  Let $\mathscr{M}$ be a $II_1$ factor acting on the Hilbert space
$\mathscr{H}$, and $\mathscr{M}_{\textrm{aff}}$ be the Murray-von Neumann
algebra of closed densely-defined operators affiliated with $\mathscr{M}$. Let
$\tau$ denote the unique faithful normal tracial state on $\mathscr{M}$. By
virtue of Nelson's theory of non-commutative integration,
$\mathscr{M}_{\textrm{aff}}$ may be identified with the completion of
$\mathscr{M}$ in the measure topology. In this article, we show that
$M_n(\mathscr{M}_{\textrm{aff}}) \cong M_n(\mathscr{M})_{\textrm{aff}}$ as
unital ordered complex topological $*$-algebras with the isomorphism extending
the identity mapping of $M_n(\mathscr{M}) \to M_n(\mathscr{M})$. Consequently,
the algebraic machinery of rank identities and determinant identities are
applicable in this setting. As a step further in the Heisenberg-von Neumann
puzzle discussed by Kadison-Liu (SIGMA, 10 (2014), Paper 009), it follows that
if there exist operators $P, Q$ in $\mathscr{M}_{\textrm{aff}}$ satisfying the
commutation relation $Q \; \hat \cdot \; P \; \hat - \; P \; \hat \cdot \; Q =
{i\mkern1mu} I$, then at least one of them does not belong to $L^p(\mathscr{M},
\tau)$ for any $0 < p \le \infty$. Furthermore, the respective point spectrums
of $P$ and $Q$ must be empty. Hence the puzzle may be recasted in the following
equivalent manner - Are there invertible operators $P, A$ in
$\mathscr{M}_{\textrm{aff}}$ such that $P^{-1} \; \hat \cdot \; A \; \hat \cdot
\; P = I \; \hat + \; A$? This suggests that any strategy towards its
resolution must involve the study of conjugacy invariants of operators in
$\mathscr{M}_{\textrm{aff}}$ in an essential way.
