Harmonic analysis for groups acting on triangle buildings

Abstract

AbstractLet Δ be a thick building of type Ã2, and let be its set of vertices. We study a commutative algebra of ‘averaging’ operators acting on the space of complex valued functions on . This algebra may be identified with a space of ‘biradial functions’ on , or with a convolution algebra of bi-K-invariant functions on G, if G is a sufficiently large group of ‘type-rotating’ automorphisms of Δ, and K is the subgroup of G fixing a given vertex. We describe the multiplicative functionals on and the corresponding spherical functions. We consider the C*-algebra induced by on l2, find its spectrum Σ, prove positive definiteness of a kernel kz for each z ∈ Σ, find explicity the spherical Plancherel formula for any group G of type rotating automorphisms, and discuss the irreducibility of the unitary representations appearing therein. For the class of buildings ΔJ arising from the groups ΓJ introduced in [2], this involves proving that the weak closure of is maximal abelian in the von Neumann algebra generated by the left regular representation of ΓJ.