 254
11.3 Strong Solutions of the Relation XX
¼ FðX
XÞ . . . . . . . . . . . 258
xvi Contents

11.4 Finite-Dimensional Representations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

11.5 Infinite-Dimensional Representations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
11.6 The Hermitian Quantum Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
11.7 The q-Oscillator Algebra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
11.8 The Real Quantum Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
11.9 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
11.10 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
12 Induced
-Representations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
12.1 Conditional Expectations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
12.2 Induced
-Representations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
12.3 Induced Representations of Group Graded
-Algebras
from Hermitian Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
12.4 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
12.5 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
13 Well-Behaved Representations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
13.1 Well-Behaved Representations of Some Group
Graded
-Algebras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
13.2 Representations Associated with
-Algebras of Fractions . . . . . 304
13.3 Application to the Weyl Algebra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
13.4 Compatible Pairs of
-Algebras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
13.5 Application to Enveloping Algebras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
13.6 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
13.7 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
14 Representations on Rigged Spaces and Hilbert C
-Modules . . . . . . 319
14.1 Rigged Spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
14.2 Weak Imprimitivity Bimodules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
14.3 Positive Semi-definite Riggings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
14.4 Imprimitivity Bimodules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
14.5 Hilbert C
-modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
14.6 Representations on Hilbert C
-modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
14.7 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
14.8 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344

Appendix A: Unbounded Operators on Hilbert Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347

Appendix B: C*-Algebras and Representations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353
Appendix C: Locally Convex Spaces and Separation
of Convex Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
Symbol Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
General Notation

Throughout the book, we use the following notational conventions:

The involution of an abstract
-algebra is denoted by a 7! a þ .
The symbol a
is only used for the adjoint of a Hilbert space operator a.
The symbol K denotes either the real field R or the complex field C.
All algebras or vector spaces are either over R or C.
All inner products of complex inner product spaces or Hilbert spaces are linear
in the first and conjugate linear in the second variables.
Unless stated explicitly otherwise, all inner products and Hilbert spaces are over
the complex field.
We denote
– abstract
-algebras by sanserif letters such as A, B, F, M, W, X,
– unit elements of a unital K-algebras by 1 and write a  1 by a for a 2 K,
– O
-algebras by script letters such as A, B,
– Hilbert spaces by H, H0 , G, K,
– inner products by angle brackets h; i, h; i1
– dense domains or inner product spaces by D, DðTÞ,
– representations by …, …f , q,
– Hilbert space vectors by u, w, g, n.

N0 Set of nonnegative integers,

N Set of positive integers,
Z Set of integers,
R Set of real numbers,
Rþ Set of nonnegative real numbers,
C Set of complex numbers,
T Set of complex numbers of modulus one.
Cd ½x :¼ C½x1 ; . . .; xd , Rd ½x :¼ R½x1 ; . . .; xd .

xvii
xviii General Notation

For a Hilbert space H, we denote by

– BðHÞ the bounded operators on H,
– B1 ðHÞ the trace class operators on H,
– Tr t the trace of a trace class operator t,
– B1 ðHÞ þ the positive trace class operators on H,
– B2 ðHÞ the Hilbert-Schmidt operators on H.
For a
-algebra A we denote by
– A1 the unitization of A,
– Aher the hermitian part of A,
– P(A)* the positive linear functionals on A,
– P e (A)* the extendable positive linear functionals on A,
– S(A) the states of A,
– ^ the hermitian characters of A, if A is commutative and unital,
A
– 1 its unit element, if A is unital.

Cc ðX Þ Compactly supported continuous functions on a topological space X .

C0 ðX Þ Continuous functions on a locally compact space X that vanish at infinity.
L2 ðMÞ L2 -space with respect to the Lebesgue measure if M is a Borel set of Rd .
R
F Fourier transform F ðf ÞðxÞ ¼ ð2…Þd=2 Rd eiðx;yÞ f ðyÞdy.
Chapter 1
Prologue: The Algebraic Approach
to Quantum Theories

Let us begin by recalling some well-known concepts from quantum mechanics.

For details, the reader can consult one of the standard textbooks such as [SN17] or
[Ha13].
The mathematical formulation of quantum mechanics is based on a complex
Hilbert space H, which is called the state space. The two fundamental objects of a
quantum theory, observables and states, are described by the following postulates.
(QM1) Each observable is a self-adjoint operator on the Hilbert space H.
(QM2) Each pure state is given by the unit ray [ϕ] := {λϕ : λ ∈ T} of a unit vector
ϕ ∈ H.
In general, not all self-adjoint operators on H are physical observables and not all
unit vectors of H correspond to physical states. In the subsequent informal discussion
we will ignore this distinction and consider all unit rays as states and all bounded
self-adjoint operators on H as observables.
That each observable A is a self-adjoint operator by axiom (QM1) has impor-
tant consequences. Then the spectral theorem applies, and there exists a unique
projection-valued measure E A (·), called the spectral measure of A, on the Borel
σ-algebra of R such that

A= λ d E A (λ).
R

This spectral measure E A is a fundamental mathematical object in operator theory

and in quantum mechanics as well. All properties of the self-adjoint operator and
the observable A are encoded in E A . First we note that the support of the spectral
measure E A coincides with the spectrum of the operator A.

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license 1
to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
K. Schmüdgen, An Invitation to Unbounded Representations of *-Algebras
on Hilbert Space, Graduate Texts in Mathematics 285,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46366-3_1
2 1 Prologue: The Algebraic Approach to Quantum Theories

The probabilistic interpretation of quantum mechanics and the measurement the-

ory of observables are essentially based on spectral measures. To explain this, we
consider a unit vector ϕ ∈ H. It is clear that

μ[ϕ] (·) := E A (·)ϕ, ϕ

defines a probability measure μ[ϕ] on R which depends only on the unit ray [ϕ]. The
probabilistic interpretation says that μ[ϕ] (M) is the probability that the measurement
outcome of the observable A in the state [ϕ] lies in the Borel set M of R. Two
observables A1 and A2 are simultaneously measurable if and only if their spectral
measures E A1 and E A2 commute.
Now let ϕ be a unit vector of the domain of A. Then the number
 
Aϕ, ϕ = λ dμ[ϕ] (λ) = λ dE A (λ)ϕ, ϕ
R R

is interpreted as the expectation value and (Δ[ϕ] A)2 := Aϕ2 − Aϕ, ϕ2 as the
variance of the observable A in the state [ϕ]. Finally, the spectral
 measure allows
one to define a function F(A) of an observable A by F(A) = F(λ)d E A (λ) for
any Borel function F on the spectrum of A.
Let [ϕ] and [ψ] be states of H. Then the number

P([ϕ], [ψ]) := |ϕ, ψ|2

depends only on the unit rays, and it is called the transition probability between the
states [ϕ] and [ψ].
A symmetry of the quantum system is a bijection of the set of states [ϕ] which
preserves the transition probabilities between states. By Wigner’s theorem (see, e.g.,
[Em72]), each symmetry θ is implemented by a unitary or an antiunitary operator
U of the Hilbert space H, that is, θ([ϕ]) = U [ϕ]U −1 for all states [ϕ]. (An anti-
unitary operator is an operator U on H such that U (αϕ + βψ) = α U ϕ + β U ψ and
U ϕ, U ψ = ϕ, ψ for ϕ, ψ ∈ H and α, β ∈ C.)
Let U be a unitary or an antiunitary operator on H. If A is an observable, then
the operator θ(A) := U AU −1 is self-adjoint and hence an observable. For arbitrary
A ∈ B(H), we set θ0 (A) = U AU −1 if U is unitary and θ1 (A) = U A∗ U −1 if U is
antiunitary. For self-adjoint operators A, both θ0 (A) and θ1 (A) coincide with θ(A).
Then, θ0 is a ∗-automorphism and θ1 is a ∗-antiautomorphism of the C ∗ -algebra
B(H) of bounded operators on H.
There are also mixed states and states given by density matrices. Assume for a
moment that the observables are bounded operators. Then each positive trace class
operator t on H of trace one defines also a state. The corresponding probability
measure is μt (·) := Tr t E A (·), and the expectation value is Tr t A.
That was the classic approach to quantum mechanics. Let us explain now the
algebraic approach, in which the main objects of study of this book appear.
1 Prologue: The Algebraic Approach to Quantum Theories 3

Here the observable algebra is the central object of the theory. This is an abstract
complex unital algebra A equipped with an algebra involution a → a + , that is, A is
a complex unital ∗-algebra. The key postulates in this approach are the following:
(A1) Each observable is a hermitian element a = a + of the ∗-algebra A.
(A2) Each state is a linear functional f on A such that f (a + a) ≥ 0 for a ∈ A and
f (1) = 1.
If f is a state and a is an observable of A, then the real number f (a) is considered
as the expectation value and the nonnegative number Δ f (a)2 := f (a 2 ) − f (a)2 as
the variance of a in the state f .
Let us motivate this definition of a state. Elements of the form a + a are always
hermitian, and they should be positive, because Hilbert space operators of the form
A∗ A are positive. Then the condition f (a + a) ≥ 0 says that the expectation value of
the “positive” observable a + a is nonnegative. A functional f with this property is
called positive. The requirement f (1) = 1 is a normalization condition for the trivial
observable 1 ∈ A.
Since A is a ∗-algebra, one can form algebraic operations (linear combinations,
products, adjoints) of elements of A. It is easily verified that the product of two
hermitian elements is hermitian if and only if the elements commute. Hence the
product of two observables can be only an observable if they commute in the
algebra A.
To remedy this failure it is convenient to consider the Jordan product

1
a ◦ b := (ab + ba)
2

of elements a, b ∈ A. Obviously, if the elements a and b are hermitian, so is a ◦ b.

Clearly, a ◦ b = 21 ((a + b)2 − a 2 − b2 ). Therefore, if we agree that real linear com-
binations and squares of observables are also observables, then the Jordan product
a ◦ b of observables a, b ∈ A is again an observable. Note that the Jordan product
“◦” is distributive and commutative, but it is not associative in general.
Before we continue our discussion we introduce a few more mathematical notions.
Let θ be a linear map of A into another ∗-algebra B such that θ(a + ) = θ(a)+ for
a ∈ A. Then θ is called a ∗-antihomomorphism if θ(ab) = θ(b)θ(a) for a, b ∈ A
and a Jordan homomorphism if θ(a ◦ b) = θ(a) ◦ θ(b) for a, b ∈ A. In this case, if
A = B and θ is bijective, then θ is said to be a ∗-antiautomorphism and a Jordan auto-
morphism of A, respectively. Clearly, ∗-homomorphisms and ∗-antihomomorphisms
are Jordan homomorphisms.
Roughly speaking, a symmetry of a physical system should be a bijection that
preserves the main structures of the system. In the case of pure states on a Hilbert
space, the transition probability of states was chosen as the relevant concept. In
the algebraic approach, it is natural to require that symmetries preserve the Jordan
product. Thus, we define a symmetry to be a Jordan automorphism of the ∗-algebra
A. Then any symmetry θ preserves observables, and the map f → f ◦ θ preserves
4 1 Prologue: The Algebraic Approach to Quantum Theories

states. Various symmetry concepts for C ∗ -algebras are treated and discussed in [Ln17,
Chap. 5], [Em72, Sect. 2.2.a], [Mo13, Sect. 12.1], and [K65].
In particular, ∗-automorphisms and ∗-antiautomorphisms of A are symmetries.
We say that a group G acts as a symmetry group on the observable algebra A if we
have a homomorphism g → θg of G into the group of ∗-automorphisms of A.
We collect the main concepts introduced so far in the following table:

Quantum mechanics Algebraic approach

State Hilbert space H Observable algebra A
Observable Self-adjoint operator on H Hermitian element of A
State Unit ray [ϕ] of ϕ ∈ H, ϕ = 1 Positive functional f with f (1) = 1
Symmetry Unitary or antiunitary operator on H Jordan automorphism of A

It should be emphasized that for the study of quantum theories usually specific
sets of further axioms and topics are added. Important examples are the Gårding–
Wightman axioms and the Haag–Kastler axioms in algebraic quantum field theory
[Hg55] and the KMS states in quantum statistical mechanics [BR97].
Next we discuss the role of representations of the observable algebra. To avoid
technical difficulties, let us assume throughout the following discussion that the
observable algebra A is a unital C ∗ -algebra. Recall that a ∗-representation of A is
a ∗-homomorphism ρ of A into the ∗-algebra B(H) of bounded operators of some
Hilbert space H. Then the image of each abstract observable a ∈ A is a bounded
self-adjoint operator ρ(a), hence an observable on the Hilbert space H, and each unit
vector ϕ ∈ H defines a state f ρ,ϕ (·) := ρ(·)ϕ, ϕ on A. These states f ρ,ϕ are called
the vector states of the representation ρ. Conversely, if f is a state on A, then the
GNS construction provides a ∗-representation ρ f of A on a Hilbert space H such
that f (·) = ρ f (·)ϕ f , ϕ f  for some unit vector ϕ f ∈ H. Thus, the abstract state f
on A gives a concrete state [ϕ f ] on the Hilbert space H.
Further, two ∗-representations of A are physically equivalent if and only if each
vector state of one is a weak limit of convex combinations of vector states of the
other, or equivalently, if the kernels of both representations coincide [Em72, The-
orem II.1.7]. It is obvious that unitarily equivalent representations are physically
equivalent, but the converse is not true.
Let us turn to symmetries. Suppose ρ is a ∗-representation of A on a Hilbert space
H. A ∗-automorphism θ of A is called unitarily implemented in the representation ρ
if there exists a unitary operator U on H such that ρ(θ(a)) = U ρ(a)U −1 for a ∈ A.
Likewise, an action g → θg of a group G on A is said to be unitarily implemented
in the representation ρ if there is a homomorphism g → U (g) of G into the group
of unitaries on H, called then a unitary representation of G on H, such that

ρ(θg (a)) = U (g)ρ(a)U (g −1 ) for a ∈ A, g ∈ G. (1.1)

It can be shown that (1.1) holds, for instance, for the GNS representation associated
with any state which is invariant under θg . In important cases, G is a Lie group; then
appropriate continuity assumptions on θg and U (g) have to be added.
1 Prologue: The Algebraic Approach to Quantum Theories 5

According to a result of Kadison [K65], [BR97, Proposition 3.2.2], any Jordan

homomorphism into B(H) can be decomposed into a sum of a ∗-homomorphism and
a ∗-antihomomorphism. More precisely, if ρ : A → B is a Jordan homomorphism of
A on a C ∗ -subalgebra B of B(H), then there is a projection P ∈ B ∩ B such that
a → ρ(a)P is a ∗-homomorphism and a → ρ(a)(I − P) is a ∗-antihomomorphism
of A into B(H). Here B and B denote the commutant and bicommutant of B,
respectively. In particular, if the von Neumann algebra B is a factor, then P = 0 or
P = I , so ρ is a ∗-homomorphism or a ∗-antihomomorphism.
Any ∗-representation ρ of the observable algebra allows one to pass from the fixed
abstract observable algebra A to the observable algebra ρ(A) of operators acting on
a Hilbert space. There the power of operator theory on Hilbert spaces can be used
to study the quantum system. The flexibility of choosing the ∗-representation has a
number of advantages. First, various realizations of unitarily equivalent representa-
tions may provide new methods and structural insight. For instance, the Schrödinger
representation and the Bargmann–Fock representation of the Weyl algebra are unitar-
ily equivalent, but their realizations on L 2 (Rd ) and on the Fock space, respectively,
lead to different approaches for the study of the canonical commutation relations.
Second, unitarily or physically inequivalent realizations of quantum systems can be
treated by means of the same abstract observable algebra. Here the canonical commu-
tation relations for infinitely many degrees of freedom form an interesting example.
There exist unitarily inequivalent irreducible representations which are physically
equivalent [BR97, Em72]. Third, let g → θg be an action of a Lie group G as ∗-
automorphisms of A. In “good” cases there exists a ∗-representation ρ of A such that
this action is implemented by a unitary representation g → U (g) of G, as in formula
(1.1). Then the representation theory of Lie groups on Hilbert space can be used to
study the ∗-automorphism group.
The preceding was a brief sketch of some basic general concepts and ideas of
quantum mechanics and the algebraic approach to quantum theories.
In the case of general ∗-algebras a number of additional technical problems appear
in the study of ∗-representations and states. For instance, it may happen that the image
of a hermitian element under a ∗-representation has no self-adjoint extension, so it
cannot be considered as an observable on the representation Hilbert space. An aim
of this book is to lay down a rigorous mathematical foundation of the theory of
representations and states of general ∗-algebras.
The pioneering work for the algebraic approach goes back to Neumann [vN32], Segal [Se47a],
and others. Modern treatments of this approach and various sets of axioms can be found in the
books of Emch [Em72], Moretti [Mo13] and Landsman [Ln17]; see also [K65]. Standard references
are [Hg92, Ak09] for algebraic quantum field theory and [BR87, BR97] for quantum statistical
mechanics.
Chapter 2
∗-Algebras

The aim of this chapter is to develop algebraic properties and structures of ∗-algebras
and of positive functionals and states. Also, we introduce a number of basic concepts,
notations, and facts that will be used later in this book.
Section 2.1 contains basic definitions and examples of ∗-algebras. In Sect. 2.2,
we treat some general constructions of ∗-algebras (tensor products, matrix algebras,
crossed products, group graded algebras). Positivity in ∗-algebras is expressed in
terms of quadratic modules; they are introduced in Sect. 2.3 and studied later in
Sect. 5.7 and Chap. 10.
Sections 2.4–2.8 deal with positive linear functionals. In Sect. 2.4, we develop
basic facts on positive functionals and states on complex ∗-algebras. Positive func-
tionals on real ∗-algebras are briefly considered in Sect. 2.5. In Sect. 2.6 we study
characters of general algebras and prove the Gleason–Kahane–Zelazko characteri-
zation of characters (Theorem 2.56). Section 2.7 is about hermitian characters and
pure states of commutative ∗-algebras (Theorem 2.63). In Sect. 2.8, we give a short
digression into hermitian and symmetric ∗-algebras.
Throughout this chapter, A is an algebra over the field K, where K is R or C.

2.1 ∗-Algebras: Definitions and Examples

The following definitions introduce the first main notions which this book is about.

Definition 2.1 An algebra over K is a vector space A over K, equipped with a

mapping (a, b) → ab of A × A into A, such that for a, b, c ∈ A and α ∈ K:

a(bc) = (ab)c, (αa)b = α(ab) = a(αb), a(b + c) = ab + ac, (b + c)a = ba + ca.

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license 7
to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
K. Schmüdgen, An Invitation to Unbounded Representations of *-Algebras
on Hilbert Space, Graduate Texts in Mathematics 285,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46366-3_2
8 2 ∗-Algebras

The element ab is called the product of a and b; we also write a · b for ab.
An algebra A is called unital if it has a unit element 1 ∈ A, that is, 1a = a1 = a
for all a ∈ A. An algebra A is commutative if ab = ba for a, b ∈ A.
Definition 2.2 An algebra involution, briefly an involution, of an algebra A over K
is a mapping a → a + from A into A such that for a, b ∈ A and α, β ∈ K:

(αa + βb)+ = α a + + β b+ , (ab)+ = b+ a + , (a + )+ = a. (2.1)

An algebra (over K) equipped with an involution is called a ∗-algebra (over K).

Example 2.3 Let d ∈ N. The polynomial algebra Kd [x] := K[x1 , . . . , xd ] is a unital
∗-algebra with involution defined by
 
f + (x) := a α x α for f (x) = aα x α ∈ Kd [x],
α α

where we set x α := x1α1 · · · xdαd for α = (α1 , . . . , αd ) ∈ Nd0 and x 0j := 1. Note that
the involution on Rd [x] is just the identity mapping. 
Let A be a ∗-algebra over K. It is easily verified that if A has a unit element 1 and
a ∈ A is invertible in A, then 1+ = 1 and (a −1 )+ = (a + )−1 .
Definition 2.4 An element a ∈ A is called hermitian if a = a + and skew-hermitian
if a + = −a.
The hermitian part Aher and the skew-hermitian part Asher of A are

Aher := {a ∈ A : a + = a}, Asher := {a ∈ A : a + = −a}. (2.2)

Clearly, both parts are real vector spaces, Aher is invariant under the Jordan product
a ◦ b := 21 (ab + ba), and Asher is invariant under the commutator [a, b] := ab − ba.
Further, A = Aher + Asher and each a ∈ A can be uniquely written as

a = ah + ash , where ah ∈ Aher , ash ∈ Asher . (2.3)

Indeed, for ah := 21 (a + + a) and ash := 21 (a − a + ) we have (2.3). Conversely, if

ãh ∈ Aher and ãsh ∈ Asher satisfy a = ãh + ãsh , then a + = ãh − ãsh and hence ãh = ah
and ãsh = ash .
Now suppose K = C. Then, obviously, Asher = i Aher , so that A = Aher + iAher .
Therefore, by (2.3), each element a ∈ A can be uniquely represented in the form

a = a1 + ia2 , where a1 , a2 ∈ Aher , (2.4)

and we have a1 = Re a := 21 (a + + a) and a2 = Im a := 2i (a + − a).

If A is a commutative real algebra, the identity map is obviously an involution.
There exist algebras A which admit no algebra involution and others which have
infinitely many involutions making A into a ∗-algebra; see, e.g., [CV59].
2.1 ∗-Algebras: Definitions and Examples 9

Example 2.5 (An algebra which has no involution)

Let A be the K-algebra of 2 × 2 matrices (akl )2k,l=1 , with akl ∈ K, a21 = a22 = 0.
Clearly, the algebra A is isomorphic to the vector space K2 with multiplication

(x1 , x2 )(y1 , y2 ) = (x1 y1 , x1 y2 ). (2.5)

The algebra A has no involution such that A becomes a ∗-algebra.

Indeed, assume to the contrary that a → a + is an algebra involution of A. Set
x := (1, 0) and y := (0, 1). We have x 2 = x, y 2 = 0, x y = y, yx = 0 by (2.5).
Then (x + )2 = x + and (y + )2 = 0. By (2.5), these equations imply x + = (1, x2 ) and
y + = (0, y2 ). Then 0 = (yx)+ = x + y + = (1, x2 )(0, y2 ) = (0, y2 ) = y + and hence
0 = (y + )+ = y, a contradiction. 
We develop different involutions in Example 2.15 below using the next lemma.
Lemma 2.6 Suppose A is an algebra. If ϕ : a → a + is an algebra involution and
θ is an algebra automorphism of A such that

(θ ◦ ϕ) ◦ (θ ◦ ϕ) = Id, that is, θ(θ(a + )+ ) = a for a ∈ A, (2.6)

then ψ := θ ◦ ϕ is also an algebra involution of A.

Conversely, if ϕ and ψ are algebra involutions of A, then θ := ψ ◦ ϕ is an auto-
morphism of the algebra A such that ψ = θ ◦ ϕ and condition (2.6) holds.
The proof of this lemma is given by simple algebraic manipulations based on
(2.1). Equation (2.6) is equivalent to the last condition in (2.1). We omit the details;
see Exercise 1.
Next let us introduce some standard notions.
A map θ of a ∗-algebra A into another ∗-algebra B is called a ∗-homomorphism if θ
is an algebra homomorphism such that θ(a + ) = θ(a)+ for a ∈ A. A ∗-isomorphism
is a bijective ∗-homomorphism of A and B; in this case, A and B are said to be
∗-isomorphic. A ∗-automorphism of A is a ∗-isomorphism of A on itself. A ∗-ideal
of A is a two-sided ideal of A which is invariant under the involution.
Next we consider two useful general constructions.
Unitization of a ∗-algebra
For many considerations it is necessary that the ∗-algebra possesses a unit element.
If a ∗-algebra has no unit, it can be embedded into a unital ∗-algebra by adjoining a
unit. Let A be a ∗-algebra. It is easy to check that the K-vector space B := A ⊕ K is
a unital ∗-algebra with multiplication and involution defined by

(a, α)(b, β) := (ab + αb + βa, αβ) and (a, α)+ := (a + , α) (2.7)

for a, b ∈ A and α, β ∈ K. Obviously, 1 := (0, 1) is the unit element of B. By iden-

tifying a and (a, 0), the ∗-algebra A becomes a ∗-subalgebra of B. For notational
simplicity we write a + α instead of (a, α). Note that if A has a unit element, this
element is no longer a unit element of the larger ∗-algebra B.
10 2 ∗-Algebras

If A is not unital, we denote the unital ∗-algebra B = A ⊕ K by A1 . If A is unital,

we set A1 := A.
Definition 2.7 The unital ∗-algebra A1 is called the unitization of the ∗-algebra A.
For real ∗-algebras we may have Lin Aher = A, as the following example shows.
Example 2.8 On the vector space A := R we define a product by x · y := 0 and an
involution by x + := −x . Then A is a real ∗-algebra and Aher = {0} = A. For the
unitization A1 we have (A1 )her = {(0, α) : α ∈ R} by (2.7). Hence the linear span of
(A1 )her is different from A1 . 
Complexification of a real ∗-algebra

Suppose A is a real ∗-algebra. Let AC be the Cartesian product A × A. It is not

difficult to verify that AC becomes a complex ∗-algebra with addition, multiplication
by complex scalars, multiplication, and involution defined by

(a, b) + (c, d) = (a + c, b + d), (α + iβ)(a, b) = (αa − βb, αb + βa),

(a, b)(c, d) = (ac − bd, bc + ad), (a, b)+ := (a + , −b+ ),

where a, b, c, d ∈ A and α, β ∈ R. The map a → (a, 0) is a ∗-isomorphism of A on

a real ∗-subalgebra of AC . We identify a ∈ A with (a, 0) ∈ AC . Then A becomes a
real ∗-subalgebra of AC , and we have (a, b) = a + ib for a, b ∈ A.
Definition 2.9 The complex ∗-algebra AC is called the complexification of the real
∗-algebra A.
We define θ(a + ib) = a − ib for a, b ∈ A. Then we have

θ(α a + β b) = α θ(a) + β θ(b), θ(x + ) = θ(x)+ , (2.8)

θ(x y) = θ(x)θ(y), (θ ◦ θ)(x) = x (2.9)

for α, β ∈ C, a, b ∈ A, x, y ∈ AC , and A = {x ∈ AC : θ(x) = x}. Conversely, if B

is a complex ∗-algebra and θ : B → B is a map satisfying (2.8) and (2.9), then
A := {x ∈ B : θ(x) = x} is a real ∗-algebra and B is the complexification of A.
Now let A be a commutative real algebra. Then A is a real ∗-algebra with the
identity map as involution and we have (a + ib)+ = a − ib in AC , where a, b ∈ A.
Hence A is the hermitian part (AC )her of its complexification AC . For instance, if
A = R[x1 , . . . , xd ], we obtain AC = C[x1 , . . . , xd ].
Now we turn to examples of ∗-algebras. Large classes of examples of ∗-algebras
are defined by means of generators and defining relations.
1. ∗-Algebras defined by relations
Let K x1 , . . . , xm denote the free unital K-algebra with generators x1 , . . . , xm . The
elements of this algebra can be considered as noncommutative polynomials f in
x1 , . . . , xm ; for instance, f (x1 , x2 ) = 5x1 x27 x13 − 3x1 x2 + x2 x1 + 1.
2.1 ∗-Algebras: Definitions and Examples 11

Let n + k ∈ N, where k, n ∈ N0 . The algebra K x1 , . . . , xn , y1 , . . . , y2k has an

involution determined by (x j )+ = x j for j = 1, . . . , n and (yl )+ = yl+k for l =
1, . . . , k; the corresponding ∗-algebra is denoted by

K x1 , . . . , xn , y1 , . . . , y2k | (x j )+ = x j , j = 1, . . . , n; (yl )+ = yl+k , l = 1, . . . , k .

(2.10)

(If n = 0 or k = 0, we interpret (2.10) by omitting the corresponding variables.)

Now let f 1 , g1 . . . , fr , gr be elements of the ∗-algebra (2.10) and let J be the
∗-ideal of this ∗-algebra generated by the elements f 1 − g1 , . . . , fr − gr . We write

K x1 , . . . , xn , y1 , . . . , y2k | (x j )+ = x j , j = 1, . . . , n; (yl )+ = yl+k , l = 1, . . . , k;

f 1 = g1 , . . . , fr = gr (2.11)

for the quotient ∗-algebra of (2.10) by the ∗-ideal J. Thus, (2.11) is the unital ∗-algebra
with generators (x1 )+ = x1 , . . . , (xn )+ = xn , (y1 )+ = yk+1 , . . . , (yk )+ = y2k and
defining relations f 1 = g1 , . . . , fr = gr .

Example 2.10 (Weyl algebra W(d))

For d ∈ N, the d-dimensional Weyl algebra W(d) is the complex unital ∗-algebra

W(d) := C p1 , . . . , pd , q1 , . . . , qd | ( pk )+ = pk , (qk )+ = qk , pk qk − qk pk = −i;

p j pl = pl p j , q j ql = ql q j , p j ql = ql p j , k, j, l = 1, . . . , d, j = l ,

where i is the complex unit. The one-dimensional Weyl algebra or CCR-algebra is

W := C p, q | p + = p, q + = q, pq − qp = −i . (2.12)

For elements p, q of a complex unital algebra, a := √1 (q

2
+ i p),
+ + +
a := √1 (q
2
− i p) satisfy aa − a a = 1 if and only if pq − qp = −i. From this
fact it follows that the map √12 (q + i p) → a extends to a ∗-isomorphism of W on
the ∗-algebra C a, b | a + = b, ab − ba = 1 . We shall write this ∗-algebra as

C a, a + | aa + − a + a = 1 . (2.13)

Thus, (2.12) and (2.13) are ∗-isomorphic versions of the Weyl algebra; see Sect. 8.1.
Chapter 8 is devoted to the study of representations of the Weyl algebra. 

As angle brackets · denote free algebras, squared brackets [ · ] always refer

to commutative polynomial algebras. In particular, Cd [x] := C[x1 , . . . , xd ] and
Rd [x] := R[x1 , . . . , xd ] are commutative ∗-algebras of polynomials with involu-
tion (x j )+ = x j , j = 1, . . . , d. Commutative algebras with relations are defined
similarly as above and are self-explanatory. For instance, C[x, y | x + x + y + y = 1]
denotes the commutative ∗-algebra of polynomials in x, x + , y, y + satisfying the
equation x + x + y + y = 1 of the unit sphere in C2 .
Discovering Diverse Content Through
Random Scribd Documents
 Perception—Receiving impressions—Retaining impressions—Reproducing
impressions—Knowing—Forming simple ideas—Compound
ideas—Complex ideas—Mixed ideas and
complicated ideas—Conducting, transferring,
and reflexation—
Coördination.
Sight. Hearing. Touch-feeling. Smell. Taste.
Recognition
Comparing
Discernment
Attention
In common.
Retention
Succession
Identity
Diversity
Continuity
Contemplation
Distance Distance Distance
Color
Solidity Solidity Solidity
Figure Figure
Shape Shape Shape
long
Size thick Size
thin
Dimensions Dimensions
Softness Softness Softness
Hardness Hardness Hardness
Rough Roughness Roughness Roughness
Smooth Smoothness Smoothness Smoothness
Motion Motion Motion Motion
 Perception—Receiving impressions—Retaining impressions—Reproducing
impressions—Knowing—Forming simple ideas—Compound
ideas—Complex ideas—Mixed ideas and
complicated ideas—Conducting, transferring,
and reflexation—
Coördination.
Sight. Hearing. Touch-feeling. Smell. Taste.
Action Action Action Action
Dryness Dryness Dry Dryness
Moisture Moisture Moist Moisture
Fluidity Fluid Fluidity Fluidity
Vibration Vibration Vibration Vibration
Heat Heat Heat Heat
Cold Cold Cold Cold
Pain
Pleasure
Odor Odor
Expansion Expansion Expansion Expansion
Contraction Contraction Contraction Contraction
Resistance Resistance
Relation Relation Relation
Rest Rest Rest
Unrest Unrest
Sound
Appearance
Proportion Proportion Proportion Proportion

PRODUCE
Sensations
Emotions—Feelings—
Ideation—Thought—Understanding—
Reflection—Recollection—Deliberation—Induction—
 Perception—Receiving impressions—Retaining impressions—Reproducing
impressions—Knowing—Forming simple ideas—Compound
ideas—Complex ideas—Mixed ideas and
complicated ideas—Conducting, transferring,
and reflexation—
Coördination.
Sight. Hearing. Touch-feeling. Smell. Taste.
Memory—Imagination—Judgment—Intellect—Will Power—Mind:
The normal products of a healthy nervous system.
(The abnormal result from a deranged condition of the cerebro-spinal system.)

MORALS: WHENCE THEY SPRING.

To be moral means that the organs be properly and legitimately used, in

accordance with the law of nature:

STOMACH. SEXUAL ORGANS.

For nutrition of the body. For the propagation of the species.
Wants Normally Supplied.
Satisfaction Satisfaction
Contentment Contentment
LEAD TO Health and Happiness,
Comfort Comfort
Purity, Chastity, Love, Affection, Joy.
Pleasure Pleasure
Peace Peace
Abnormal Use of the Organs.
Starvation Passion
Hunger Lust
LEAD TO Vanity, Negligence,
Poverty Overindulgence
Indolence, Deception, Discontent,
Luxury Selfishness, Disease. Lasciviousness
Extravagance Vice
Drunkenness Whoredoms
Crime.
Sin.
 ————
Will Power Intellectually Used.
Industry, Integrity, Activity, Honor, Courage, Goodness, Charity,
Benevolence, Sympathy, Pity, Humanity.
————

Be wise, let the gods and church alone;

They’re false, contrary to nature’s plan.
Trespass not, there’s nothing to atone.
Be human, an upright man.
All their rites and creeds are full of flaws.
As nature’s products, we thrive and grow.
But we must be ruled by nature’s laws
If we’d happy be—ourselves must know.
Morals! are the laws we must obey.
Infringe them not, prayers cannot save.
Though blessed, we the penalty must pay.
Not to God, or church, or priest be slave!
CHAPTER XXX.
 THE NON CREDO.
Religion, supernaturalism, ecclesiastical control of human affairs, have
done more harm than the good they have ever effected. For several
thousand years they have been doing the worst of mischief—in spite of
their conceited belief to the contrary—to actual enlightenment, to the
advancement and prosperity of the masses, to the progress of nations
generally. They have been a persistent barrier to every step forward, and
have persecuted every idea that threatened in any way to interfere with their
organized system. The sacred or Hebraic nationality, steeped in barbarism,
washed in cruelty, and bathed in the blood of humanity, was succeeded by
another organized system, the Roman Catholic church, which was by no
means an improvement upon the Bible methods. They added savagery and
cruelty of a more refined character. They associated with it a tyranny and a
persecution that fairly blackens the pages of history. All was done, however,
for the sacred cause, with the cant, sanctimoniousness, greed, and
selfishness that only the church and its saintly priests could be capable of.
These self-styled divine organizations ever have been, and are even now,
inimical to the best social interests of humanity. Their own aggrandizement
was of greater importance to them than the welfare of the oppressed. They
are the real promoters of class distinction. They are the promulgators of
sectarian hate. They lessen the dignity of woman. They are the fomentors of
prejudice and superstition. They are the supporters and sustainers of the
opulent, the powerful, the wealthy and influential, to the detriment and
debasement of the poor and more unfortunate classes. They are the actual
enemies of virtue and simplicity of life—by their expensive church
trappings, their gorgeous adornments, their costly decorations, their glaring
exhibition, their glittering finery, their pompous display of church dress,
their gilded magnificence, their showy grandeur, their ostentation and
boastful ceremonies, overawing the senses, and subduing the humble, the
ignorant, making them mentally more stupid, the slaves to a pernicious
system of doctrine.
In ancient times, in the days of antiquity, the males were the chief
worshipers. They were the privileged portion of the community, who
assumed the duties to come in direct contact with all that was considered
sacred, holy, or divine. Woman was considered as a defiled or polluted
creature, unworthy or unfit to come within the sacred precincts of their
temples or participate in any church affairs, or to minister in any of their
ecclesiastical rites or ceremonies. Women had nothing to say. They have
nothing to say to this day, in the Roman Catholic church especially, and in
the orthodox Protestant denominations very little, because Paul lays down
the law in Cor. xiv, 34: “Let your women keep silence in your churches: for
it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under
obedience as also saith the law.”

The sacred Christian view of woman is that she is an inferior creature. She
is the slave, the plaything, the toy of pleasurable gratification. God himself
so ordained it, when he created Adam out of the dust and Eve out of one of
Adam’s ribs. That was the Chaldean mode of explaining her inferiority and
of subjecting woman to man. These barbarians, first the Hebrews, and
Christians later, did not think fit to place woman on a level with man.
Therefore they placed her in the lower scale of creation as a servant and
handmaid to man. The heathens, the Greeks especially, were more
considerate, politer, and more refined towards women. Women were
honored by them, which is evident from the composition of the council of
Jupiter, the supreme divinity. This was composed of six gods, namely,
Jupiter, Neptune, Mercury, Apollo, Mars, and Vulcan; and six goddesses,
namely, Juno, Ceres, Vesta, Minerva, Diana, and Venus. To this assembly no
other deities were admitted. There is some sense, reason, and humanity in
this arrangement. It is very unlike the great masculine bully of a God, what
Christians call sacred and scriptural Jehova, an intermeddling, sensual,
beef-eating affair, who has sons and never tells any one where they came
from, who the mother was (Gen. vi, 2 ): “And the sons of God,” etc. Vestal
virgins were admitted by the Romans to their temples, thus showing that
woman was honored. She was equally privileged with man to minister to
the sacred offices of the gods. Civilization has advanced, progress has been
made in the arts and sciences, the intellectual faculties are more developed,
and to woman has been conceded her proper place among the learned and
the more liberal portion of humanity. Intellectually no line of demarcation is
drawn. Cultured brain is cultured brain, whether found in man or in woman.
Both sexes stand on the same platform, on an equal footing, and they
receive equal honor and recognition if the mental capacity is equal. What is
the relation of woman to-day to the respective churches to which she may
belong? Has the Roman Catholic church receded one step from her
antiquated ecclesiastical position? Or have the orthodox Protestants? Not
one step! Woman still holds the same degraded position in the Christian
church as she did a thousand years ago. Circumstances have somewhat
ameliorated the relative position of church and worshipers. Formerly the
males were the principal church attenders and worshipers. In modern times
it is the women who make the congregations. The male, if he attends, does
so to please the female more than himself. Besides, the sexual attractions
contribute very largely towards these Sunday entertainments. “Women”
(says Maudsley, in his “Pathology of Mind,” ch. iv, page 143) “are naturally
more prone to religious worship than man, and more apt to fall into a
morbidly subjective habit, first, because of the preponderance of the
affective life in them, and secondly, because they have not the distracting
and correcting and intellectually hardening influences of outside interests
and pursuits which men have. If unmarried women chance to come, as by
reason of those conditions they are apt to do, under the ignorant and
misapplied zeal of unwise priests who mistake for deep religious feeling
what is really morbid self-feeling springing at bottom from unsatisfied
instinct or other uterine action upon the mind, the mischief is greatly
aggravated. It were well if those who make it their business to guide the
consciousness of mankind through the manifold changes and chances of life
were to be at the pains to inquire how much supposed religious feeling may
be due to physiological causes, before they sanction or enjoin a repeated
introspection of the feelings. He whose every organ is in perfect health
knows not he has a body, and only becomes conscious that he has organs
when something wrong is going on; in like manner a healthy mind in the
sound exercise of the functions is little conscious that he has feeling, and
only gets very self-conscious when there is something morbid in the
processes of its activity. The ecstatic trances of such saintly women as
Catherine de Sienne and St. Theresa, in which they believed themselves to
be visited by their Savior and to be received as veritable spouses into his
bosom, were, though they knew it not, little else than vicarious sexual
orgasm; a condition of things which the intense contemplation of the naked
male figure, carved or sculptured in all its proportions on the cross, is more
fitted to produce in women of susceptible nervous temperament than people
are apt to consider. Every experienced physician must have met with
instances of single and childless women who have devoted themselves with
extraordinary zeal to habitual religious exercises, and who having gone
insane as a culmination of their emotional fervor, have straightway
exhibited the saddest mixture of religious and erotic symptoms—a boiling
over with lust, in voice, face, gesture, under the pitiful degradation of
disease. On such persons the confessional has had sometimes the most
injurious effect, more especially in those churches which spring Romanism
in their ritual, have not placed confession under the stringent regulations
and safeguards with which the Roman Catholic church surrounds it. The
fanatical religious sects, such as the Shakers and the like, which spring up
from time to time in communities and disgust them by the offensive way in
which they mingle love and religion, are inspired in great measure by
sexual feelings. On the one hand, there is probably the cunning of a
hypocritical knave or the self-deceiving duplicity of a half-insane one, using
the weaknesses of weak woman to minister to his vanity or to his lust, under
a religious guise; on the other hand, there is an exaggerated self-feeling,
rooted often in sexual passions, which is unwittingly fostered under the
cloak of religious emotion, and which is apt to conduct to madness or to sin.
In such case the holy kiss of love owes its warmth to the sexual impulse
which inspires it, consciously or unconsciously, and the mystical religious
union of the sexes is fitted to issue in a less spiritual union. Without doubt,
an excessive development of the emotional life in any other direction would
be equally pernicious. All that the unwise religious teacher can be blamed
for is his disposition to foster the egotistic development of emotion, without
considering its real origin, by the overwhelming importance which he
teaches the individual to attach to himself and his destiny. Instead of urging
him to lessen the gap between himself and nature until he loses self in a
sympathetic oneness with nature, he stimulates him to widen it more and
more until he rises to the insane conceit of himself as something entirely
distinct from nature—an unrelated, spiritual essence, for whose benefit the
universe and all that there is has been specially created. Assuredly were not
man now, as he always has been, instinctively wiser than his creeds, were
he not moved by a deeper impulse than consciousness can give account of,
he would make no progress in civilization.”

The church has lost its grip on the male portion of society. They have
considerably outgrown the ecclesiastical swaddling of scriptural doctrine of
the ancient and modern theology. The woman is the stronghold as
worshiper, and sustainer of the sacred masculine prerogative whom they can
easily influence. By reason, as the holy book claims, of their intellectual
feebleness, women are the submissive tools of cunning priests, sentimental
and emotional appeals, and yield readily to their extravagant dictum. The
priests exhort them, with their conventional religious phraseology, to be
partakers of some mysterious glory to be found somewhere in infinite
space. Keeping ever in sight the same stupefying refrain of the orthodox
prayer and blessing: “Blessed and glorious trinity, trinity in unity, three—
one, three persons in one God, tri-personal, triune, coeternal, coequal, God-
man, O Lord God! who art one God, one Lord! not one only person, but
three persons in one substance! O Lord God! Lamb of God! Son of the
father! O God the son, Redeemer of the world! O God the Holy Ghost,
proceeding from the father and the son! The blessing of God Almighty, the
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, be among you. God the Father, God the Son,
God the Holy Ghost, bless, preserve, and keep you. Glory be to the father,
and to the son, and to the Holy Ghost. Now to God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Ghost, be all honor and glory. Jesus Christ, who with thee
and the Holy Ghost, liveth and reigneth ever, one God, world without end,”
etc.

These are the terms and doxologies, forms of prayer and blessings. Can
anyone conceive a more meaningless set of phrases? These are
automatically repeated year in and year out, with the same intonation,
gesture, whirling and buzzing in a circle. Do not the brains become blunted,
the senses dulled? Or is it a mere mechanical effort, accompanied by an
extraordinary amount of insincerity and actual duplicity of character? The
conceit of these theological gentlemen, claiming divine superiority, is in
consequence of the frequent repetition of the above vapid nonsense, that
they are the truly chosen and elect, separate and apart from other people.
Though they accept and place trust in the above creed, God, Son, and Holy
Ghost, and delude themselves with prayers, blessings, psalm-singing, and
the rest of supernatural subterfuge, do they believe that it will save them—
save their bodies from dissolution, when the vital organs have ceased to
perform their functions? These fixed delusions are not wholesome.
Encouraging them is misleading and deceiving those who are ignorant of
the actual state of nature. It is playing upon the weak and simple-minded. It
means corrupting their morals and their understanding. It is paralyzing to
every human effort. It is degrading manhood and womanhood. Analyze the
meaning of the belief, the language employed, the associations of ideas, and
seriously consider the amount of sense you can discover. Does not this rigid
system of changeless belief prevent intellectual development? Does it not
bar proper inquiry into the phenomena of nature? Does it not encourage a
cowardly dependence on priestcraft and hypocritical cunning? Does it not
extinguish every impulse towards the evolution of thought? Does it not
stamp out the energies and aspirations of man and woman? Is not the
kneeling and praying before some daub of a picture or the figure of some
supposed God or saint debasing and degrading to the individual? Is not the
act of prayer a humiliating acknowledgement either of an enfeebled mind or
of a contemptible slave? Is not the will power subdued and deteriorated and
the natural energy destroyed? Are not the functions of the brain seriously
interfered with, the mental faculties checked in the normal process of
development, and the powers of reason stifled by the asphyxiating
influences of prayer? Does it not blunt the sense of responsibility, breed
insincerity, foster falsehood, promote lying, and offer a premium for wrong-
doing and a shelter for crime? Imagine the stupefying effect of counting
beads. The “Rosary” is a series of prayers, and consists of fifteen decades.
Each decade contains ten Ave Marias, marked by small beads, preceded by
a pater noster, marked by a larger bead, and concluded by a gloria patri.
Five decades make a chaplet, which is a third of a rosary. What a
sluggardizing effect on the intellect, what a suppression of intelligence, and
how near it brings them to the borderland of monomaniacs, by the constant
mumbling of those insipid compositions. The sooner we get rid of the belief
in this supernatural intervention in human affairs the better for our physical,
moral, and mental welfare. Every time the priest induces his pupil to repeat
a prayer, he stupefies and degrades his pupil. He knocks the pins of self-
restraint and self-reliance right from under him. The blessing the pupil
receives, and the forgiveness at the confessional, shift the responsibility for
his acts off his shoulders, thus leading him to believe himself irresponsible
for any wrong he may commit. The absurd doctrine inculcated, that God
made him necessarily makes him irresponsible. If God was a fool big
enough to make him bad, or silly, why should he be responsible? The priest
who helps to maintain and sustain this belief, helps to weaken the pupil’s
mind and rather gives him license to indulge than restrains him.

You are taught to deceive yourselves and deceive others by prayer, but you
cannot bribe nature; you cannot deceive nature. The penalty must be paid
for every transgression. And prayers are absolutely useless, nay, every
prayer is an admission of an act of cowardice, just as every blessing
pronounced is a humiliation to those receiving it. What necessity is there for
a man who is supposed to teach morality to be dressed like a clown in
scarlet, purple, or other-colored coat and decorated with an antiquated
headgear like a mountebank going through a series of peculiar
gesticulations and ceremonials of buffoonery, in order to sustain this
ecclesiastical humbug? Would it not be better to train the intellect by
teaching the young how to observe accurately, to reason soundly from facts,
to think honestly and act sincerely, have the truth revealed and nature and
nature’s laws soundly and practically interpreted? An insight into the secret
workings of nature would lead to a more precise adjustment on the part of
man to his complex surroundings, guard cautiously against the infringement
of nature’s laws, and correspondingly produce gain in intellectual power.
How can a man be otherwise than reckless, or willfully disobedient, to laws
he is entirely ignorant of, though he brings certain punishment upon
himself? Can there be any better discipline than to learn the cause and know
the root of all evils, in order to avoid them, thus improving the morals and
inducing one to take earnest pains to do well in the future? There is more
satisfaction in doing right than many may think, if people were instructed
how. Unfortunately, the ecclesiastical mills of forgiveness are too busy
teaching supernatural follies, which actually mislead the ignorant and the
foolish. As a foolish woman spoils her own child by her own silly conduct,
so the supernatural creeds have spoilt humanity by perverting the moral
responsibility in teaching their pernicious beliefs. Wonder why the world
has not become better? Teach men the moral and physical laws of nature, by
lessons of experience, that may guide them in their conduct through life.
Teach them to learn prudence, and observe them faithfully and sincerely.
Good, natural, healthy thoughts produce good actions; by their frequent
repetition, generate good habits of doing well, of doing right. The nervous
structures that are brought into play, the mental activities, function these
excellences, developing these faculties, generating higher moral feelings.
We finally come to regard as doing wrong acting contrary to our acquired
habit. Good impulses to act right and do well come out of good feelings. To
act otherwise becomes repugnant to our acquired habits, our second nature,
and is judged unwise by our reason and understanding. Let nature teach you
to be wise, and when you understand the natural you will cease to believe in
aught supernatural.

Do not believe in a God—there is no such thing. Do not believe in the

divinity of any man, whether he be called Moses, Jesus Christ, or Martin
Luther. Do not believe that the book called the Bible, sacred scripture, and
Testaments, new or old, is sacred, holy, or inspired by any supernatural
being. Do not believe the story of the creation as recited in the five books of
Moses—they are not true. It is a fiction, a sort of fairy tale. It is the work of
the imagination of man. Do not believe in any miracle. No man can perform
a miracle, except to the ignorant and stupid. No man in the Bible ever
performed a miracle. Those said to have been performed were deceptions,
tricks, and delusions. Do not believe in the Holy Ghost. There are no
ghosts, either holy or unholy. And above all, do not give credence to that
very silly piece of nonsense, that the Holy Ghost committed adultery with
Mrs. Mary Joseph, the reputed mother of Jesus Christ. Nor believe that the
young man Jesus was the son of God, nor that he came upon earth to save
the world from sinning. Do not believe that there are three Gods in one,
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; nor God the Father, God the Son, or God the
Holy Ghost. This fallacy, compounded of Hebraic theology and Grecian
mythology, is an absurd fabrication—this trinity in unity, and unity in
trinity. Do not believe in a heaven, nor in a hell. You make your own
heaven, and your own hell. Nor place any reliance on future rewards, or
future punishments. Your good conduct will bring your rewards and your
bad conduct your punishments. Do not believe in angels, spirits, or any
supernatural existences. Have no faith in anything you do not understand.
Place no reliance on divine interference. Do not follow blindly any
ecclesiastical teachings. Rely upon yourself. Let reason and common sense
be your guide. Do not pray—praying makes a coward of you. Nor place
confidence in the blessing of any man, be he the pope or some fanatical
preacher. Never kneel before any image, whether it be the nude figure of
Christ, or a daub painting of the Virgin Mary. Do not be the dupe of priestly
cunning. Do not be afraid of anything except your own bad deeds, your
vicious habits, and your own transgressions.

Some Rules and Duties in Life.

Health is essential for physical and mental labor. The maintenance of health
consists in having proper food, proper clothing, and proper shelter. Work is
a duty, nature demands it. Exercise that duty. Earn so much as will provide
the necessary comforts in life. Indolence is a vice, and laziness a crime.
They are of no good to their practicers, and a curse to others. Economy is a
law of nature. Save your surplus produce of industry. It comes useful in
time of need. Avoid excesses of all kinds. Do not overtax or over-stimulate
the organs of the body. Luxuries are injurious to health. Remember the
stomach is only a receptacle for food and not a cesspool for all kinds of
refuse. Cleanliness of stomach and body is necessary for the healthy action
both of mind and body. A rigid adherence to the natural rules is the surest
safeguard against disease. Make judicious use of everything. Abuse neither
yourself nor others. Each individual is his own guardian over his own acts.
He himself is responsible for his own misdeeds, whether through ignorance,
want of proper education or understanding, or weakness.

Our guide through life should be: Speak the truth always. Let yes and no be
the form of speech. Every promise fulfill. Never deceive yourself, or
deceive others. Promise nothing you cannot perform. Honesty is ennobling,
dishonesty debasing. Let every word and act be strictly reliable, never
waver or fail in your integrity. Be punctilious in your duties towards others.
Do not cheat yourself or your neighbors. Misrepresentation is wrong. Have
confidence in yourself, others will have confidence in you. Do not slander
others, lest you do an injury, doing evil without benefit to yourself. A
slanderer is despised. Let your motives be pure, your purpose upright. Be
mild in speech, even in temper. Kind words are inexpensive. Anger and
passion are brutal qualities, be human. Do not get excited over trifles, it
does not prolong life. If your habits are bad, mend them. Good impulses
come from good feelings, as bad impulses from bad feelings. Our character
is molded by our habits, as our habits are by our instruction. By your
conduct gain the esteem of your fellow-men. It is better to be loved than
hated. Injure no one. Despise no one. Be neither prejudiced nor bigoted.
Gain the respect of every man, and respect those that deserve to be
respected. Obey the existing laws. Learn to depend on yourself. Trust in
your own judgment, none will be so true to you as yourself. Hope is
delusive, action is certain. Reveal not your own thoughts to others lest they
betray you. Confidence, self-possession, and presence of mind guard
against surprises. Do not mind other people’s business, you may not find
time to mind your own. Negligence is a fault, diligence is a virtue. Frivolity
is the froth of life. It has neither strength nor substance. There is more
satisfaction in an ounce of peace than in a ton of wrangling. Control your
appetites, subdue your passions, if you would be human. Remember there is
no heaven beyond this life, therefore make your home and your life as
beautiful as you can. Few wants well supplied, is better than many wants
unsatisfied. Desire nothing you cannot obtain, it will save you annoyance.
Do not assume to be what you are not. Nature has marked you. Do not be
tempted by trifles, life is too short and time too precious. Pleasures are
enjoyable where the senses are not overstrained. Be not too proud, nor too
vain, no matter how great you are; man, like the animal, is composed only
of eighteen elements. Ambition is laudable, when others are not made to
suffer. Do not try to be greater than you are; a gill will never fill a pint. Gain
understanding, and let reason and common sense guide you in all your acts.
Look out. Save your honor, your integrity, and your character. Our duty on
earth is to be good, to do right, and contribute to the betterment of our
fellow-men. The higher we rise in intelligence, the farther we are removed
from the brute. Free yourself from all supernatural notions, all antiquated
beliefs, and all superstitions. The humanization of mankind marks the
progress of civilization. The excitement of pleasure is not lasting;
exhaustion stops all enjoyment; too much sunshine is fatiguing; too much
laughter is trying. Empty stomachs make a bad audience, hunger breeds
discontent. Poverty is degrading; it ruins health, breeds disease, and lowers
the morals. Neglect yourself and everybody will neglect you. Lost
opportunities are seldom recovered. The higher you climb the farther you
are removed from the lower levels. One wrong act loses the balance of
integrity, our esteem suffers. One grain of intelligence is worth a pound of
brute force. Be prudent, discreet, and deliberate in all transactions in life,
but quick in decision. Distrust persuasive, bland, smooth, suave talkers. A
pious hypocrite is the worst of frauds. Your own faults are the greatest
misfortune. A brave man is never discouraged, and simpletons are the prey
for sharpers. Don’t be a coward in danger, or pray when disaster overtakes
you. Self-abuse is the worst abuse. Your expenditure should never exceed
your income. Aspire to be better, not worse. You cannot get wealthy on
nothing. Millionaire and beggar belong to this earth, whether living or dead.
Our success in life depends on the quality of Brain. Polished steel is of
greater value than common iron ore, so are intellectual faculties of greater
worth than uncultured brains. The weaker must yield to the stronger. The
friction of life is great; the less the resisting force, the sooner it yields. In
the struggle the strongest survive. Tenacity to life and tenacity to our
possessions lead to success. Let those who accumulate great wealth
unjustly, yield it readily to those who are most in need. A man can
accumulate vast riches only by the industry of many, never by his own.
Remember dead men enjoy nothing, therefore be wise, be reasonable, make
your heaven on earth, your paradise of your home. Be your own God, your
own Savior, your own priest.
 MAP OF THE DELUGE.

The plateaus and highlands rise from 3 to 10,000 feet above the
level of the sea.—Chains of mountains running in every direction 12
to 18,000 feet above the level of the sea.
 Gen., Chap. VII: Verses 19, 20, 21, 22, 23:

V. 20.—Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail: and the

mountains were covered.

21 inches makes a cubit standard.

The Mountains—Elevations have been the same for 500,000 years

or more
 Colophon
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Metadata

Title: The creation of God

Author: Jacob Hartmann Info
Language: English
Original publication date: 1893

Revision History

2019-05-12 Started.

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Page Source Correction Edit
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339 is in 1
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389 suprising surprising 1
394 M LTIPLICITY MULTIPLICITY 1
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