Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 November 2018
The commutative Gelfand-Naimark Theorem says that any commutative C*-algebra A is isomorphic to the ring C0(M, C) of all continuous complex-valued functions tending to zero outside of compact sets of a locally compact Hausdorff space M. A very important part of this theorem is an intrinsic and also a complete characterization of M as exactly the primitive ideal space of A in the hull-kernel (or weak-star) topology. In the non-commutative case, A ≌ Γ0(M, E)—the ring of sections tending to zero outside of compact subsets of a locally compact Hausdorff space M with values in the stalks or fibers E.