Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 November 2018
If $A$ is a prime ${{\text{C}}^{*}}$-algebra, $a\,\in \,A$ and $\lambda $ is in the numerical range $W\left( a \right)$ of $a$, then for each $\varepsilon \,>\,0$ there exists an element $h\,\in \,A$ such that $\left\| h \right\|\,=\,1$ and $\left\| {{h}^{*}}(a-\lambda )h \right\|\,<\,\varepsilon $. If $\lambda $ is an extreme point of $W\left( a \right)$, the same conclusion holds without the assumption that $A$ is prime. Given any element $a$ in a von Neumann algebra (or in a general ${{\text{C}}^{*}}$-algebra) $A$, all normal elements in the weak* closure (the norm closure, respectively) of the ${{\text{C}}^{*}}$-convex hull of $a$ are characterized.