arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Thomas Ransford.
In a Banach algebra, the spectrum satisfies $σ(ab)\setminus\{0\} = σ(ba)\setminus\{0\}$ for each pair of elements $a,b$. We show that this is no longer true for the exponential spectrum, thereby solving a problem open since 1992. Our proof depends on the fact that the homotopy group $π_4(GL_2({\mathbb C}))$ is non-trivial.
We study the lemniscates of rational maps. We prove a reflection principle for the harmonic measure of rational lemniscates and we give estimates for their capacity and the capacity of their components. Also, we prove a version of Schwarz's lemma for the capacity of the lemniscates of proper holomorphic functions.
We generalize the Gleason-Kahane-Żelazko theorem to modules. As an application, we show that every linear functional on a Hardy space that is non-zero on outer functions is a multiple of a point evaluation. A further consequence is that every linear endomorphism of a Hardy space that maps outer functions to nowhere-zero functions is a weighted composition operator. In neither case is continuity assumed. We also consider some extensions to other function spaces, including the Bergman, Dirichlet and Besov spaces, the little Bloch space and VMOA.
We consider Dirichlet spaces with superharmonic weights. This class contains both the harmonic weights and the power weights. Our main result is a characterization of the Dirichlet spaces with superharmonic weights that can be identified as de Branges-Rovnyak spaces. As an application, we obtain the dilation inequality \[ {\cal D}_ω(f_r)\le \frac{2r}{1+r}{\cal D}_ω(f) \qquad(0\le r<1), \] where ${\cal D}_ω$ denotes the Dirichlet integral with superharmonic weight $ω$, and $f_r(z):=f(rz)$ is the $r$-dilation of the holomorphic function $f$.
Let $T$ be an operator on a Hilbert space $H$ with numerical radius $w(T)\le1$. According to a theorem of Berger and Stampfli, if $f$ is a function in the disk algebra such that $f(0)=0$, then $w(f(T))\le\|f\|_\infty$. We give a new and elementary proof of this result using finite Blaschke products. A well-known result relating numerical radius and norm says $\|T\| \leq 2w(T)$. We obtain a local improvement of this estimate, namely, if $w(T)\le1$ then \[ \|Tx\|^2\le 2+2\sqrt{1-|\langle Tx,x\rangle|^2} \qquad(x\in H,~\|x\|\le1). \] Using this refinement, we give a simplified proof of Drury's teardrop theorem, which extends the Berger-Stampfli theorem to the case $f(0)\ne0$.
We develop a least-squares method for computing the analytic capacity of compact plane sets with piecewise-analytic boundary. The method furnishes rigorous upper and lower bounds which converge to the true value of the capacity. Several illustrative examples are presented. We are led to formulate a conjecture which, if true, would imply that analytic capacity is subadditive. The conjecture is proved in a special case.
We treat the problem of characterizing the cyclic vectors in the weighted Dirichlet spaces, extending some of our earlier results in the classical Dirichlet space. The absence of a Carleson-type formula for weighted Dirichlet integrals necessitates the introduction of new techniques.
Let $\cD$ be the Dirichlet space, namely the space of holomorphic functions on the unit disk whose derivative is square-integrable. We establish a new sufficient condition for a function $f\in\cD$ to be {\em cyclic}, i.e. for $\{pf: p\text{a polynomial}\}$ to be dense in $\cD$. This allows us to prove a special case of the conjecture of Brown and Shields that a function is cyclic in $\cD$ iff it is outer and its zero set (defined appropriately) is of capacity zero.