Purity of states on the quasilocal algebra #
The canonical quasilocal algebra 𝔘 of a Minkowski Haag-Kastler net is a unital
C*-algebra, so the abstract characterizations of purity apply to it. This file
registers them for 𝔘:
- a state on
𝔘is pure iff it is an extreme point of the state space; - a state on
𝔘is pure iff its GNS representation is irreducible.
Unlike the curved setting, Minkowski spacetime has a single global quasilocal
algebra 𝔘, so these are statements about its global state space - the natural
home for the vacuum and other distinguished states.
Main results #
Pure ⟺ extreme point for the quasilocal algebra. A state ω on the
canonical quasilocal algebra 𝔘 of a Minkowski Haag-Kastler net is pure if and
only if it is an extreme point of the state space of 𝔘. This is the abstract
equivalence isPure_iff_isExtremePoint applied to the C*-algebra 𝔘.
Pure ⟺ irreducible GNS representation for the quasilocal algebra. For a
state ω on the quasilocal algebra 𝔘, there is a GNS triple (H, π, Ω)
reproducing ω in which ω is pure if and only if the representation π is
irreducible (its commutant is trivial). This combines the GNS construction with
the abstract isPure_iff_isIrreducible.