Circle Actions on C*-Algebras, Partial Automorphisms, and a Generalized Pimsner-Voiculescu Exact Sequence

We introduce a method to study C*-algebras possessing an action of the circle group, from the point of view of their internal structure and their K-theory. Under relatively mild conditions our structure theorem shows that any C*-algebra, where an action of the circle is given, arises as the result of a construction that generalizes crossed products by the group of integers. Such a generalized crossed product construction is carried out for any partial automorphism of a C*-algebra, where by a partial automorphism we mean an isomorphism between two ideals of the given algebra. Our second main result is an extension to crossed products by partial automorphisms, of the celebrated Pimsner-Voiculescu exact sequence for K-groups. The representation theory of the algebra arising from our construction is shown to parallel the representation theory for C*-dynamical systems. In particular, we generalize several of the main results relating to regular and covariant representations of crossed products.