Stable rank and boundary principle (Q1187116)

Let \(A\) be a complex commutative Banach algebra with unit element. A pair \((f,g)\) of elements of \(A\) is said to be unimodular if \(Af+Ag=A\), and a unimodular pair \((f,g)\) is called reducible if there is \(h\in A\) such that \(f+hg\) is invertible in \(A\). We say that \(A\) has stable rank one if every unimodular pair is reducible in \(A\). Let \(K\) be a compact subset in \(\mathbb{C}\) and \(A(K)\) the algebra of all continuous functions on \(K\) which are analytic in the interior of \textit{K. G. Corach} and \textit{F. D. Suárez} stated that \(A(K)\) has stable rank one [ibid. 21, 1-8 (1985; Zbl 0606.46033)], but their proof was incorrect. In the paper, the author gives a correct proof based on a boundary principle. In that connection, the author next discusses the reducibility to \(\exp[C(\bar G)]\), where \(G\) is a domain whose boundary consists of finitely many closed, nonintersecting Jordan curves. Let \(g\in C(\bar G)\) and \(g\not\equiv 0\). Then it is shown that the following conditions are equivalent: (1) For any unimodular element \((f,g)\), there are \(h,k\in C(\bar G)\) such that \(f+hg=\exp k\). (2) The complement of the zero set of \(g\) is connected. Problems of this type have been studied for the algebra \(H^ \infty\) by \textit{L. A. Laroco jun.} [Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 327, No. 2, 815-832 (1991; Zbl 0744.46040)].