On twisted group C∗^*-algebras associated with FC-hypercentral groups and other related groups

We show that the twisted group C$^*$-algebra associated with a discrete FC-hypercentral group is simple (resp. has a unique tracial state) if and only if Kleppner's condition is satisfied. This generalizes a result of J. Packer for countable nilpotent groups. We also consider a larger class of groups, for which we can show that the corresponding reduced twisted group C$^*$-algebras have a unique tracial state if and only if Kleppner's condition holds.Comment: 16 pages. Some minor changes, mostly in subsection 2.3; two references adde

Primitivity of some full group C∗^*-algebras

We show that the full group C$^*$-algebra of the free product of two nontrivial countable amenable discrete groups, where at least one of them has more than two elements, is primitive. We also show that in many cases, this C$^*$-algebra is antiliminary and has an uncountable family of pairwise inequivalent, faithful irreducible representations.Comment: 18 pages. Preliminary version. Comments are wellcome

Free nilpotent groups are C*-superrigid

The free nilpotent group $G_{m,n}$ of class $m$ and rank $n$ is the free object on $n$ generators in the category of nilpotent groups of class at most $m$. We show that $G_{m,n}$ can be recovered from its reduced group $C^*$-algebra, in the sense that if $H$ is any group such that $C^*_r(H)$ is isomorphic to $C^*_r(G_{m,n})$, then $H$ must be isomorphic to $G_{m,n}$.Comment: 5 pages; minor revision; to appear in Proc. Amer. Math. So

On the K-theory of C*-algebras arising from integral dynamics

We investigate the $K$-theory of unital UCT Kirchberg algebras $\mathcal{Q}_S$ arising from families $S$ of relatively prime numbers. It is shown that $K_*(\mathcal{Q}_S)$ is the direct sum of a free abelian group and a torsion group, each of which is realized by another distinct $C^*$-algebra naturally associated to $S$. The $C^*$-algebra representing the torsion part is identified with a natural subalgebra $\mathcal{A}_S$ of $\mathcal{Q}_S$. For the $K$-theory of $\mathcal{Q}_S$, the cardinality of $S$ determines the free part and is also relevant for the torsion part, for which the greatest common divisor $g_S$ of $\{p-1 : p \in S\}$ plays a central role as well. In the case where $\lvert S \rvert \leq 2$ or $g_S=1$ we obtain a complete classification for $\mathcal{Q}_S$. Our results support the conjecture that $\mathcal{A}_S$ coincides with $\otimes_{p \in S} \mathcal{O}_p$. This would lead to a complete classification of $\mathcal{Q}_S$, and is related to a conjecture about $k$-graphs.Comment: 27 pages; v2: minor update in 5.7; v3: some typos corrected, one reference added, to appear in Ergodic Theory Dynam. System

Cuntz-Li algebras from a-adic numbers

The a-adic numbers are those groups that arise as Hausdorff completions of noncyclic subgroups of the rational numbers. We give a crossed product construction of (stabilized) Cuntz-Li algebras coming from the a-adic numbers and investigate the structure of the associated algebras. In particular, these algebras are in many cases Kirchberg algebras in the UCT class. Moreover, we prove an a-adic duality theorem, which links a Cuntz-Li algebra with a corresponding dynamical system on the real numbers. The paper also contains an appendix where a nonabelian version of the "subgroup of dual group theorem" is given in the setting of coactions.Comment: 41 pages; revised versio