Automatic continuity of positive functionals on topological involution algebras

Abstract

This paper surveys the known results on automatic continuity of positive functionals on topological *-algebras and then shows how two theorems on Banach *-algebras extend to complete metrizable topological *-algebras. The two theorems concerned are Loy's theorem on separable Banach *-algebras A with centre Z such that AZ is of countable codimension and Varopoulos' result on Banach *-algebras with bounded approximate identity. Both theorems have the conclusion that all positive functionals on such algebras are continuous. The extension of the second theorem requires the algebra to be locally convex and the approximate identity to be ‘uniformly bounded’. Neither extension requires the algebra to be LMC. This means that the proof of the first theorem is quite different from the corresponding Banach algebra result (which used spectral theory). The proof of the second is closer to the previously known LMC version, but actually neater by being more general. It is also shown that the well-known estimate of |f(a*ba)| for a positive functional f on a Banach *-algebra may be obtained without the usual use of spectral theory. The paper concludes with a list of open questions.