Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 November 2018
For a locally compact group $G$, let $A(G)$ be its Fourier algebra, let ${{M}_{cb}}A(G)$ denote the completely bounded multipliers of $A(G)$, and let ${{A}_{Mcb}}\,(G)$ stand for the closure of $A(G)$ in ${{M}_{cb}}A(G)$. We characterize the norm one idempotents in ${{M}_{cb}}A(G)$: the indicator function of a set $E\,\subset \,G$ is a norm one idempotent in ${{M}_{cb}}A(G)$ if and only if $E$ is a coset of an open subgroup of $G$. As applications, we describe the closed ideals of ${{A}_{Mcb}}\,(G)$ with an approximate identity bounded by 1, and we characterize those $G$ for which ${{A}_{Mcb}}\,(G)$ is 1-amenable in the sense of B. E. Johnson. (We can even slightly relax the norm bounds.)