Density of disk algebra functions in de Branges-Rovnyak spaces (Q2401341)

For \(\varphi \in L^{\infty}(\mathbb{T})\), \(\mathbb{T}\) being the unit circle, the Toeplitz operator \(T_{\varphi}\) in the Hardy space \(H^2\) is defined by \(T_{\phi}(f) = P_{+}(\phi f)\), where \(P_{+}\) denotes the orthogonal projection of \(L^2(\mathbb{T})\) onto \(H^2\). Given \(b \in H^{\infty} \) with \(\|b\| \leq 1\), the corresponding de Branges-Rovnyak space \(\mathcal{H}(b)\) is defined by \(\mathcal{H}(b) = (1 - T_{b}T_{\overline{b}})^{\frac{1}{2}} H^2\). \(\mathcal{H}(b)\) is endowed with the unique norm which makes the operator \((1 - T_{b}T_{\overline{b}})^{\frac{1}{2}}\) a partial isometry from \(H^2\) onto \(\mathcal{H}(b)\). If \(b\) is a non-extreme point of the unit ball of \(H^\infty\), then \(\mathcal{H}(b)\) contains all functions analytic in a neighborhood of the closed unit disk and the polynomials form a norm-dense subset of the space. The initial proof of \textit{D. Sarason} of this feature is based on a duality argument [Sub-Hardy Hilbert spaces in the unit disk. New York, NY: John Wiley \& Sons (1994; Zbl 1253.30002)] and a more involved constructive polynomial approximation scheme has recently been obtained by \textit{O. El-Fallah} et al. [Constr. Approx. 44, No. 2, 269--281 (2016; Zbl 1355.46028)]. In the case when \(b\) is an extreme point of the unit ball of \(H^2\), the situation is quite different. In fact, it might happen that \(\mathcal{H}(b)\) contains no non-zero functions analytic in a neighborhood of the closed unit disk. If \(b\) is an inner function, then \(\mathcal{H}(b) = H^2 \ominus bH^2\). It is a consequence of a celebrated theorem of \textit{A. B. Aleksandrov} [J. Sov. Math. 22, 1695--1708 (1983; Zbl 0517.47019)] that \(\mathcal{A} \cap \mathcal{H}(b)\) is dense in the space, \(\mathcal{A}\) denoting the disk algebra. In the paper under review, the authors prove the very remarkable result establishing that, for any extreme point \(b\) in \(H^\infty\), \(\mathcal{A} \cap \mathcal{H}(b)\) is a dense subset of \(\mathcal{H}(b)\). This provides an affirmative answer to a question raised by E.\,Fricain [\textit{C. Bénéteau} et al., Contemp. Math. 679, 207--217 (2016; Zbl 1372.35006)]. To achieve their goal, the authors use a certain representation of the norm of \(\mathcal{H}(b)\), duality arguments and other techniques included in previous papers by the first author and classical results by Aleksandrov and Khinchin-Ostrowski as well, which are combined in a very elegant way to produce a very nice paper for reading. In my opinion, the main result is highly interesting and I am sure it will be frequently used and referred to. Finally, let me encourage the authors to obtain a constructive proof.