Compact differences of composition operators in several variables (Q628696): Difference between revisions

Let \(\mathcal{H}\) be either the Hardy space or the standard weighted Bergman space over the open unit ball \(B_N\) in \(\mathbb{C}^N\), where \(N\geq 1\). For any given analytic self-map \(\varphi\) of \(B_N\), the composition operator \(C_{\varphi}\) on \(\mathcal{H}\) is defined as \(C_{\varphi}f=f\circ \varphi\). The aim of the paper is to completely describe the compactness of differences \(A_{\varphi, \psi}:= C_{\varphi}-C_{\psi}\) of composition operators in the case where \(\varphi\) and \(\psi\) are linear-fractional self-maps. As a result, the authors prove that compactness of \(A_{\varphi,\psi}\) can only occur in the trivial cases, i.e., \(\varphi=\psi\) or \(\|\varphi\|_{\infty}<1\) and \(\|\psi\|_{\infty}<1\). The second case implies that both composition operators \(C_{\varphi}\) and \(C_{\psi}\) already are separately compact. Thus, roughly speaking, compactness of \(C_{\varphi}-C_{\psi}\) cannot occur by a ``nontrivial cancellation'' between \(C_{\varphi}\) and \(C_{\psi}\). Such a property is of interest for the study of algebras generated by composition operators. This result was previously known in the case where the underlying domain is the complex unit disc (i.e., \(N=1\)) and, in this setting, it has been proven by \textit{P. Bourdon} [``Components of linear-fractional composition operators'', J. Math. Anal. Appl. 279, Np.~1, 228--245 (2003; Zbl 1043.47021)] and \textit{J. Moorhouse} [``Compact differences of composition operators'', J. Funct. Anal. 219, No.~1, 70--92 (2005; Zbl 1087.47032)]. However, some new phenomena occur in the higher-dimensional case. The paper starts with a simplified proof of the above result for \(N=1\), which forms the model of a proof in the general situation. The proofs essentially relies on geometric arguments together with a criterion for non-compactness of \(A_{\varphi,\psi}\) in Theorem~1 of the introduction, which can be found in [\textit{B. MacCluer} and \textit{R. Weir}, ``Linear-fractional composition operators in several variables'', Integral Equations Oper. Theory 53, No. 3, 373--402 (2005; Zbl 1121.47017)] and [\textit{J. Moorhouse}, loc.\,cit.].