In Koenigs' footsteps: Diagonalization of composition operators

Abstract

Let $\varphi:\mathbb{D} \to \mathbb{D}$ be a holomorphic map with a fixed point $\alpha\in\mathbb{D}$ such that $0\leq |\varphi'(\alpha)|<1$. We show that the spectrum of the composition operator $C_\varphi$ on the Fr\'echet space $ \textrm{Hol}(\mathbb{D})$ is $\{0\}\cup \{ \varphi'(\alpha)^n:n=0,1,\cdots\}$ and its essential spectrum is reduced to $\{0\}$. This contrasts the situation where a restriction of $C_\varphi$ to Banach spaces such as $H^2(\mathbb{D})$ is considered. Our proofs are based on explicit formulae for the spectral projections associated with the point spectrum found by Koenigs. Finally, as a byproduct, we obtain information on the spectrum for bounded composition operators induced by a Schr\"oder symbol on arbitrary Banach spaces of holomorphic functions.