arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to J. F. Feinstein.
We give a counterexample to a conjecture of S.E. Morris by showing that there is a compact plane set X such that R(X) has no non-zero, bounded point derivations but such that R(X) is not weakly amenable. We also give an example of a separable uniform algebra A such that every maximal ideal of A has a bounded approximate identity but such that A is not weakly amenable.
In this paper we look at normed spaces of differentiable functions on compact plane sets, including the spaces of infinitely differentiable functions originally considered by Dales and Davie. For many compact plane sets the classical definitions give rise to incomplete spaces. We introduce an alternative definition of differentiability which allows us to describe the completions of these spaces. We also consider some associated problems of polynomial and rational approximation.
We consider non-zero endomorphisms of the Dales and Davie algebras of infinitely differentiable functions on intervals in the real line. We discuss necessary and sufficient conditions for a selfmap of the interval to induce a compact endomorphism of these algebras. We also determine the spectra of these compact endomorphisms.
We examine the condition that a complex Banach algebra $A$ have dense invertible group. We show that, for commutative algebras, this property is preserved by integral extensions. We also investigate the connections with an old problem in the theory of uniform algebras.
This paper continues the study of spectral synthesis and the topologies $τ_{\infty}$ and $τ_r$ on the ideal space of a Banach algebra, concentrating particularly on the class of Haagerup tensor products of C$^*$-algebras. For this class, it is shown that spectral synthesis is equivalent to the Hausdorffness of $τ_{\infty}$. Under a weak extra condition, spectral synthesis is shown to be equivalent to the Hausdorffness of $τ_r$.
This paper continues the study of spectral synthesis and the topologies $τ_{\infty}$ and $τ_r$ on the ideal space of a Banach algebra, concentrating on the class of Banach $^*$-algebras, and in particular on $L^1$-group algebras. It is shown that if a group G is a finite extension of an abelian group then $τ_r$ is Hausdorff on the ideal space of $L^1(G)$ if and only if $L^1(G)$ has spectral synthesis, which in turn is equivalent to $G$ being compact. The result is applied to nilpotent groups, [FD]$^-$-groups, and Moore groups. An example is given of a non-compact, non-abelian group G for which $L^1(G)$ has spectral synthesis. It is also shown that if G is a non-discrete group then $τ_r$ is not Hausdorff on the ideal lattice of the Fourier algebra A(G).
Let $A$ be a unital Banach function algebra with character space $Φ_A$. For $x\in Φ_A$, let $M_x$ and $J_x$ be the ideals of functions vanishing at $x$, and in a neighbourhood of $x$, respectively. It is shown that the hull of $J_x$ is connected, and that if $x$ does not belong to the Shilov boundary of $A$ then the set $\{y\inΦ_A: M_x\supseteq J_y\}$ has an infinite, connected subset. Various related results are given.
In this note we study the endomorphisms of certain Banach algebras of infinitely differentiable functions on compact plane sets, associated with weight sequences M. These algebras were originally studied by Dales, Davie and McClure. In a previous paper this problem was solved in the case of the unit interval for many weights M. Here we investigate the extent to which the methods used previously apply to general compact plane sets, and introduce some new methods. In particular, we obtain many results for the case of the closed unit disc. This research was supported by EPSRC grant GR/M31132
In a previous note the author gave an example of a strong Ditkin algebra which does not have bounded relative units in the sense of Dales. In this note we investigate a certain family of Banach function algebras on the one point compactification of the natural numbers, and see that within this family are many easier examples of strong Ditkin algebras without bounded relative units in the sense of Dales.
When G is a region in the complex plane, compact composition operators on the uniform algebra of bounded analytic functions on G and the spectra of these operators were described by D. Swanton, Compact composition operators on B(D), Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 56 (1976). In this short note we characterize all compact endomorphisms, not necessarily those induced by composition operators, on the uniform algebra of bounded analytic functions on the open unit disc, and determine their spectra. This research was supported by EPSRC grant GR/M31132
In a previous paper the second author introduced a compact topology on the space of closed ideals of a unital Banach algebra A. If A is separable then this topology is either metrizable or else neither Hausdorff nor first countable. Here it is shown that this topology is Hausdorff if A is the algebra of once continuously differentiable functions on an interval, but that if A is a uniform algebra then this topology is Hausdorff if and only if A has spectral synthesis. An example is given of a strongly regular, uniform algebra for which every maximal ideal has a bounded approximate identity, but which does not have spectral synthesis.
A survey is given of the work on strong regularity for uniform algebras over the last thirty years, and some new results are proved, including the following. Let A be a uniform algebra on a compact space X and let E be the set of all those points x of X such that A is not strongly regular at x. If E has no non-empty, perfect subsets then A is normal, and X is the character space of A. If X is either the interval or the circle and E is meagre with no non-empty, perfect subsets then A is trivial. These results extend Wilken's work from 1969. It is also shown that every separable Banach function algebra which has character space equal to either the interval or the circle and which has a countably-generated ideal lattice is uniformly dense in the algebra of all continuous functions.