Holomorphic Banach vector bundles on the maximal ideal space of \(H^\infty\) and the operator corona problem of Sz.-Nagy (Q1929192)

This paper in complex analysis of a single variable deals with topics close to the classical corona problem for the unit disc and some of its generalizations. Let \({\mathbb D}\subset{\mathbb C}\) be the unit disc, \(H^\infty\) the Banach algebra of all the bounded holomorphic functions \(f:{\mathbb D}\to{\mathbb C}\) endowed with the supremum norm, \(M(H^\infty)\) its maximal ideal space, \(X\) a Banach space, \({\text{GL}}(X)\) its group of invertible operators \(X\to X\), \({\text{GL}}_0(X)\) the connected component of the identity, \(q:{\text{GL}}(X)\to{\text{GL}}(X)/{\text{GL}}_0(X)\) the canonical projection, \(E\to M(H^\infty)\) a holomorphic Banach vector bundle with fiber type \(X\) defined by a cocycle \(g_{ij}(z)\in\text{GL}(X)\). Theorem~1.1. The Banach vector bundle \(E\to M(H^\infty)\) is holomorphically trivial if and only if the associated principal bundle defined by the permutation representation \(q(g_{ij}(z))\) is trivial as a principal bundle with discrete fibers. Corollary~1.2. The Banach vector bundle \(E\to M(H^\infty)\) is holomorphically trivial if \(g_{ij}(x)\in{\text{GL}}_0(X)\), i.e., the cocycle maps to the unit component, or if \(E\to M(H^\infty)\) is continuously trivial. From the results on the Sz.-Nagy type problem we only quote Theorem~1.5 below. Let \(X_1,X_2\) be Banach spaces, \(L(X_1,X_2)\) the Banach space of all bounded operators \(A: X_1\to X_2\) endowed with the operator norm, and \(H^\infty_{\text{comp}}(L(X_1,X_2))\) the family of all holomorphic functions \(f:{\mathbb D}\to L(X_1,X_2)\) such that \(f\) is not only bounded, but its image \(f({\mathbb D})\) is relatively compact in \(L(X_1,X_2)\). Theorem~1.5. If \(F\in H^\infty_{\text{comp}}(L(X_1,X_2))\) is such that at each point \(z\in{\mathbb D}\) the operator \(F(z)\) has a bounded left inverse \(G_z\) whose family is uniformly bounded, i.e., \(\sup_{z\in{\mathbb D}}\|G_z\|<\infty\), then there is a holomorphic choice of left inverses, i.e., there is a \(G\in H^\infty_{\text{comp}}(L(X_2,X_1))\) with \(G(z)F(z)\) equal to the indentity of \(X_1\) for all \(z\in{\mathbb D}\). This interesting paper draws on the theory of Gleason parts and newer results by the author on the topology and analytic structure of \(M(H^\infty)\) such as Runge-type approximation and the \(\overline\partial\)-problem in [2: Banach-valued holomorphic functions on the maximal ideal space of \(H^\infty\), preprint, \url{arXiv:1103.2347}], and exploits them here to solve Cousin-type, Cartan-type problems similar to those used in Stein theory to deal with the classical Oka principle of Grauert.