Natural boundaries and spectral theory (Q633600)

The authors develop a new, powerful analogy between spectral theory and the analytic continuation of functions analytic in \(\mathbb{D}= \{|z|< 1\}\) over \(\partial\mathbb{D}\), motivated by notions from the spectral theory of Jacobi matrices studied by \textit{Y. Last} and \textit{B. Simon} [Invent. Math. 135, No. 2, 329--367 (1999; Zbl 0931.34066)]. They notice analogues of the major classes of Jacobi matrices without absolutely continuous spectrum with results on natural boundaries: sparse potentials with gap theorems, finite-valued Jacobi matrices with finite-valued power series, and Anderson localization with random power series. For a power series \[ f(z)= \sum^\infty_{n=0} a_n z^n \] with \(\sup_n|a_n|< \infty\), a right limit of \(\{a_n\}^\infty_{n=0}\) is a two-sided sequence \(\{b_n\}^\infty_{n=-\infty}\) with \(b_n= \lim_{j\to\infty} a_{n+ n_j}\) for some \(n_j\to\infty\). Given a two-sided bounded sequence \(\{b_n\}^\infty_{n=-\infty}\), we can define functions \[ f_+(z)=\sum^\infty_{n=0} b_n z^n\quad\text{and} \quad f_-(z)= \sum^{-1}_{n=-\infty} b_n z^n \] analytic in \(\mathbb{D}\) and \(\mathbb{C}\cup\{\infty\}\setminus \overline{\mathbb{D}}\), respectively. For any open interval \(I\subset\partial \mathbb{D}\), we say that \(\{b_n\}^\infty_{n=-\infty}\) is reflectionless on \(I\) if and only if \(f_+\) has an analytic continuation from \(\mathbb{D}\) to \(\mathbb{C}\cup\{\infty\}\setminus(\partial\mathbb{D}\setminus I)\), so that \(f_+(z)+ f_-(z)= 0\) on \(\mathbb{C}\cup\{\infty\}\setminus\overline{\mathbb{D}}\). The authors then show that, if \[ f(z)=\sum^\infty_{n=0} a_nz^n \] with \(\sup|a_n|<\infty\), and if \(I\subset\partial\mathbb{D}\) is an open interval with \[ \sup\limits_{0< r< 1}\int_{e^{i\theta}\in I}\big|f(re^{i\theta})\big|\, d\theta< \infty, \] then every right limit of \(\{a_n\}\) is reflectionless on \(I\). Next, \(f\) is said to have a strong natural boundary on \(\partial\mathbb{D}\) if \[ \sup\limits_{0< r< 1} \int_{e^{i\theta}\in I}\big|f(re^{i\theta})\big|\,d\theta= \infty \] for every \(I\subset\partial\mathbb{D}\). They then prove the existence of a strong natural boundary on \(\partial\mathbb{D}\) in various situations: (1) If \(f (z)=\sum^\infty_{n=0} a_n z^n\) is such that for any open interval \(I\subset\partial\mathbb{D}\) there is a right limit of \(\{a_n\}_{n=0}^\infty\) which is not reflectionless on \(I\), then \(f\) has a strong natural boundary on \(\partial\mathbb{D}\); (2) If \(f(z)= \sum^\infty_{n=0} a_n z^n\) with \(\sup_n|a_n|<\infty\), and there exists \(n_j\to \infty\) so that for all \(k< 0\) we have \(\lim_{j\to\infty} a_{n_j+ k}= 0\) and \(\liminf_{j\to\infty} a_{n_j}> 0\), then \(f\) has a strong natural boundary on \(\partial\mathbb{D}\); (3) If \(\{a_n(\omega)\}_{\omega\in\Omega}\) is a translation invariant, ergodic, stochastic process that is non-deterministic and \(\sup_{n,\omega}|a_n(\omega)|< \infty\), then \(\sum^\infty_{n=0} a_n(\omega)\,z^n\) has a strong natural boundary for a.e. \(\omega\); (4) If \(f:\partial\mathbb{D}\to\mathbb{C}\) is a bounded, piecewise continuous function with only a finite number of discontinuities, at one of which the one-sided limits exist and are unequal, then for any irrational number \(q\) and every \(\theta\in\mathbb{R}\) the function \[ \sum^\infty_{n=0} f\big(e^{2\pi i(qn+\theta)}\big)\,z^n \] has a strong natural boundary. Finally, they prove that, if \(\Omega\subset\mathbb{C}\) is a compact set and \(\Omega^\infty\) is a countable product of copies of \(\Omega\) in the weak topology, then the set \[ \bigg\{\{a_n\}\in\Omega^\infty: \sum^\infty_{n=0} a_n z^n\text{ has a natural boundary on }\partial\mathbb{D}\bigg\} \] is a dense \(G_\delta\) in \(\Omega^\infty\). Many of the results are closely related to the classical work of \textit{S. Agmon} [Ann. Sci. Éc. Norm. Supér., III. Sér. 66, 263--310 (1949; Zbl 0034.34602)] on natural boundaries.