Measuring noncommutativity in C∗-algebras

It is well known that if A is a von Neumann algebra then the norm of any inner derivation ad(a) is equal to twice the distance from the element a to the centre Z(A) of the algebra. More generally, this property holds in a unital C∗-algebra if and only if the ideal P ∩Q∩R is primal whenever P, Q, and R are primitive ideals of A such that P ∩ Z(A) = Q ∩ Z(A) = R ∩ Z(A). In this paper we give a characterization, in terms of ideal structure, of those unital C∗-algebras A for which the norm of any inner derivation ad(a) at least dominates the distance from a to the centre Z(A). In doing so, we show that if A does not have this property then it necessarily contains an element a, with ad(a) = 1, whose distance from Z(A) is greater than or equal to 3+8√2 14 . We also show how this number is related to the numbers 4 √15 and 12 + 1 √3 which have previously arisen in the study of norms of inner derivations. The techniques used in this work include spectral theory, the theory of primitive and primal ideals, and constrained geometrical optimisation. © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved