Singly generatedC *-algebras

Abstract

We consider a $C*$-algebra $A$ generated by $k$ self-adjoint elements. We prove that, for $n \geqslant \sqrt {k - 1}$ , the algebra $M_n (A)$ is singly generated, i.e., generated by one non-self-adjoint element. We present an example of algebraA for which the property that $M_n (A)$ is singly generated implies the relation $n \geqslant \sqrt {k - 1}$.