Projections from a von~Neumann algebra onto a subalgebra

Abstract

This paper is mainly devoted to the following question:\ Let $M,N$ be von~Neumann algebras with $M\subset N$, if there is a completely bounded projection $P\colon \ N\to M$, is there automatically a contractive projection $\widetilde P\colon \ N\to M$? We give an affirmative answer with the only restriction that $M$ is assumed semi-finite.