(Non)exotic completions of the group algebras of isotropy groups

Abstract

Motivated by the problem of characterizing KMS states on the reduced C$^*$-algebras of étale groupoids, we show that the reduced norm on these algebras induces a C$^*$-norm on the group algebras of the isotropy groups. This C$^*$-norm coincides with the reduced norm for the transformation groupoids, but, as follows from examples of Higson-Lafforgue-Skandalis, it can be exotic already for groupoids of germs associated with group actions. We show that the norm is still the reduced one for some classes of graded groupoids, in particular, for the groupoids associated with partial actions of groups and the semidirect products of exact groups and groupoids with amenable isotropy groups.