We show that for $p$-operator spaces, there are natural notions of minimal and maximal structures. These are useful for dealing with tensor products.

For a locally compact group $G$, let $A(G)$ be its Fourier algebra, let $M_{cb}A(G)$ denote the completely bounded multipliers of $A(G)$, and let $A_{\mathit{Mcb}}(G)$ stand for the closure of $A(G)$ in $M_{cb}A(G)$. We characterize the norm one idempotents in $M_{cb}A(G)$: the indicator function of a set $E \subset G$ is a norm one idempotent in $M_{cb}A(G)$ if and only if $E$ is a coset of an open subgroup of $G$. As applications, we describe the closed ideals of $A_{\mathit{Mcb}}(G)$ with an approximate identity bounded by $1$, and we characterize those $G$ for which $A_{\mathit{Mcb}}(G)$ is $1$-amenable in the sense of B. E. Johnson. (We can even slightly relax the norm bounds.)

In this paper, we give two characterizations of the exactness of operator spaces.

It is shown that Schatten $p$-classes of operators between Hilbert spaces of different (infinite) dimensions have ultrapowers which are (completely) isometric to non-commutative $L_p$-spaces. On the other hand, these Schatten classes are not themselves isomorphic to non-commutative $L_p$ spaces. As a consequence, the class of non-commutative $L_p$-spaces is not axiomatizable in the first-order language developed by Henson and Iovino for normed space structures, neither in the signature of Banach spaces, nor in that of operator spaces. Other examples of the same phenomenon are presented that belong to the class of corners of non-commutative $L_p$-spaces. For $p=1$ this last class, which is the same as the class of preduals of ternary rings of operators, is itself axiomatizable in the signature of operator spaces.