The Bourgain algebra of a nest algebra

Abstract

In analogy with a construction from function theory, we herein define right, left, and two-sided Bourgain algebras associated with an operator algebra A. These algebras are defined initially in Banach space terms, using the weak-* topology on A, and our main result is to give a completely algebraic characterization of them in the case where A is a nest algebra. Specifically, if A = alg N is a nest algebra, we show that each of the Bourgain algebras defined has the form A + K ∩ B, where B is the nest algebra corresponding to a certain subnest of N. We also characterize algebraically the second-order (and higher) Bourgain algebras of a nest algebra, showing for instance that the second-order two-sided Bourgain algebra coincides with the two-sided Bourgain algebra itself in this case.