Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 October 2008
Let N be a compact normal subgroup of a locally compact group G. One of our goals here is to determine when and how a given compactification Y of G/N can be realized as a quotient of the analogous compactification (ψ, X) of G by Nψ = ψ(N) ⊂ X; this is achieved in a number of cases for which we can establish that μNψ ⊂ Nψ μ for all μ ∈ X A question arises naturally, ‘Can the latter containment be proper?’ With an example, we give a positive answer to this question.
The group G is an extension of N by GN and can be identified algebraically with Nx GN when this product is given the Schreier multiplication, and for our further results we assume that we can also identify G topologically with N x GN. When GN is discrete and X is the compactification of G coming from the left uniformly continuous functions, we are able to show that X is an extension of N by (GN)(X≅N x (G/N)) even when G is not a semidirect product. Examples are given to illustrate the theory, and also to show its limitations.