Maps preserving two-sided zero products on Banach algebras

Abstract

Let A and B be Banach algebras with bounded approximate identities and let Φ:A→B be a surjective continuous linear map which preserves two-sided zero products (i.e., Φ(a)Φ(b)=Φ(b)Φ(a)=0 whenever ab=ba=0). We show that Φ is a weighted Jordan homomorphism provided that A is zero product determined and weakly amenable. These conditions are in particular fulfilled when A is the group algebra L1(G) with G any locally compact group. We also study a more general type of continuous linear maps Φ:A→B that satisfy Φ(a)Φ(b)+Φ(b)Φ(a)=0 whenever ab=ba=0. We show in particular that if Φ is surjective and A is a C⁎-algebra, then Φ is a weighted Jordan homomorphism.