Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 February 2011
We introduce C*-pseudo-multiplicative unitaries and concrete Hopf C*-bimodules for the study of quantum groupoids in the setting of C*-algebras. These unitaries and Hopf C*-bimodules generalize multiplicative unitaries and Hopf C*-algebras and are analogues of the pseudo-multiplicative unitaries and Hopf–von Neumann-bimodules studied by Enock, Lesieur and Vallin. To each C*-pseudo-multiplicative unitary, we associate two Fourier algebras with a duality pairing and in the regular case two Hopf C*-bimodules. The theory is illustrated by examples related to locally compact Hausdorff groupoids. In particular, we obtain a continuous Fourier algebra for a locally compact Hausdorff groupoid.