A SUSPENSION THEOREM FOR CONTINUOUS TRACE C-ASTERISK-ALGEBRAS

Let B be a stable continuous trace C-algebra with spectrum Y. We prow that the natural suspension map S: [C0(X), B] --> [C0(X) x C0(R), B x C0(R)] is a bijection, provided that both X and Y are locally compac t connected spaces whose one-point compactifications have the homotopy type of a finite CW-complex and X is noncompact. This is used to comp ute the second homotopy group of B in terms of K-theory. That is, [C0( R2), B] = K0(B0), where B0 is a maximal ideal of B if Y is compact, an d B0 = B if Y is noncompact.