We establish an equivalence between two approaches to quantization of irreducible symmetric spaces of compact type within the framework of quasi-coactions, one based on the Enriquez–Etingof cyclotomic Knizhnik–Zamolodchikov (KZ) equations and the other on the Letzter–Kolb coideals. This equivalence can be upgraded to that of ribbon braided quasi-coactions, and then the associated reflection operators (K-matrices) become a tangible invariant of the quantization. As an application we obtain a Kohno–Drinfeld type theorem on type $\mathrm {B}$ braid group representations defined by the monodromy of KZ-equations and by the Balagović–Kolb universal K-matrices. The cases of Hermitian and non-Hermitian symmetric spaces are significantly different. In particular, in the latter case a quasi-coaction is essentially unique, while in the former we show that there is a one-parameter family of mutually nonequivalent quasi-coactions.

Given a free unitary quantum group $G=A_{u}(F)$, with $F$ not a unitary $2\times 2$ matrix, we show that the Martin boundary of the dual of $G$ with respect to any $G$-${\hat{G}}$-invariant, irreducible, finite-range quantum random walk coincides with the topological boundary defined by Vaes and Vander Vennet. This can be thought of as a quantum analogue of the fact that the Martin boundary of a free group coincides with the space of ends of its Cayley tree.

We prove two results on the tube algebras of rigid C*-tensor categories. The first is that the tube algebra of the representation category of a compact quantum group G is a full corner of the Drinfeld double of G. As an application, we obtain some information on the structure of the tube algebras of the Temperley–Lieb categories 𝒯ℒ(d) for d > 2. The second result is that the tube algebras of weakly Morita equivalent C*-tensor categories are strongly Morita equivalent. The corresponding linking algebra is described as the tube algebra of the 2-category defining the Morita context.

An extension of the Shannon–McMillan–Breiman Theorem to a class of non-commutative dynamical systems is given.

We compute dynamical entropy in Connes, Narnhofer and Thirring sense for a Bogoliubov action of a torsion-free abelian group $G$ on the CAR-algebra. A formula analogous to that found by Størmer and Voiculescu in the case $G={\Bbb Z}$ is obtained. The singular part of a unitary representation of $G$ is shown to give zero contribution to the entropy. A proof of these results requires new arguments since a torsion-free group may have no finite index proper subgroups. Our approach allows us to overcome these difficulties, it differs from that of Størmer–Voiculescu.