Geometric structure of dimension functions of certain continuous fields

For a continuous field of C*-algebras A, we give a criterion to ensure that the stable rank of A is one. In the particular case of a trivial field this leads to a characterization of stable rank one, completing accomplishments by Nagisa, Osaka and Phillips. Further, for certain continuous fields of C*-algebras, we study when the Cuntz semigroup satisfies the Riesz interpolation property, and we also analyze the structure of its functionals. As an application, we obtain a positive answer to a conjecture posed by Blackadar and Handelman in a variety of situations. © 2013 Elsevier Inc.