Strong Singularity for Subfactors

Abstract

We examine the notion of $\alpha$-strong singularity for subfactors of a \IIi factor, which is a metric quantity that relates the distance between a unitary in the factor and a subalgebra with the distance between that subalgebra and its unitary conjugate. Through planar algebra techniques, we demonstrate the existence of a finite index singular subfactor of the hyperfinite \IIi factor that cannot be strongly singular with $\alpha=1$, in contrast to the case for masas. Using work of Popa, Sinclair, and Smith, we show that there exists an absolute constant $0<c<1$ such that all singular subfactors are $c$-strongly singular. Under the hypothesis of 2-transitivity, we prove that finite index subfactors are $\alpha$-strongly singular with a constant that tends to 1 as the Jones Index tends to infinity and infinite index subfactors are 1-strongly singular. Finally, we give a proof that proper finite index singular subfactors do not have the weak asymptotic homomorphism property relative to the containing factor.