Spectral synthesis for Banach Algebras II

This paper continues the study of spectral synthesis and the topologies tau-infinity and tau-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 tau_infinity. Under a weak extra condition, spectral synthesis is shown to be equivalent to the Hausdorffness of tau_r

Trivial Jensen measures without regularity

In this note we construct Swiss cheeses X such that R(X) is non-regular but such that R(X) has no non-trivial Jensen measures. We also construct a non-regular uniform algebra with compact, metrizable character space such that every point of the character space is a peak point

Quasianalyticity in certain Banach function algebras

Let X be a perfect, compact subset of the complex plane. We consider algebras of those functions on X which satisfy a generalized notion of differentiability, which we call F-differentiability. In particular, we investigate a notion of quasianalyticity under this new notion of differentiability and provide some sufficient conditions for certain algebras to be quasianalytic. We give an application of our results in which we construct an essential, natural uniform algebra A on a locally connected, compact Hausdorff space X such that A admits no non-trivial Jensen measures yet is not regular. This construction improves an example of the first author (2001)

Regularity points and Jensen measures for R(X)

We discuss two types of `regularity point', points of continuity and R-points for Banach function algebras, which were introduced by the first author and Somerset in [16]. We show that, even for the natural uniform algebras R(X) (for compact plane sets X), these two types of regularity point can be different. We then give a new method for constructing Swiss cheese sets X such that R(X) is not regular, but such that R(X) has no non-trivial Jensen measures. The original construction appears in the first author's previous work. Our new approach to constructing such sets is more general, and allows us to obtain additional properties. In particular, we use our construction to give an example of such a Swiss cheese set X with the property that the set of points of discontinuity for R(X) has positive area

Spectral synthesis for Banach Algebras II

This paper continues the study of spectral synthesis and the topologies tau-infinity and tau-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 tau_infinity. Under a weak extra condition, spectral synthesis is shown to be equivalent to the Hausdorffness of tau_r

Normed algebras of differentiable functions on compact plane sets

We investigate the completeness and completions of the normed algebras (D(1)(X),∥•∥) for perfect, compact plane sets X. In particular, we construct a radially self-absorbing, compact plane set X such that the normed algebra (D(1)(X),∥•∥) is not complete. This solves a question of Bland and Feinstein. We also prove that there are several classes of connected, compact plane sets X for which the completeness of (D(1)(X),∥•∥) is equivalent to the pointwise regularity of X. For example, this is true for all rectifiably connected, polynomially convex, compact plane sets with empty interior, for all star-shaped, compact plane sets, and for all Jordan arcs in ℂ. In an earlier paper of Bland and Feinstein, the notion of an F-derivative of a function was introduced, where F is a suitable set of rectifiable paths, and with it a new family of Banach algebras D ((1))/F corresponding to the normed algebras (D(1)(X),∥•∥). In the present paper, we obtain stronger results concerning the questions when (D(1)(X),∥•∥) and D ((1))/F (X) are equal, and when the former is dense in the latter. In particular, we show that equality holds whenever X is ‘F-regular'. An example of Bishop shows that the completion of (D(1)(X),∥•∥) need not be semisimple. We show that the completion of (D(1)(X),∥•∥) is semisimple whenever the union of all the rectifiable Jordan arcs in X is dense in X. We prove that the character space of D(1)(X) is equal to X for all perfect, compact plane sets X, whether or not (D(1)(X),∥•∥) is complete. In particular, characters on the normed algebras (D(1)(X),∥•∥) are automatically continuous

A general method for constructing essential uniform algebras

A general method for constructing essential uniform algebras with prescribed properties is presented. Using the method, the following examples are constructed: an essential, natural, regular uniform algebra on the closed unit disc; an essential, natural counterexample to the peak point conjecture on each manifold-with-boundary of dimension at least three; and an essential, natural uniform algebra on the unit sphere in C3 containing the ball algebra and invariant under the action of the 3-torus. These examples show that a smoothness hypothesis in some results of Anderson and Izzo cannot be omitted