Research

Narutaka Ozawa is working on theory of operator algebras on Hilbert spaces and on the functional analytic aspects of the group theory, with an emphasis on the interplay between these subjects. His recent works focus on the study of various (functional analytic) approximation properties for (mainly discrete) groups and their applications to the study of group operator algebras (C*-algebras and von Neumann algebras). They include amenability, exactness, and Kazhdan's property (T), for groups such as lattices of semi-simple Lie groups, (relatively) hyperbolic groups, and the automorphism groups of the free groups.