The role of minimal idempotents in the representation theory of locally compact groups

Abstract

In the representation theory of finite groups, the minimal idempotents of the group algebra play a central role. In this case the minimal idempotents determine irreducible modules over the group algebra, which in turn are in direct correspondence with the irreducible matrix representations of the group; see Chapter IV of the book of C. Curtis and I. Reiner (2). Many of the same ideas generalise to the situation where the group is compact. In addition, minimal idempotents are involved in some important parts of the theory of Hubert algebras; see M. Rieffel's paper (20).