Some coefficient problems and applications (Q1175108)

Following the success of Bieberbach's conjecture on the coefficients of functions in \(S\) in stimulating interest in univalent functions it was natural to put forward conjectures concerning the coefficients of functions in \(\Sigma\) which consists of functions meromorphic and univalent in \(| z|>1\) with Laurent expansion at infinity \[ f(z) = z+\sum^{\infty}_{n=0}b_nz^{-n}. \] One such conjecture was that \(| b_{n-1}|\leq 2/n\), \(n\geq 2\), with equality occurring exactly for the mapping on the complement of an \(n\)-star given by \[ K_n(z) = z(1+z^{-n})^{2/n} \] and its obvious modifications. This does hold for \(n=2,3\). The conjecture appears explicitly in a paper by \textit{W. Wolibner} [Studia Math. 11, 126--132 (1950; Zbl 0040.03701)]. Unfortunately even before that it had been disproved for \(n=4\) by an example given by \textit{I. C. Bazilevich} [Mat. Sb. 2, 689--698 (1937; Zbl 0018.14401)]. It is now known to fail for all \(n\geq 4\). In the present interesting paper the authors consider similar conjectures for functions derived from those in \(\Sigma\) \[ \log f'(z) = \sum^{\infty}_{k=2} c_kz^{- k},\qquad \log(f(z)/z) = \sum^{\infty}_{k=1} d_k^{- k}, \] \[ \log(zf'(z)/f(z)) = \sum^{\infty}_{k=1} e_kz^{-k}. \] For the last two attention is restricted to the subclasses \(\Sigma'\) (functions omitting the value 0) and \(\Sigma_0\) (functions with \(b_0=0\)) of \(\Sigma\) and to coefficients with \(k\geq 2\) (the other results being obvious). Fairly natural conjectures would be \[ | c_ k| \leq 2(k- 1)k^{-1},\quad | d_ k| \leq 2k^{-1},\quad | e_k| \leq 2. \] The authors show that they fail in substantially all cases, the only exceptions being \(k=2,3\), for the first and \(k=2,3\) for \(f\in\Sigma_0\) for the last two. Their method is to obtain by a technique of Löwner type variations of the identity mapping of the complement of an \(n\)-star. Indeed this can be done so that the varied functions exhibit the same symmetry. The reviewer showed [Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 96, 534--545 (1960; Zbl 0103.30003)] by the use of the General Coefficient Theorem that if one requires \(f\) to have a sufficient number of initial coefficients equal to zero then the inequality \(| b_{n-1}| \leq 2/n\) does hold. The authors show by the same method that corresponding results apply to the above conjectures. The authors give also some results for general continuous linear functionals \(L\) applied to the function sets considered above, specifically giving characterizations of extremal functions maximizing the real part of such functionals. They show in particular that their results affirming the simple zero conjecture for \(\Sigma\) [Bull. Amer. Math. Soc., New Ser. 19, 439-440 (1988; Zbl 0655.30011)] hold also for \(L(\log f'(z))\) but do not answer this question for the other sets. Finally they give a simplified treatment of their results on the \(N\)th diameter problem [J. Anal. Math. 48, 247-266 (1987; Zbl 0632.30027); Complex Variables, Theory Appl. 9, 227-239 (1987; Zbl 0636.30021)].