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# AF-embeddability of crossed products of Cuntz algebras

## 1 Introduction

There had been no examples of simple $`C^{}`$-algebras which have both a finite projection and an infinite one until M. Rørdam found such a $`C^{}`$-algebra recently \[R\]. However, we have found no examples of such simple $`C^{}`$-algebras among nuclear ones, so far. Moreover we have not known examples of simple nuclear $`C^{}`$-algebras which are not stably finite nor purely infinite. The property ‘stable finiteness’ has recently attracted much attention in connection with quasidiagonality and AF-embeddability. It is easy to see that AF-embeddability implies quasidiagonality and that quasidiagonality implies stable finiteness. It is still open whether or not stable finiteness implies AF-embeddability for nuclear $`C^{}`$-algebras. On this topic, there is a nice survey \[B3\] written by N. P. Brown. Since M. Pimsner and D. Voiculescu showed that the irrational rotation algebras are AF-embeddable \[PV\], several authors have studied AF-embeddability of some classes of $`C^{}`$-algebras. In particular, we can find many papers dealing with AF-embeddability of crossed products of finite $`C^{}`$-algebras, for example, \[Pu\], \[Pi1\], \[Pi2\] for those of commutative $`C^{}`$-algebras, and \[V\], \[B1\], \[B2\] for those of AF-algebras. On the other hand, the author has been unable to find any article related to AF-embeddability of crossed products of infinite $`C^{}`$-algebras. We remark that it seems more difficult to show AF-embeddability of crossed products of infinite $`C^{}`$-algebras by continuous groups than those of finite $`C^{}`$-algebras. For crossed products of finite $`C^{}`$-algebras, there is a method to derive AF-embeddability of crossed products by continuous groups from the discrete group case by using Green’s imprimitivity theorem (\[G\], see also \[B2\]). However, for infinite $`C^{}`$-algebras, we cannot use this method because their crossed products by discrete groups are never embedded into AF-algebras.

In this paper, we will deal with crossed products of Cuntz algebras by quasi-free actions of abelian groups, whose ideal structures were examined in our previous paper \[Ka\]. We will prove the AF-embeddability of our algebras under a certain condition for actions. To the author’s knowledge, this is the first case to have succeeded in embedding crossed products of purely infinite $`C^{}`$-algebras into AF-algebras except trivial cases. We will also show that our algebras are either purely infinite or AF-embeddable when they are simple.

This paper is organized as follows. After some preliminaries, we will show that the crossed products are AF-embeddable when actions satisfy a certain condition (Theorem 3.8). They were known to be stably finite in the case that the group is the real number group $``$ \[KK1\]. In the case that the group is compact, this condition is also sufficient for the crossed products to be AF-embeddable, and moreover the crossed products become AF-algebras under this condition. For the general setting, we do not know whether our algebra is AF-embeddable or not when the action does not satisfy the condition (see Remark 3.10). In section 4, we will give a necessary and sufficient condition that our algebras become simple and purely infinite. Combining this characterization with our result on AF-embeddability, we can easily get the dichotomy which says that our algebras are either purely infinite or AF-embeddable when they are simple. In the last section, we will deal with crossed products of the Cuntz algebra $`𝒪_{\mathrm{}}`$, which is generated by infinitely many isometries, by the same type of actions of abelian groups. We will prove AF-embeddability of such algebras under a certain condition for actions, and give a necessary and sufficient condition for such algebras to be simple and purely infinite which will be shown to be equivalent to the property that they are simple.

Acknowledgment. This work was done while the author stayed in the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute, and he would like to express his gratitude to MSRI for their hospitality. The author is grateful to Masaki Izumi for various comments and many important suggestions, and to his advisor Yasuyuki Kawahigashi for his support and encouragement. This work was partially supported by Research Fellowship for Young Scientists of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) and Honda Heizaemon memorial fellowship of the Japan Association for Mathematical Sciences.

## 2 Preliminaries

In this section, we review some results and fix the notation. For $`n=2,3,\mathrm{}`$, the Cuntz algebra $`𝒪_n`$ is the universal $`C^{}`$-algebra generated by $`n`$ isometries $`S_1,S_2,\mathrm{},S_n`$, satisfying $`_{i=1}^nS_iS_i^{}=1`$. For $`k=\{0,1,\mathrm{}\}`$, we define the set $`𝒲_n^{(k)}`$ of $`k`$-tuples by $`𝒲_n^{(0)}=\{\mathrm{}\}`$ and

$$𝒲_n^{(k)}=\left\{(i_1,i_2,\mathrm{},i_k)\right|i_j\{1,2,\mathrm{},n\}\}.$$

We set $`𝒲_n=_{k=0}^{\mathrm{}}𝒲_n^{(k)}`$. For $`\mu =(i_1,i_2,\mathrm{},i_k)𝒲_n`$, we denote its length $`k`$ by $`|\mu |`$, and set $`S_\mu =S_{i_1}S_{i_2}\mathrm{}S_{i_k}𝒪_n`$. Note that $`|\mathrm{}|=0,S_{\mathrm{}}=1`$. For $`\mu =(i_1,i_2,\mathrm{},i_k),\nu =(j_1,j_2,\mathrm{},j_l)𝒲_n`$, we define their product $`\mu \nu 𝒲_n`$ by $`\mu \nu =(i_1,i_2,\mathrm{},i_k,j_1,j_2,\mathrm{},j_l)`$.

We fix a locally compact abelian group $`G`$ whose dual group is denoted by $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ which is also a locally compact abelian group. We always use $`+`$ for multiplicative operations of abelian groups except for $`𝕋`$, which is the group of the unit circle in the complex plane $``$. The pairing of $`tG`$ and $`\gamma \mathrm{\Gamma }`$ is denoted by $`t|\gamma 𝕋`$.

###### Definition 2.1

Let $`\omega =(\omega _1,\omega _2,\mathrm{},\omega _n)\mathrm{\Gamma }^n`$ be given. We define the action $`\alpha ^\omega :G𝒪_n`$ by

$$\alpha _t^\omega (S_i)=t|\omega _iS_i(i=1,2,\mathrm{},n,tG).$$

This type of action is called quasi-free (see \[E\] for quasi-free actions on the Cuntz algebras). Since the abelian group $`G`$ is amenable, the reduced crossed product of the action $`\alpha ^\omega :G𝒪_n`$ coincides with the full crossed product of it. We will denote it by $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ and call it the crossed product. The crossed product $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ has a $`C^{}`$-subalgebra $`1_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$, which is isomorphic to $`C_0(\mathrm{\Gamma })`$. Throughout this paper, we always consider $`C_0(\mathrm{\Gamma })`$ as a $`C^{}`$-subalgebra of $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$, and use $`f,g,\mathrm{}`$ for denoting elements of $`C_0(\mathrm{\Gamma })𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$. The Cuntz algebra $`𝒪_n`$ is naturally embedded into the multiplier algebra $`M(𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G)`$ of $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$. For each $`\mu =(i_1,i_2,\mathrm{},i_k)`$ in $`𝒲_n`$, we define an element $`\omega _\mu `$ of $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ by $`\omega _\mu =_{j=1}^k\omega _{i_j}`$. For $`\gamma _0\mathrm{\Gamma }`$, we define a (reverse) shift automorphism $`\sigma _{\gamma _0}:C_0(\mathrm{\Gamma })C_0(\mathrm{\Gamma })`$ by $`(\sigma _{\gamma _0}f)(\gamma )=f(\gamma +\gamma _0)`$ for $`fC_0(\mathrm{\Gamma })`$. Once noting that $`\alpha _t^\omega (S_\mu )=t|\omega _\mu S_\mu `$ for $`\mu 𝒲_n`$, one can easily verify that $`fS_\mu =S_\mu \sigma _{\omega _\mu }f`$ for any $`fC_0(\mathrm{\Gamma })𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ and any $`\mu 𝒲_n`$. The linear span of $`\{S_\mu fS_\nu ^{}\mu ,\nu 𝒲_n,fC_0(\mathrm{\Gamma })\}`$ is dense in $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ (see \[Ka\]). We denote by $`𝕄_k`$ the $`C^{}`$-algebra of $`k\times k`$ matrices for $`k=1,2,\mathrm{}`$, and by $`𝕂`$ the $`C^{}`$-algebra of compact operators of the infinite dimensional separable Hilbert space.

## 3 AF-embeddability of $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$

A. Kishimoto and A. Kumjian showed that $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }`$ is stably projectionless if all the $`\omega _i`$’s have the same sign by using the KMS-state \[KK1, Theorem 4.1\]. Thus $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }`$ is stably finite in this case. In this section, we will show that $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ becomes AF-embeddable if $`\omega `$ satisfies a certain condition. This gives another proof of the stable finiteness of $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }`$ when all the $`\omega _i`$’s have the same sign. More precisely, we will prove that if $`\omega _i\overline{\{\omega _\mu \mu 𝒲_n\}}`$ for any $`i\{1,2,\mathrm{},n\}`$, then $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ is AF-embeddable (Theorem 3.8). Here we note that $`\overline{\{\omega _\mu \mu 𝒲_n\}}`$ is the closed semigroup generated by $`\omega _1,\omega _2,\mathrm{},\omega _n`$.

Let us take a faithful representation $`𝒪_nB(H)`$ for some Hilbert space $`H`$. There exists a canonical embedding $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }GB(HL^2(G))`$. Since $`L^2(G)`$ is isomorphic to $`L^2(\mathrm{\Gamma })`$ via the Fourier transform, we can consider $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ as a subalgebra of $`B(HL^2(\mathrm{\Gamma }))`$. In this setting, an element of $`C_0(\mathrm{\Gamma })𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ acts by multiplication on $`L^2(\mathrm{\Gamma })`$ and as identity on $`H`$. Note that the weak closure of $`C_0(\mathrm{\Gamma })`$ in $`B(HL^2(\mathrm{\Gamma }))`$ is $`L^{\mathrm{}}(\mathrm{\Gamma })`$.

Throughout this section, we fix $`\omega \mathrm{\Gamma }^n`$ satisfying $`\omega _i\overline{\{\omega _\mu \mu 𝒲_n\}}`$ for any $`i`$. We also fix an open base $`\{U_i\}_{i𝕀}`$ of $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ such that for any $`i𝕀`$, $`\overline{U_i}`$ is compact and for any $`i𝕀`$ and $`\mu 𝒲_n`$, there exists $`j𝕀`$ with $`U_j=U_i\omega _\mu `$. Obviously such an open base exists, and we can take countable one when $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ satisfies the second countability axiom. For each $`i𝕀`$, let us consider the characteristic function $`\chi _{U_i}`$ of $`U_i`$ which is an element of $`L^{\mathrm{}}(\mathrm{\Gamma })B(HL^2(\mathrm{\Gamma }))`$. Let $`D_0(\mathrm{\Gamma })`$ be the $`C^{}`$-algebra generated by $`\{\chi _{U_i}\}_{i𝕀}`$. Let us denote by $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ the directed set of all finite subsets of $`𝕀`$ whose order is defined by the inclusion. For $`\lambda =\{i_1,i_2,\mathrm{},i_k\}\mathrm{\Lambda }`$, the $`C^{}`$-subalgebra $`D_\lambda `$ of $`D_0(\mathrm{\Gamma })`$ is defined by the $`C^{}`$-algebra generated by $`\chi _{U_{i_1}},\chi _{U_{i_2}},\mathrm{},\chi _{U_{i_k}}`$. One can easily verify the following.

###### Lemma 3.1

1. $`C_0(\mathrm{\Gamma })D_0(\mathrm{\Gamma })`$.
2. We can define the shift $``$-homomorphism $`\sigma _{\omega _\mu }:D_0(\mathrm{\Gamma })D_0(\mathrm{\Gamma })`$ for any $`\mu 𝒲_n`$.
3. $`\underset{}{\mathrm{lim}}D_\lambda =D_0(\mathrm{\Gamma })`$.
4. $`D_0(\mathrm{\Gamma })`$ is an AF-algebra.

Define a subspace $`A`$ of $`B(HL^2(\mathrm{\Gamma }))`$ by

$$A=\overline{\mathrm{span}}\{S_\mu fS_\nu ^{}\mu ,\nu 𝒲_n,fD_0(\mathrm{\Gamma })\}.$$

By Lemma 3.1 (ii), $`A`$ is a $`C^{}`$-algebra and by Lemma 3.1 (i), $`A`$ contains $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$. We will show that $`A`$ is an AF-algebra when $`\omega _i\overline{\{\omega _\mu \mu 𝒲_n\}}`$ for any $`i\{1,2,\mathrm{},n\}`$, which implies that $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ is AF-embeddable. We denote by $`A_\lambda `$ the $`C^{}`$-algebra generated by $`\{S_\mu \chi _{U_i}S_\nu ^{}\mu ,\nu 𝒲_n,i\lambda \}`$. It is easy to see the following.

###### Lemma 3.2

With the above notation, we have $`A=\underset{}{\mathrm{lim}}A_\lambda `$.

By Lemma 3.2, to prove that $`A`$ is an AF-algebra, it suffices to show that $`A_\lambda `$ is an AF-algebra for any $`\lambda \mathrm{\Lambda }`$. Let us take $`\lambda \mathrm{\Lambda }`$ arbitrarily, and fix it. Let $`p_1,p_2,\mathrm{},p_L`$ be minimal projections of $`D_\lambda `$ and $`p=_{l=1}^Lp_l`$ be its unit. Note that $`A_\lambda `$ is generated by $`\{S_\mu p_lS_\nu ^{}\mu ,\nu 𝒲_n,l=1,2,\mathrm{},L\}`$. Only in the next lemma, we use directly the assumption that $`\omega `$ satisfies $`\omega _i\overline{\{\omega _\mu \mu 𝒲_n\}}`$ for any $`i\{1,2,\mathrm{},n\}`$, and this lemma implies all the following lemmas and the fact that $`A_\lambda `$ is an AF-algebra.

###### Lemma 3.3

There exists $`K`$ such that $`pS_\mu p=0`$ for any $`\mu 𝒲_n`$ with $`|\mu |>K`$.

Proof. If we define a subset $`U=_{i\lambda }U_i`$ of $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$, then $`p`$ is the characteristic function of $`U`$. The closure of $`U`$ is compact since $`\overline{U_i}`$ is compact for any $`i\lambda `$. To derive a contradiction, assume that for any $`k`$, there exists $`\mu _k𝒲_n`$ such that $`|\mu _k|>k`$ and $`pS_{\mu _k}p0`$. Then we have $`S_{\mu _k}^{}pS_{\mu _k}p0`$. Since $`S_{\mu _k}^{}pS_{\mu _k}`$ is the characteristic function of $`U\omega _{\mu _k}`$, there exists $`\gamma _k(U\omega _{\mu _k})U`$. We have $`\omega _{\mu _k}=(\gamma _k+\omega _{\mu _k})\gamma _kUU`$ for any $`k`$. Since $`\overline{UU}`$ is compact, there exists an increasing subsequence $`k_1,k_2,\mathrm{},k_m,\mathrm{}`$ of $``$ such that $`\omega _{\mu _{k_m}}`$ converges to some element $`\gamma _0\overline{UU}`$ when $`m`$ goes to infinity. By replacing it by a subsequence of $`\{k_m\}`$ if necessary, we may assume that the number of $`i`$ appearing in $`\mu _{k_m}𝒲_n`$ does not decrease for $`i=1,2,\mathrm{},n`$. Since $`|\mu _{k_m}|\mathrm{}`$ when $`m\mathrm{}`$, there exists $`i_0\{1,2,\mathrm{},n\}`$ such that the number of $`i_0`$ appearing in $`\mu _{k_m}`$ diverges to infinity when $`m\mathrm{}`$. By replacing it by a subsequence of $`\{k_m\}`$ if necessary, we may assume that the number of $`i_0`$ appearing in $`\mu _{k_m}`$ increases strictly. Thus, we have $`\omega _{\mu _{k_m}}\omega _{\mu _{k_{m1}}}\omega _{i_0}\{\omega _\mu \mu 𝒲_n\}`$ for any $`m`$. By

$$\underset{m\mathrm{}}{lim}(\omega _{\mu _{k_m}}\omega _{\mu _{k_{m1}}}\omega _{i_0})=\gamma _0\gamma _0\omega _{i_0}=\omega _{i_0},$$

we have $`\omega _{i_0}\overline{\{\omega _\mu \mu 𝒲_n\}}`$. This is a contradiction.

We fix a positive integer $`K`$ satisfying the condition in Lemma 3.3. Before going further, we remark that $`S_\mu fS_\mu ^{}`$ and $`S_\nu gS_\nu ^{}`$ commute for any $`\mu ,\nu 𝒲_n`$ and any $`f,gD_0(\mathrm{\Gamma })`$. This fact will be used without further notice. For $`k`$, define a $``$-endomorphism $`\rho _k`$ of $`A_\lambda `$ by $`\rho _k(x)=_{\mu 𝒲_n^{(k)}}S_\mu xS_\mu ^{}`$. Set a projection $`q`$ in $`A_\lambda `$ by

$$q=\left(\underset{k=1}{\overset{K}{}}\left(1\rho _k(p)\right)\right)p.$$

Note that $`qp`$ and $`q1\rho _k(p)`$ for $`k=1,2,\mathrm{},K`$.

###### Lemma 3.4

For any $`\mu ,\nu 𝒲_n`$ with $`\mu \nu `$, two projections $`S_\mu qS_\mu ^{}`$ and $`S_\nu qS_\nu ^{}`$ are orthogonal to each other.

Proof. It suffices to show that $`qS_\mu q=0`$ for any $`\mu 𝒲_n`$ with $`\mu \mathrm{}`$. When $`1|\mu |K`$, since

$$\left(1\rho _{|\mu |}(p)\right)S_\mu p=(S_\mu S_\mu p)p=0,$$

we have $`qS_\mu q=0`$. When $`|\mu |>K`$, $`pS_\mu p=0`$ by Lemma 3.3, so $`qS_\mu q=0`$.

Denote a set $`\{\mu 𝒲_n|\mu |K\}`$ by $`𝒲`$.

###### Lemma 3.5

We have $`_{\mu 𝒲}S_\mu qS_\mu ^{}p=p`$.

Proof. For $`l=1,2,\mathrm{},K`$, we have

$$\rho _l(q)=\left(\underset{k=1}{\overset{K}{}}\left(1\rho _{l+k}(p)\right)\right)\rho _l(p).$$

Since $`\left(1\rho _k(p)\right)p=p`$ for $`k>K`$ by Lemma 3.3, we have

$$\rho _l(q)p=\left(\underset{k=l+1}{\overset{K}{}}\left(1\rho _k(p)\right)\right)\rho _l(p)p.$$

Hence

$$\underset{\mu 𝒲}{}S_\mu qS_\mu ^{}p=\underset{l=0}{\overset{K}{}}\underset{\mu 𝒲_n^{(l)}}{}\rho _l(q)p=\underset{l=0}{\overset{K}{}}\left(\underset{k=l+1}{\overset{K}{}}\left(1\rho _k(p)\right)\right)\rho _l(p)p=p.$$

Let us define a projection $`p_0`$ by $`p_0=1p=1_{l=1}^Lp_l`$ where $`p_1,p_2,\mathrm{},p_L`$ are the minimal projections of $`D_\lambda `$. Note that $`p_0,p_1,\mathrm{},p_L`$ is a set of mutually orthogonal projections whose sum is $`1`$. Let $`𝕁^{}`$ be a set of all maps from the set $`𝒲=\{\mu 𝒲_n|\mu |K\}`$ to the set $`\{0,1,2,\mathrm{},L\}`$. For $`\tau 𝕁^{}`$, we define a projection $`q_\tau A_\lambda `$ by

$$q_\tau =q\underset{\mu 𝒲}{}S_\mu ^{}p_{\tau (\mu )}S_\mu .$$

Set $`𝕁=\{\tau 𝕁^{}q_\tau 0\}`$.

###### Lemma 3.6

1. $`\{q_\tau \}_{\tau 𝕁}`$ is a set of mutually orthogonal non-zero projections.
2. $`_{\tau 𝕁}q_\tau =q`$.
3. For $`\mu 𝒲`$, $`\tau 𝕁`$ and $`l\{1,2,\mathrm{},L\}`$, we have $`S_\mu q_\tau S_\mu ^{}p_l=\delta _{\tau (\mu ),l}S_\mu q_\tau S_\mu ^{}`$.

Proof.

1. If $`\tau _1\tau _2`$, then $`\tau _1(\mu )\tau _2(\mu )`$ for some $`\mu 𝒲`$. Now $`q_{\tau _1}q_{\tau _2}=0`$ follows from

$$(S_\mu ^{}p_{\tau _1(\mu )}S_\mu )(S_\mu ^{}p_{\tau _2(\mu )}S_\mu )=S_\mu ^{}S_\mu S_\mu ^{}p_{\tau _1(\mu )}p_{\tau _2(\mu )}S_\mu =0,$$

since $`q_{\tau _1}S_\mu ^{}p_{\tau _1(\mu )}S_\mu `$ and $`q_{\tau _2}S_\mu ^{}p_{\tau _2(\mu )}S_\mu `$.
2. $`_{\tau 𝕁}q_\tau =_{\tau 𝕁^{}}q_\tau =q_{\mu 𝒲}S_\mu ^{}(p_0+p_1+\mathrm{}+p_L)S_\mu =q`$.
3. It follows from the fact that

$$S_\mu (S_\mu ^{}p_{\tau (\mu )}S_\mu )S_\mu ^{}p_l=S_\mu S_\mu ^{}p_{\tau (\mu )}p_lS_\mu S_\mu ^{}=\delta _{\tau (\mu ),l}S_\mu (S_\mu ^{}p_{\tau (\mu )}S_\mu )S_\mu ^{}.$$

###### Proposition 3.7

We have $`A_\lambda _{\tau 𝕁}𝕂`$. Hence, $`A_\lambda `$ is an AF-algebra.

Proof. For any $`\tau _1,\tau _2𝕁`$ and $`\mu ,\nu 𝒲_n`$ with $`\mu \nu `$, we have $`(S_\mu q_{\tau _1}S_\mu ^{})(S_\nu q_{\tau _2}S_\nu ^{})=0`$ by Lemma 3.4. Thus, for $`\tau _1,\tau _2𝕁`$ and $`\mu _1,\mu _2,\nu _1,\nu _2𝒲_n`$, we get

$`(S_{\mu _1}q_{\tau _1}S_{\nu _1}^{})(S_{\mu _2}q_{\tau _2}S_{\nu _2}^{})`$ $`=\delta _{\nu _1,\mu _2}S_{\mu _1}q_{\tau _1}q_{\tau _2}S_{\nu _2}^{}`$
$`=\delta _{\nu _1,\mu _2}\delta _{\tau _1,\tau _2}S_{\mu _1}q_{\tau _1}S_{\nu _2}^{}.`$
For any $`\tau 𝕁`$, the set $`\{S_\mu q_\tau S_\nu ^{}\}_{\mu ,\nu 𝒲_n}`$ satisfies the relation of matrix units, so the $`C^{}`$-algebra generated by $`\{S_\mu q_\tau S_\nu ^{}\}_{\mu ,\nu 𝒲_n}`$ is isomorphic to $`𝕂`$. For any two elements $`\tau _1,\tau _2`$ in $`𝕁`$, the $`C^{}`$-algebra generated by $`\{S_\mu q_{\tau _1}S_\nu ^{}\}_{\mu ,\nu 𝒲_n}`$ is orthogonal to the $`C^{}`$-algebra generated by $`\{S_\mu q_{\tau _2}S_\nu ^{}\}_{\mu ,\nu 𝒲_n}`$. Therefore, the $`C^{}`$-algebra generated by $`\{S_\mu q_\tau S_\nu ^{}\mu ,\nu 𝒲_n,\tau 𝕁\}`$ is isomorphic to $`_{\tau 𝕁}𝕂`$.

Since $`q_\tau A_\lambda `$ for any $`\tau 𝕁`$, the $`C^{}`$-algebra generated by $`\{S_\mu q_\tau S_\nu ^{}\mu ,\nu 𝒲_n,\tau 𝕁\}`$ is contained in $`A_\lambda `$. Conversely, for $`l=1,2,\mathrm{},L`$,

$`p_l`$ $`=pp_l`$
$`={\displaystyle \underset{\mu 𝒲}{}}S_\mu qS_\mu ^{}pp_l`$ $`(\text{by Lemma }\text{3.5})`$
$`={\displaystyle \underset{\mu 𝒲}{}}S_\mu \left({\displaystyle \underset{\tau 𝕁}{}}q_\tau \right)S_\mu ^{}p_l`$ $`(\text{by Lemma }\text{3.6}\text{ (ii)})`$
$`={\displaystyle \underset{\mu 𝒲,\tau 𝕁}{}}S_\mu q_\tau S_\mu ^{}p_l`$
$`={\displaystyle \underset{\stackrel{\mu 𝒲,\tau 𝕁\text{,}}{\text{s.t. }\tau \left(\mu \right)=l}}{}}S_\mu q_\tau S_\mu ^{}`$ $`(\text{by Lemma }\text{3.6}\text{ (iii)}).`$
Thus, for any $`\mu ,\nu 𝒲_n`$ and $`l=1,2,\mathrm{},L`$, the element $`S_\mu p_lS_\nu ^{}`$ is contained in the $`C^{}`$-algebra generated by $`\{S_\mu q_\tau S_\nu ^{}\mu ,\nu 𝒲_n,\tau 𝕁\}`$. Therefore $`A_\gamma `$ coincides with the $`C^{}`$-algebra generated by $`\{S_\mu q_\tau S_\nu ^{}\mu ,\nu 𝒲_n,\tau 𝕁\}`$ which was proved to be isomorphic to $`_{\tau 𝕁}𝕂`$.

Now we can prove the main theorem.

###### Theorem 3.8

If $`\omega `$ satisfies $`\omega _i\overline{\{\omega _\mu \mu 𝒲_n\}}`$ for any $`i\{1,2,\mathrm{},n\}`$, then the crossed product $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ is AF-embeddable.

Proof. The $`C^{}`$-algebra $`A`$ is an AF-algebra because it is an inductive limit of AF-algebras. Since the crossed product $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ is naturally embedded into $`A`$, it is AF-embeddable.

###### Proposition 3.9

When $`G`$ is compact, the following are equivalent:

1. $`\omega _i\overline{\{\omega _\mu \mu 𝒲_n\}}`$ for any $`i\{1,2,\mathrm{},n\}`$.
2. The crossed product $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ is stably finite.
3. The crossed product $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ is AF-embeddable.
4. The crossed product $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ itself is an AF-algebra.

Proof. (i)$``$(iv): Note that $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ is discrete when $`G`$ is compact. We can take $`\left\{\{\gamma \}\right\}_{\gamma \mathrm{\Gamma }}`$ for an open base $`\{U_i\}_{i𝕀}`$. Then the $`C^{}`$-algebra $`A`$ which was proved to be an AF-algebra is $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ itself. Thus, $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ is an AF-algebra.

(iv)$``$(iii)$``$(ii): Obvious.

(ii)$``$(i): If there exists $`i\{1,2,\mathrm{},n\}`$ such that $`\omega _i\overline{\{\omega _\mu \mu 𝒲_n\}}`$, then there exists $`\mu ^{}𝒲_n`$ with $`\omega _i=\omega _\mu ^{}`$. Hence $`\mu =i\mu ^{}𝒲_n`$ satisfies $`|\mu |1`$ and $`\omega _\mu =0`$. Set $`u=S_\mu \chi 𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ where $`\chi C_0(\mathrm{\Gamma })`$ is the characteristic function of $`\{0\}`$. We have $`u^{}u=\chi `$ and $`uu^{}=S_\mu \chi S_\mu ^{}`$. We get $`\chi S_\mu \chi S_\mu ^{}`$ from $`|\mu |1`$, and $`\chi (S_\mu \chi S_\mu ^{})=S_\mu \chi S_\mu ^{}`$ from $`\omega _\mu =0`$. Therefore $`\chi `$ is an infinite projection. Thus $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ is not stably finite.

###### Remark 3.10

When $`G=`$, Theorem 3.8 implies that $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }`$ is AF-embeddable if all the $`\omega _i`$’s have the same sign. If there exist $`i,j`$ such that $`\omega _i<0<\omega _j`$, then $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }`$ has infinite projections hence it is not AF-embeddable. We do not know whether $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }`$ is AF-embeddable or not if there exists $`i\{1,2,\mathrm{},n\}`$ such that $`\omega _i=0`$ and all the other $`\omega _i`$’s have the same sign, though it is not hard to see that it is stably finite.

## 4 Pure infiniteness of $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$

In this section, we investigate for which $`\omega \mathrm{\Gamma }^n`$ the crossed product $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ becomes simple and purely infinite. Recall that a simple $`C^{}`$-algebra is called purely infinite if any non-zero hereditary subalgebra has an infinite projection. An element $`x`$ of a $`C^{}`$-algebra is called a scaling element if $`(x^{}x)(xx^{})=xx^{}`$ and $`x^{}xxx^{}`$. In \[BC\], B. E. Blackadar and J. Cuntz showed that if a simple stable $`C^{}`$-algebra has a scaling element, then it has an infinite projection. One can omit the assumption of stability (Proposition 4.2). To do so, we need the following standard lemma.

###### Lemma 4.1

Let $`A`$ be a $`C^{}`$-algebra, $`p`$ a projection of $`A`$, and $`a`$ a positive element of $`A`$. If there exist $`x_1,x_2\mathrm{},x_K`$ and $`y_1,y_2,\mathrm{},y_K`$ in $`A`$ with

$$p\underset{k=1}{\overset{K}{}}x_kay_k<\frac{1}{2},$$

then there exist $`z_1,z_2\mathrm{},z_{2K}`$ in $`A`$ such that

$$p=\underset{k=1}{\overset{2K}{}}z_k^{}az_k.$$

In particular, if $`A`$ is simple $`C^{}`$-algebra, $`p`$ is a projection of $`A`$, and $`a`$ is a non-zero positive element of $`A`$, then there exist $`x_1,x_2\mathrm{},x_K`$ in $`A`$ such that $`p=_{k=1}^Kx_k^{}ax_k`$.

Proof. See \[D, Lemma V.5.4\], for example.

###### Proposition 4.2

If a $`C^{}`$-algebra $`A`$ is simple and has a scaling element, then it has an infinite projection.

Proof. If $`A`$ has a scaling element, then $`A`$ has mutually orthogonal, mutually equivalent, non-zero projections $`\{p_k\}_{k=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ and a positive element $`a`$ with $`ap_k=p_k`$ for any $`k`$ \[BC, Theorem 3.1\]. Since $`A`$ is simple, there exist $`x_1,x_2\mathrm{},x_K`$ and $`y_1,y_2,\mathrm{},y_K`$ in $`A`$ with

$$a\underset{k=1}{\overset{K}{}}x_kp_1y_k<\frac{1}{2}.$$

Let us set $`p=_{k=1}^{2K+1}p_k`$, which is a projection. Then we have

$$p\underset{k=1}{\overset{K}{}}x_kp_1(y_kp)=\left(a\underset{k=1}{\overset{K}{}}x_kp_1y_k\right)p<\frac{1}{2},$$

since $`ap=p`$. Hence there exist $`z_1,z_2,\mathrm{},z_{2K}`$ in $`A`$ such that $`p=_{k=1}^{2K}z_k^{}p_1z_k`$ by Lemma 4.1. For $`k=1,2,\mathrm{},2K`$, let $`u_k`$ be a partial isometry with $`u_k^{}u_k=p_1,u_ku_k^{}=p_k`$. Set $`z=_{k=1}^{2K}u_kz_k`$. Then we have $`z^{}z=_{k=1}^{2K}z_k^{}p_1z_k=p`$. Since $`zz^{}(_{k=1}^{2K}p_k)=zz^{}`$, we have $`zz^{}_{k=1}^{2K}p_k<p`$. Therefore $`p`$ is an infinite projection.

A. Kishimoto and A. Kumjian proved that $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }`$ is simple and purely infinite if and only if the closed semigroup generated by $`\omega _1,\omega _2,\mathrm{},\omega _n`$ is $``$ in \[KK2\]. We will generalize their result for our setting by using the same technique as in \[KK2\]. Namely, we will prove that $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ is simple and purely infinite if and only if the closed semigroup generated by $`\omega _1,\omega _2,\mathrm{},\omega _n`$ is $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$. When $`\omega `$ satisfies $`\mathrm{\Gamma }=\overline{\{\omega _\mu \mu 𝒲_n\}}`$, the crossed product $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ is simple by \[Ki, Theorem 4.4\] (see also \[Ka, Theorem 4.8\]). First we will show that $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ has a scaling element and hence an infinite projection.

###### Lemma 4.3

Suppose that $`\omega `$ satisfies $`\mathrm{\Gamma }=\overline{\{\omega _\mu \mu 𝒲_n\}}`$. For any neighborhood $`U`$ of $`0\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ and any positive integer $`K`$, there exist $`K`$ elements $`\mu _1,\mu _2,\mathrm{},\mu _K`$ of $`𝒲_n`$ such that $`\omega _{\mu _k}U`$ for $`k=1,2,\mathrm{},K`$ and $`S_{\mu _k}^{}S_{\mu _l}=\delta _{k,l}`$.

Proof. We can find $`K`$ elements $`\nu _1,\nu _2,\mathrm{},\nu _K`$ of $`𝒲_n`$ such that $`S_{\nu _k}^{}S_{\nu _l}=\delta _{k,l}`$. For $`k=1,2,\mathrm{},K`$, there exists $`\nu _k^{}𝒲_n`$ with $`\omega _{\nu _k^{}}U\omega _{\nu _k}`$ because $`U\omega _{\nu _k}`$ is open and $`\{\omega _\mu \mu 𝒲_n\}`$ is dense in $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$. Set $`\mu _k=\nu _k\nu _k^{}`$ for $`k=1,2,\mathrm{},K`$. Then $`S_{\mu _k}^{}S_{\mu _l}=\delta _{k,l}`$ and $`\omega _{\mu _k}=\omega _{\nu _k}+\omega _{\nu _k^{}}U`$ for $`k=1,2,\mathrm{},K`$.

###### Lemma 4.4

Suppose that $`\omega `$ satisfies $`\mathrm{\Gamma }=\overline{\{\omega _\mu \mu 𝒲_n\}}`$. Let $`X`$ be a compact neighborhood of $`0\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ that differs from $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$. Then, there exist positive functions $`f_1,f_2,\mathrm{},f_KC_0(\mathrm{\Gamma })`$ and $`\mu _1,\mu _2,\mathrm{},\mu _K𝒲_n`$ satisfying the following conditions:

1. $`S_{\mu _k}^{}S_{\mu _l}=\delta _{k,l}`$.
2. $`_{k=1}^Kf_k(\gamma )=1`$ for any $`\gamma X`$.
3. $`_{k=1}^Kf_k(\gamma _0)0,1`$ for some $`\gamma _0\mathrm{\Gamma }`$.
4. The support of $`\sigma _{\omega _{\mu _k}}f_k`$ is contained in $`X`$ for $`k=1,2,\mathrm{},K`$.

Proof. Let us choose an open neighborhood $`U_1`$ of $`0`$ such that the open neighborhood $`U=U_1+U_1`$ of 0 is contained in $`X`$, and then choose an open neighborhood $`U_2`$ of $`0`$ such that $`\overline{U_2}U_1`$. For any $`\gamma \mathrm{\Gamma }`$, there exists $`\mu 𝒲_n`$ with $`\omega _\mu U_2+\gamma `$ because $`\{\omega _\mu \mu 𝒲_n\}`$ is dense in $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$. Therefore $`_{\mu 𝒲_n}(U_2\omega _\mu )=\mathrm{\Gamma }`$. Since $`X`$ is compact, there exist finite elements $`\nu _1,\nu _2,\mathrm{},\nu _K`$ of $`𝒲_n`$ such that

$$X\underset{k=1}{\overset{K}{}}(U_2\omega _{\nu _k}).$$

By Lemma 4.3, there exist $`K`$ elements $`\nu _1^{},\nu _2^{},\mathrm{},\nu _K^{}𝒲_n`$ such that $`S_{\nu _k^{}}^{}S_{\nu _l^{}}=\delta _{k,l}`$ and $`\omega _{\nu _k^{}}U_1`$ for $`k=1,2,\mathrm{},K`$. Set $`\mu _k=\nu _k^{}\nu _k`$ for $`k=1,2,\mathrm{},K`$. Then $`S_{\mu _k}^{}S_{\mu _l}=\delta _{k,l}`$. For $`k=1,2,\mathrm{},K`$, we get

$`\overline{U_2\omega _{\nu _k}}`$ $`U_1\omega _{\nu _k}`$
$`U_1+U_1\omega _{\nu _k}\omega _{\nu _k^{}}`$
$`=U\omega _{\mu _k},`$
since $`\overline{U_2}U_1`$ and $`\omega _{\nu _k^{}}U_1`$. For $`k=1,2,\mathrm{},K`$, let $`g_kC_0(\mathrm{\Gamma })`$ be a function with $`0g_k1`$ such that $`g_k(\gamma )=1`$ for $`\gamma \overline{U_2\omega _{\nu _k}}`$ and $`g_k(\gamma )=0`$ for $`\gamma U\omega _{\mu _k}`$. Let us choose a continuous positive function $`F`$ on $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ satisfying $`F(\gamma )=0`$ for $`\gamma X`$ and $`F(\gamma )=1`$ for $`\gamma _{k=1}^K(U_2\omega _{\nu _k})`$. Then the continuous function $`G=F+_{k=1}^Kg_k`$ on $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ satisfies $`G(\gamma )1`$ for any $`\gamma \mathrm{\Gamma }`$ since $`F,g_1,g_2,\mathrm{},g_K`$ are positive functions, and $`F(\gamma )=1`$ for $`\gamma _{k=1}^K(U_2\omega _{\nu _k})`$, and $`g_k(\gamma )=1`$ for $`\gamma U_2\omega _{\nu _k}`$. Set $`f_k=g_k/G`$ for $`k=1,2,\mathrm{},K`$. Then for $`k=1,2,\mathrm{},K`$, the positive function $`f_kC_0(\mathrm{\Gamma })`$ satisfies $`f_k(\gamma )=0`$ for any $`\gamma U\omega _{\mu _k}`$. For $`\gamma X`$, we have

$`{\displaystyle \underset{k=1}{\overset{K}{}}}f_k(\gamma )`$ $`={\displaystyle \underset{k=1}{\overset{K}{}}}{\displaystyle \frac{g_k(\gamma )}{G(\gamma )}}`$
$`={\displaystyle \frac{_{k=1}^Kg_k(\gamma )}{F(\gamma )+_{k=1}^Kg_k(\gamma )}}`$
$`=1.`$
Since $`X_{k=1}^K(U_2\omega _{\nu _k})`$, there exists $`\gamma _0X`$ that is an element of $`U_2\omega _{\nu _{k_0}}`$ for some $`k_0\{1,2,\mathrm{},K\}`$. Since $`U_2\omega _{\nu _{k_0}}`$ is open and $`X`$ is closed, we can choose an open set $`O`$ such that $`\gamma _0OU_2\omega _{\nu _{k_0}}`$ and $`OX=\mathrm{}`$. Let us take a positive function $`f`$ such that $`f(\gamma )=0`$ for any $`\gamma O`$ and $`f(\gamma _0)+_{k=1}^Kf_k(\gamma _0)`$ is neither 0 nor 1. Then $`f_{k_0}^{}=f_{k_0}+f`$ still satisfies that $`f_{k_0}^{}(\gamma )=0`$ for any $`\gamma U\omega _{\mu _k}`$. We denote this new function $`f_{k_0}^{}`$ by $`f_{k_0}`$. Then $`K`$ functions $`f_1,f_2,\mathrm{},f_K`$ satisfy $`_{k=1}^Kf_k(\gamma )=1`$ for $`\gamma X`$ and $`_{k=1}^Kf_k(\gamma _0)0,1`$. For $`k=1,2,\mathrm{},K`$, since $`\sigma _{\omega _{\mu _k}}f_k(\gamma )=0`$ for any $`\gamma UX`$, the support of $`\sigma _{\omega _{\mu _k}}f_k`$ is contained in $`X`$. We get desired elements $`f_1,f_2,\mathrm{},f_KC_0(\mathrm{\Gamma })`$ and $`\mu _1,\mu _2,\mathrm{},\mu _K𝒲_n`$.

###### Proposition 4.5

If $`\omega `$ satisfies that $`\mathrm{\Gamma }=\overline{\{\omega _\mu \mu 𝒲_n\}}`$, then $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ has a scaling element.

Proof. Let $`X`$ be a compact neighborhood of $`0\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ that differs from $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$. Let us take positive functions $`f_1,f_2,\mathrm{},f_KC_0(\mathrm{\Gamma })`$ and $`\mu _1,\mu _2,\mathrm{},\mu _K𝒲_n`$ that satisfy the four conditions in Lemma 4.4. Let us define $`x=_{k=1}^KS_{\mu _k}f_k^{1/2}𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$. Since $`S_{\mu _k}^{}S_{\mu _l}=\delta _{k,l}`$,

$$x^{}x=\underset{k,l=1}{\overset{K}{}}f_k^{1/2}S_{\mu _k}^{}S_{\mu _l}f_l^{1/2}=\underset{k=1}{\overset{K}{}}f_k.$$

On the other hand,

$$xx^{}=\underset{k,l=1}{\overset{K}{}}\left(S_{\mu _k}f_k^{1/2}f_l^{1/2}S_{\mu _l}^{}\right)=\underset{k,l=1}{\overset{K}{}}\left((\sigma _{\omega _{\mu _k}}f_k^{1/2})(\sigma _{\omega _{\mu _k}}f_l^{1/2})S_{\mu _k}S_{\mu _l}^{}\right).$$

Since the support of $`\sigma _{\omega _{\mu _k}}f_k^{1/2}`$ is contained in $`X`$ for any $`k=1,2,\mathrm{},K`$ and $`_{k=1}^Kf_k(\gamma )=1`$ for $`\gamma X`$, we have $`(x^{}x)(xx^{})=xx^{}`$.

Finally we show $`x^{}xxx^{}`$. If $`x^{}x=xx^{}`$, then $`x^{}x`$ would become a projection. However, $`x^{}x=_{k=1}^Kf_k`$ is not a projection, since there exists $`\gamma _0\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ with $`_{k=1}^Kf_k(\gamma _0)0,1`$. Thus $`x`$ is a scaling element.

Since $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ is simple, it has an infinite projection by Proposition 4.2 and Proposition 4.5. To prove that every non-zero hereditary subalgebra of $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ has an infinite projection, we need the following lemma. In the proof of it, we use some computations done in \[Ka\] which is not difficult to see. Let $`\beta :𝕋𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ be the gauge action defined by $`\beta _t(S_\mu fS_\nu ^{})=t^{|\mu ||\nu |}S_\mu fS_\nu ^{}`$, and $`E`$ be the faithful conditional expectation of $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ defined by $`E(x)=_𝕋\beta _t(x)𝑑t`$ where $`dt`$ is the normalized Haar measure of $`𝕋`$.

###### Lemma 4.6

Let $`y`$ be a non-zero positive element of $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$, given as $`y=_{l=1}^LS_{\mu _l}f_lS_{\nu _l}^{}`$. Let $`C`$ be a positive number with $`1/E(y)<C^2`$. Then, there exist $`a𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ with $`aC`$ and an open set $`O`$ of $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ such that $`a^{}ya`$ becomes an element of $`C_0(\mathrm{\Gamma })`$ which is $`1`$ on $`O`$.

Proof. Set $`k=\mathrm{max}\{|\mu _l|,|\nu _l|l=1,2,\mathrm{},L\}`$ and

$$_k=\mathrm{span}\{S_\mu fS_\nu ^{}\mu ,\nu 𝒲_n^{(k)},fC_0(\mathrm{\Gamma })\}.$$

The $`C^{}`$-algebra $`_k`$ is isomorphic to $`C_0(\mathrm{\Gamma },𝕄_{n^k})`$ and we will identify them. We can see that $`E(y)=_{|\mu _l|=|\nu _l|}S_{\mu _l}f_lS_{\nu _l}^{}`$ and $`E(y)_k`$. Set $`u=_{\mu 𝒲_n^{(k)}}S_\mu S_1^kS_2S_\mu ^{}𝒪_nM(𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G)`$. Routine computation shows that $`u`$ is an isometry and $`u^{}yu=\sigma _\gamma (E(y))`$ where $`\gamma =k\omega _1+\omega _2`$. Hence $`u^{}yu`$ is a positive element of $`_k`$ whose norm is equal to $`E(y)`$. One can find $`\gamma _0\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ such that the norm of $`(u^{}yu)(\gamma _0)𝕄_{n^k}`$ is $`E(y)`$. The $`C^{}`$-subalgebra $`\mathrm{span}\{S_\mu S_\nu ^{}\mu ,\nu 𝒲_n^{(k)}\}`$ of $`𝒪_nM(𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G)`$ is isomorphic to $`𝕄_{n^k}`$ and can be considered as the set of constant functions of $`C_b(\mathrm{\Gamma },𝕄_{n^k})M(_k)`$. Take an element $`\mu `$ in $`𝒲_n^{(k)}`$ arbitrarily. Then $`S_\mu S_\mu ^{}M(𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G)`$ is a minimal projection of $`𝕄_{n^k}`$. Since $`u^{}yu`$ is positive, $`(u^{}yu)(\gamma _0)`$ is a positive element of $`𝕄_{n^k}`$. Hence, there exists a partial isometry $`v\mathrm{span}\{S_\mu S_\nu ^{}\mu ,\nu 𝒲_n^{(k)}\}`$ such that $`v^{}v=S_\mu S_\mu ^{}`$ and

$$(v^{}u^{}yuv)(\gamma _0)=E(y)S_\mu S_\mu ^{}.$$

There exists a function $`fC_0(\mathrm{\Gamma })`$ with $`v^{}u^{}yuv=S_\mu fS_\mu ^{}`$, because the projection $`S_\mu S_\mu ^{}`$ is minimal. Since $`f(\gamma _0)=E(y)`$, there exists a positive function $`gC_0(\mathrm{\Gamma })`$ with $`gC`$ such that $`fg^2C_0(\mathrm{\Gamma })`$ is 1 on some open neighborhood $`O`$ of $`\gamma _0`$. If we set $`a=uvS_\mu g𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$, then, we get $`aC`$ and $`a^{}ya=gfg`$ becomes an element of $`C_0(\mathrm{\Gamma })`$ which is $`1`$ on $`O`$.

###### Theorem 4.7

If $`\omega `$ satisfies that $`\mathrm{\Gamma }=\overline{\{\omega _\mu \mu 𝒲_n\}}`$, then $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ is simple and purely infinite.

Proof. To prove that $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ is purely infinite, it suffices to show that there exists an infinite projection in the hereditary subalgebra $`\overline{x(𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G)x}`$ generated by $`x`$ for any non-zero positive element $`x𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$. Take a non-zero positive element $`x𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ and a sufficiently small positive number $`\epsilon >0`$. There exists a positive element $`y`$ with $`xy<\epsilon `$ that is a linear combination of elements of the form $`S_\mu fS_\nu ^{}`$. Since $`E(x)E(y)xy<\epsilon `$, there exists a real number $`C`$ with $`1/E(y)<C^2`$ which depends only on $`x`$. By Lemma 4.6, there exist $`a𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ with $`aC`$ and an open set $`O`$ of $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ such that $`a^{}ya`$ becomes an element of $`C_0(\mathrm{\Gamma })`$ which is $`1`$ on $`O`$. Take an open subset $`O_1`$ of $`O`$ and a neighborhood $`O_2`$ of $`0\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ with $`O_1+O_2O`$. Let $`h`$ be a non-zero positive function of $`C_0(\mathrm{\Gamma })`$ whose support is contained in $`O_1`$. The crossed product $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ has an infinite projection $`p`$ by Proposition 4.2 and Proposition 4.5. Since $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ is simple and $`p`$ is a projection, there exist $`x_1,x_2,\mathrm{},x_K𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ satisfying $`_{k=1}^Kx_k^{}hx_k=p`$ by Lemma 4.1. By Lemma 4.3, we can choose $`\mu _1,\mu _2,\mathrm{},\mu _K𝒲_n`$ such that $`S_{\mu _k}^{}S_{\mu _l}=\delta _{k,l}`$ and $`\omega _{\mu _k}O_2`$ for $`k=1,2,\mathrm{},K`$. Set $`b=_{k=1}^KS_{\mu _k}h^{1/2}x_k`$. We have

$$b^{}b=\underset{k,l=1}{\overset{K}{}}x_k^{}h^{\frac{1}{2}}S_{\mu _k}^{}S_{\mu _l}h^{\frac{1}{2}}x_l=\underset{k=1}{\overset{K}{}}x_k^{}hx_k=p.$$

Since the support of $`\sigma _{\omega _{\mu _k}}(h^{1/2})`$ is contained in $`O`$ for $`k=1,2,\mathrm{},K`$, and the function $`a^{}yaC_0(\mathrm{\Gamma })`$ is 1 on $`O`$, we have $`(a^{}ya)b=b`$. Therefore, we get $`b^{}a^{}yab=p`$. Thus $`q=(y^{1/2}ab)(b^{}a^{}y^{1/2})`$ is an infinite projection because it is equivalent to the infinite projection $`p`$. The hereditary subalgebra $`\overline{x(𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G)x}`$ has a positive element $`c=x^{1/2}abb^{}a^{}x^{1/2}`$ which is close to an infinite projection $`q`$. If we choose $`\epsilon >0`$ so small that $`qc<1/2`$, then we get a projection $`q_0=\chi (c)`$ in $`\overline{x(𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G)x}`$ by the functional calculus where $`\chi `$ is a characteristic function of a certain neighborhood of 1. The projection $`q_0`$ of $`\overline{x(𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G)x}`$ is infinite since it is close to an infinite projection $`q`$. Therefore, $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ is purely infinite.

Once noting that $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ is simple if and only if the closed semigroup generated by $`\omega _1,\omega _2,\mathrm{},\omega _n`$ and $`\omega _i`$ is equal to $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ for any $`i=1,2,\mathrm{},n`$ (see \[Ki, Theorem 4.4\] or \[Ka, Theorem 4.8\]), we have the following corollaries.

###### Corollary 4.8

The crossed product $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ is either purely infinite or AF-embeddable when it is simple.

###### Corollary 4.9

The crossed product $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ is simple and purely infinite if and only if $`\mathrm{\Gamma }=\overline{\{\omega _\mu \mu 𝒲_n\}}`$.

###### Remark 4.10

When the group $`G`$ is compact, crossed products $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ are graph algebras \[KP\]. From this fact, one can easily prove Proposition 3.9 and two corollaries above when the group $`G`$ is compact (see \[BPRS\], for example).

###### Remark 4.11

When the group $`G`$ is discrete, crossed products $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ are never AF-embeddable and Corollary 4.8 implies that crossed products $`𝒪_n_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ is purely infinite if it is simple. This fact was already proved in \[KK2, Lemma 10\].

## 5 AF-embeddability of $`𝒪_{\mathrm{}}_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$

In this section, we deal with crossed products of the Cuntz algebra $`𝒪_{\mathrm{}}`$ which is the universal $`C^{}`$-algebra generated by infinitely many isometries $`S_1,S_2,\mathrm{}`$ satisfying $`S_i^{}S_j=\delta _{i,j}`$. Let us denote by $`𝒲_{\mathrm{}}`$ the set of words whose letters are $`\{1,2,\mathrm{}\}`$, which is naturally identified with $`_{n=2}^{\mathrm{}}𝒲_n`$. We can define an isometry $`S_\mu 𝒪_{\mathrm{}}`$ for $`\mu 𝒲_{\mathrm{}}`$. As in the case of $`𝒪_n`$, we define the action $`\alpha ^\omega `$ of abelian group $`G`$ on $`𝒪_{\mathrm{}}`$ by

$$\alpha _t^\omega (S_i)=t|\omega _iS_i(i=1,2,\mathrm{},tG)$$

for $`\omega =(\omega _1,\omega _2,\mathrm{})\mathrm{\Gamma }^{\mathrm{}}`$. The crossed product $`𝒪_{\mathrm{}}_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ has the $`C^{}`$-algebra $`1_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ which is isomorphic to $`C_0(\mathrm{\Gamma })`$. One can easily see that $`fS_\mu =S_\mu \sigma _{\omega _\mu }f`$ for any $`fC_0(\mathrm{\Gamma })𝒪_{\mathrm{}}_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ and any $`\mu 𝒲_{\mathrm{}}`$, and

$$𝒪_{\mathrm{}}_{\alpha ^\omega }G=\overline{\mathrm{span}}\{S_\mu fS_\nu ^{}\mu ,\nu 𝒲_{\mathrm{}},fC_0(\mathrm{\Gamma })\}.$$

###### Proposition 5.1

If $`\omega \mathrm{\Gamma }^{\mathrm{}}`$ satisfies $`\omega _i\overline{\{\omega _\mu \mu 𝒲_n𝒲_{\mathrm{}}\}}`$ for any $`i`$ and any $`n`$, then the crossed product $`𝒪_{\mathrm{}}_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ is AF-embeddable.

Proof. Fix an open base $`\{U_i\}_{i𝕀}`$ such that for any $`i𝕀`$, $`\overline{U_i}`$ is compact and for any $`i𝕀`$ and $`\mu 𝒲_{\mathrm{}}`$, there exists $`j𝕀`$ with $`U_j=U_i\omega _\mu `$. Let $`D_0(\mathrm{\Gamma })`$ be the $`C^{}`$-algebra generated $`\{\chi _{U_i}\}_{i𝕀}`$ in $`L^{\mathrm{}}(\mathrm{\Gamma })`$ and define the $`C^{}`$-subalgebra $`A`$ of $`B(HL^2(\mathrm{\Gamma }))`$ by

$$A=\overline{\mathrm{span}}\{S_\mu fS_\nu ^{}\mu ,\nu 𝒲_{\mathrm{}},fD_0(\mathrm{\Gamma })\}.$$

The crossed product $`𝒪_{\mathrm{}}_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ can be embedded into $`A`$. For a positive integer $`n`$ and a finite set $`\lambda 𝕀`$, we denote by $`A_{\lambda ,n}`$ the $`C^{}`$-subalgebra of $`A`$ generated by

$$\{S_\mu \chi _{U_i}S_\nu ^{}\mu ,\nu 𝒲_n𝒲_{\mathrm{}},i\lambda \}.$$

One can easily see that $`A=\underset{}{\mathrm{lim}}A_{\lambda ,n}`$. Take a positive integer $`n`$ and a finite set $`\lambda 𝕀`$ and fix them. Since $`\omega _i\overline{\{\omega _\mu \mu 𝒲_n𝒲_{\mathrm{}}\}}`$ for any $`i`$, there exists $`K`$ such that $`pS_\mu p=0`$ for any $`\mu 𝒲_n𝒲_{\mathrm{}}`$ with $`|\mu |>K`$ by Lemma 3.3, where $`p`$ is the characteristic function of $`_{i\lambda }U_i`$. Once fixing such an integer $`K`$, we can define the projection $`qA_{\lambda ,n}`$ in the same manner as in Section 3 and prove the same statement as in Lemma 3.4 and Lemma 3.5. Hence as in a similar way to Proposition 3.7, we can prove that $`A_{\lambda ,n}`$ is isomorphic to a direct product of finitely many $`𝕂`$. Hence $`A`$ is an AF-algebra. Since the crossed product $`𝒪_{\mathrm{}}_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ can be embedded into $`A`$, it is AF-embeddable.

In the case of $`𝒪_n`$, we have the dichotomy (Corollary 4.8). However in the case of $`𝒪_{\mathrm{}}`$, instead of dichotomy we have the following.

###### Proposition 5.2

For $`\omega \mathrm{\Gamma }^{\mathrm{}}`$, the following are equivalent:

1. $`\mathrm{\Gamma }=\overline{\{\omega _\mu \mu 𝒲_{\mathrm{}}\}}`$.
2. $`𝒪_{\mathrm{}}_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ is simple.
3. $`𝒪_{\mathrm{}}_{\alpha ^\omega }G`$ is simple and purely infinite.

Proof. The equivalence between (i) and (ii) was proved in \[Ki\]. Obviously (iii) implies (ii). One can prove the implication (i) $``$ (iii) in a similar way to arguments in Section 4, though we need more complicated computations to prove the proposition corresponding to Lemma 4.6.


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# Linewidth of single photon transitions in Mn12-acetate

## Abstract

We use time-domain terahertz spectroscopy to measure the position and linewidth of single photon transitions in Mn12-acetate. This linewidth is compared to the linewidth measured in tunneling experiments. We conclude that local magnetic fields (due to dipole or hyperfine interactions) cannot be responsible for the observed linewidth, and suggest that the linewidth is due to variations in the anisotropy constants for different clusters. We also calculate a lower limit on the dipole field distribution that would be expected due to random orientations of clusters and find that collective effects must narrow this distribution in tunneling measurements.

preprint: HEP/123-qed

Mn12-acetate (\[Mn12O12(CH3COO)16(H2O)4\] $``$ 2 CH3COOH$``$4H2O) is a member of a class of high-spin molecular clusters that have been shown to exhibit quantum tunneling of the magnetic moment.Friedman96 ; Thomas96  It consists of a core of twelve manganese ions with spins tightly coupled via superexchange through twelve oxide ions, with a ground-state spin $`S=10`$. These clusters are separated by acetate and water groups and arranged in a tetragonal body-centered lattice so that the nearest neighbor distance is 13.7 $`\mathrm{\AA }`$ and the shortest distance between manganese ions in neighboring clusters is 7 $`\mathrm{\AA }`$. Since it is fairly unusual for a system this large to display quantum mechanical properties, it has been the subject of much investigation.

One particularly interesting area of investigation is the interaction of the spins with their environment, as reflected in the linewidth of the energy levels. It is not yet clear why in some cases the measured linewidth of transitions provides information about the intrinsic properties of the clusters (homogeneous broadening), while in others it seems to be due to variations in the local environments of clusters (heterogeneous broadening). A comparison of the linewidths we measure for intrawell transitions with the linewidths measured in tunneling between wells can help to determine the answer.

The Hamiltonian for the spin clusters is approximately given by $`=`$$`\alpha S_z^2\beta S_z^4+\gamma (S_+^4+S_{}^4)g\mu _B𝐒𝐇`$, where $`\alpha `$ = 0.38 cm-1, $`\beta =8.2\times 10^4`$ cm-1, $`\gamma \pm 2\times 10^5`$ cm-1, and $`g2`$. Barra97 ; Mirebeau99 ; Hill98 ; Fort98 ; Luis98 ; Bao01 ; Mukhin ; Zhong99  In zero field, states with equal $`|m|`$ are degenerate. The ground states $`m=\pm 10`$ are separated by a barrier of approximately 66 K.

In this paper, we describe an experiment that measures the linewidth of the intrawell $`m=10`$ 9 transition (and the -10 $``$ -9 transition) using time-domain terahertz spectroscopy. The measurements were made on a pellet pressed from small unaligned crystals of Mn12-acetate prepared according to the procedure of T. Lis.Lis80

In terahertz time-domain spectroscopy, a nearly single-cycle electromagnetic pulse with a length of a few picoseconds is produced when an optical pulse from a modelocked titanium sapphire laser is incident on a microfabricated photoconductive antenna. This electromagnetic pulse is guided through the sample quasi-optically and then detected by a second photoconductive antenna. This detector antenna is gated by a time-delayed laser pulse split from the same pulse that triggered the generator antenna. The time dependence of the transmitted electromagnetic pulse is measured by adjusting the delay between the laser pulses incident on the generator and detector. The transmitted electric field $`E_t(t)`$ is then Fourier transformed to yield $`\stackrel{~}{E}_t(\omega )`$, the complex frequency dependence of the transmitted electromagnetic pulse. This transmitted electric field can be normalized by the field measured with the sample removed from the beam path, yielding the complex transmission coefficient, $`\stackrel{~}{t}(\omega )`$.

Generally, terahertz spectroscopy is used to characterize a material response that varies slowly with frequency, for which the frequency resolution is not required to be higher than tens of GHz. To our knowledge, it has never been used to examine linewidths of transitions. This is because higher frequency resolution can only be obtained with a longer time delay between the generator and detector laser pulses. It is difficult to align the translation stage well enough to allow constant detection sensitivity over a large delay range, since the detector is very sensitive to the position of the focussed laser spot on the photoconductor. Through a careful alignment process we were able to maintain the detector sensitivity within a few percent over the entire delay range. It is also difficult to eliminate stray reflections from surfaces of optical elements and ends of transmission lines. These stray reflections lead to interference fringes in the spectrum. The fringes make it impossible to fit the lineshape to a particular form (Gaussian or Lorentzian), but it is still possible to estimate the linewidth.

In Figure 1 we show the magnitude ratio of the transmission spectra for the Mn12-acetate pellet at 15 K and at 3 K. This ratio makes the changes in transmission due to temperature more apparent. At 3 K, almost all the spins are in the ground state ($`m=\pm 10`$), so only the transitions from $`m=\pm 10`$ to $`\pm 9`$ are observed. At 15 K, some higher energy states are thermally occupied so more transitions are observed. These absorptions are seen as peaks in the transmission ratio. The location of these transitions can be fit to yield the first two parameters in the Hamiltonian: $`\alpha =0.382(4)`$ cm-1 and $`\beta =8.0(2)10^4`$ cm-1. These parameters are in good agreement with those cited earlier.

In Figure 2 we focus on the absorption at 300.6 GHz, which corresponds to the transition from $`m=\pm 10`$ to $`\pm 9`$. (The absorption from $`m=\pm 9`$ to $`\pm 8`$ has a similar linewidth.) We plot the index of refraction as a function of frequency near this absorption at temperature T = 2.1 K. The index of refraction was calculated directly from the (complex) transmission spectrum using the following equation. The transmission through a slab of thickness $`d`$ = 1.4 mm with complex index of refraction $`\stackrel{~}{n}`$ is:Ibach

$$\stackrel{~}{t}(\omega )=\frac{4\stackrel{~}{n}}{(\stackrel{~}{n}+1)^2}\frac{e^{i\omega \stackrel{~}{n}d/c}}{1(\frac{\stackrel{~}{n}1}{\stackrel{~}{n}+1})^2e^{2i\omega \stackrel{~}{n}d/c}}.$$
(1)
This equation assumes that all reflections from the interfaces are included, even though THz spectroscopy only collects data within a finite time window after the main pulse. However, in this case the reflectivity is low enough and the absorption is strong enough that the limited time window does not introduce significant error. Notice that since this is a magnetic transition, $`n`$ must be correctly defined as $`\sqrt{\mu ϵ/\mu _0ϵ_0}`$, rather than approximated as $`\sqrt{ϵ/ϵ_0}`$. We stress that our measurement yields the complex index of refraction without any modeling of either the lineshape or the high and low frequency extrapolations of the response functions.

We model the absorption using the standard form for a magnetic dipole resonance:

$$\mu /\mu _0=1+\frac{F\omega _0^2}{\omega _0^2\omega ^2i\omega \mathrm{\Gamma }}.$$
(2)
We assume that $`ϵ`$ is constant over this frequency range. The curve in Figure 2 is a fit to this form, with $`ϵ_rϵ/ϵ_0`$ = 1.72, $`\omega _0=300.6`$ GHz, $`\mathrm{\Gamma }=5.5`$ GHz, and $`F`$ = 0.011. The value of $`F`$ for oriented crystals would be much higher, since the electromagnetic pulse only stimulates transitions in crystals that are oriented with their $`c`$-axes parallel to the direction of propagation.

Although we have used a standard Lorentzian lineshape with no inhomogeneous broadening to fit these data, it is clear that an equal or better fit could be achieved by considering inhomogeneous broadening. While we can confidently measure the linewidth, we cannot draw any conclusions about the lineshape. However, there has been another measurement of this absorption line by Mukhin et al.Mukhin  Their data strongly favor a Gaussian fit to the transmission with a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 7 GHz.MukhinP  (For this material, the FWHM of $`ln(|\stackrel{~}{t}|)`$, $`Im(n)`$, and $`Im(\mu )`$ are all approximately equal, so this value can be compared directly to $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ in Eq. 2.) The two measured widths are fairly close, but are not equal within the experimental uncertainty. A possible cause of this difference will be discussed later in this paper.

This Gaussian fit is strong evidence for inhomogeneous broadening of the linewidth. However, the cause of this inhomogeneous broadening is unclear. The most obvious source is local magnetic fields, which could be due to the dipolar field of neighboring clusters or the nuclear moments of the manganese atoms. The local dipolar field has not, to our knowledge, been calculated because it depends on the random orientations along the $`\pm z`$ directions of the magnetic moments of all the other clusters. The calculated value of the hyperfine field varies depending on the type of coupling that is assumed between the electron spins, but its maximum possible value ranges from 270 to 539 G,Hartmann-Boutron96  and its FWHM has been estimated at 280-380 G.Wernsdorfer99

The effect of a local field would be to raise or lower the transition energy between the $`\pm 10`$ and $`\pm 9`$ levels, $`\mathrm{\Delta }E_{10,9}`$. From the Hamiltonian, we see that $`\mathrm{\Delta }E_{10,9}(B)`$ = $`\mathrm{\Delta }E_{10,9}(B=0)\pm \mu _BgB_z`$. For this material, $`g`$ is very close to 2, so to explain a linewidth of 5.5 GHz requires a magnetic field distribution with width of 0.20 T.

This local field distribution seems to be ruled out by the measurements of the width of the tunneling peak performed by Friedman et al. Friedman98  Starting with a sample cooled in zero applied field, a small magnetic field was applied parallel to the $`z`$-axis and the relaxation rate of the magnetization toward its equilibrium value was measured. They measured the full width at half maximum to be 236 Oe at 2.6 K. If the local field had a full width at half maximum of 0.20 T, as implied above, then this narrow peak could never have been observed. In addition, the line shape measured by Friedman et al. was clearly Lorentzian. This implies that the inhomogeneous broadening due to local magnetic fields must be significantly smaller than the homogenous effect of lifetime broadening. We note that Friedman et al.’s interpretation of this homogeneous broadening as being due to a lifetime of 250 ps does not imply that Lorentzian tails should be visible in the transitions between $`m=\pm 10`$ and $`m=\pm 9`$, since the lifetime of states with larger $`|m|`$ could be expected to be longer than that of the states involved in tunneling. However, the absence of broadening of Friedman et al.’s data due to local magnetic fields is puzzling.

One possible explanation is that the width measured in tunneling experiments reflects collective effects. The relaxation rate measured by Friedman et al. is a fit to the exponential relaxation that is observed after an initial non-exponential relaxation. As was pointed out in Ref. Prokof ev, , relaxation must actually be a collective process in which the relaxation of one molecule changes the dipole fields of its neighbors, thereby bringing new molecules into resonance. Therefore, it is possible that the width in the relaxation rate would be different from the instantaneous width measured in photon absorption experiments.

In fact, our calculations of the dipolar field show that collective effects must decrease the width of this tunneling peak. Using the atomic positions tabulated in Ref. Lis80, , we calculated the effective field on one cluster due to each of its neighbors. Because the clusters have sizes that are not negligible compared to their separations, this was done by calculating the dipolar field due to the electronic spin of every Mn atom in the neighboring cluster with moment $`𝐦_j=g\mu _BS_j\widehat{𝐳}`$, where we choose $`S_j=+2`$ for the eight Mn3+ ions and $`S_j=3/2`$ for the four Mn4+ ions to reflect their antiferromagnetic coupling. The fields due to all twelve Mn ions located at positions $`𝐫_j`$ in the neighboring cluster are summed at the position $`𝐫_i`$ of every Mn atom in the cluster under consideration:

$$𝐁_i=\underset{j}{}\frac{\mu _0}{4\pi }[\frac{3(𝐦_j𝐫_{ij})𝐫_{ij}}{r_{ij}^5}\frac{𝐦_j}{r_{ij}^3}],$$
(3)
where $`𝐫_{ij}`$ is the relative position $`𝐫_j𝐫_i`$. (We assume that the electronic spins are localized on the atomic position, ignoring the actual electronic density.) An effective longitudinal field is then calculated:

$$B_{\mathrm{eff}}=\frac{1}{m_{\mathrm{total}}}\underset{i}{}𝐁_i𝐦_i,$$
(4)
where $`\mathrm{m}_{\mathrm{total}}=10g\mu _B`$.

In order to correctly calculate the standard deviation of the dipolar field due to N neighbors exactly, it would be necessary to consider all $`2^N`$ possible arrangements of their spins. However, we can obtain a lower limit on this standard deviation simply by considering the neighboring clusters that contribute the largest fields. As shown in Table 1, there are only 28 neighboring clusters that contribute an effective field greater than 10 G. Assuming there is no ordering of the dipoles, these fields add randomly to give a FWHM of 520 G, as shown in Figure 3. The combination of this field and the hyperfine field is not sufficient to explain the width observed in our spectroscopy. However, we note that it is considerably larger than the width of 236 Oe FWHM observed by Friedman et al., implying that collective effects narrow the observed tunneling width.

One way we could understand the spectroscopy and the tunneling results simultaneously is if there were some source of inhomogeneous broadening other than local magnetic fields. For example, if $`\alpha `$, the anisotropy constant in the Hamiltonian, varied slightly ($`1\%`$) between clusters due to small configurational changes of the ligands surrounding them, then this variation would be seen in the linewidth of the photon-induced transition, but not in the zero field tunneling. The photon absorption experiments would be sensitive to variations in $`\alpha `$, but the width seen in the zero field tunneling experiments would be due to homogeneous broadening mechanisms, either due to the tunneling time itself or the interactions with phonons, as proposed in Ref. Leuenberger00, . Calculations by Pederson et al. suggest that the arrangement of the ligands is important in determining the anisotropy energy.Pederson99  We note that isomerism of the ligands has been shown to exist in these molecules and results in large variations in the parameters in the Hamiltonian; Aubin97 ; Aubin01 ; Wernsdorfer99  the variations in the ligand positions responsible for the above effect would have to be less dramatic. It is possible that proximity to the isomers could cause neighboring clusters to have some small variation in their Hamiltonians. We also note that recent work of Chudnovsky and Garanin postulates dislocations as the source of spin tunneling and calculates the effect of these dislocations on $`\alpha `$.Chudnovsky01  The distribution in anisotropy constants calculated in that paper is in very good agreement with the distribution we observe in spectroscopic measurements. It is slightly narrower than the distribution observed by Mukhin et al., but since the density of defects was chosen arbitrarily, this could simply imply that the defect density was higher in the sample measured by Mukhin et al.

Such a distribution of $`\alpha `$ would have no effect on the width of the relaxation peak in zero field, since in zero field all levels $`\pm m`$ are degenerate regardless of $`\alpha `$. However, tunneling peaks at non-zero fields would be broadened, since (neglecting $`\beta `$) the field $`H_n=\alpha n/g\mu _B`$ that brings the levels $`m`$ and $`m+n`$ into resonance is proportional to $`\alpha `$. It would be difficult to observe this broadening in tunneling measurements, since the term $`\beta S_z^4`$ brings different levels into resonance at different fields, so that if more than one level $`m`$ is involved in the thermally-assisted tunneling, the relaxation peak will be broadened. However, we note that the width of the relaxation peaks in non-zero fields observed in Ref. Zhong00,  is sufficiently large to accommodate the required distribution of $`\alpha `$.

In conclusion, we measure the linewidth of the single photon transition from $`m=\pm 10`$ to $`m=\pm 9`$. This linewidth, while surprisingly large, is in agreement with that observed by Mukhin et al. Mukhin  The combination of this linewidth and that measured by Friedman et al. Friedman98  suggests that the anisotropy constant varies between clusters.

We thank A. A. Mukhin for sharing his data and lineshape analysis. This research was supported by Colgate University and by an award from Research Corporation. D. N. H. and G. C. thank the NSF for support.