Injective envelopes of $C^*$-algebras as maximal rigid multiplier covers
Abstract
The injective envelope of a $C^*$-algebra, introduced by Hamana in his foundational 1979 papers, has become a central tool in noncommutative analysis. For a compact Hausdorff $X$, injectivity on the commutative side amounts to extremal disconnectedness: $I(C(X))\cong C(K)$ with $K$ extremally disconnected. Gleason's classical construction \cite{Gleason} of $K$ is intricate; B{\l}aszczyk \cite{Blaszczyk} later gave a strikingly concise route: first \emph{maximise} the regular topology under an irreducibility constraint, then \emph{compactify} to obtain $G(X)$. Indeed, in B{\l}aszczyk argument, maximality is the driver and extremal disconnectedness is the consequence.\smallskip Our aim is to transpose this to the noncommutative setting. The multiplier algebra $M(E)$ is the natural analogue of the \v{C}ech--Stone compactification: $M(C_0(Y))\cong C(\beta Y)$. We introduce \emph{$A$-multiplier covers} $(E,\iota)$ and a rigidity notion paralleling Hamana's. The punchline is that a~\emph{maximal rigid} cover forces $M(E)$ to be a rigid essential extension of $A$, hence identifies canonically with $I(A)$.