Mean dimension and AH-algebras with diagonal maps

Mean dimension for AR-algebras with diagonal maps is introduced. It is shown that if a simple unital AR-algebra with diagonal maps has mean dimension zero, then it has strict comparison on positive elements. In particular, the strict order on projections is determined by traces. Moreover, a lower bound of the mean dimension is given in term of Toms' comparison radius. Using classification results, if a simple unital All-algebra with diagonal maps has mean dimension zero, it must be an AH-algebra without dimension growth. Two classes of AH-algebras with diagonal maps are shown to have mean dimension zero: the class of AH-algebras with at most countably many extremal traces, and the class of AH-algebras with numbers of extreme traces which induce same state on the K-0-group being uniformly bounded (in particular, this class includes AR-algebras with real rank zero). (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.