On the primitive ideals of nest algebras

We show that Ringrose's diagonal ideals are primitive ideals in a nest algebra (subject to the continuum hypothesis). This answers an old question of Lance and provides for the first time concrete descriptions of enough primitive ideals to obtain the Jacobson radical as their intersection. Separately, we provide a standard form for all left ideals of a nest algebra, which leads to insights into the maximal left ideals. In the case of atomic nest algebras, we show how primitive ideals can be categorized by their behaviour on the diagonal and provide concrete examples of all types.