Asymptotic values of strongly normal functions (Q2368528)

Let \(\mathbb D\) denote the unit disc in the complex plane. A meromorphic function \(f\) in \(\mathbb D\) is said to be a normal function if \(\sup _{z\in \mathbb D}(1-| z| ^2)f^\sharp (z)<\infty \), where \(f^\sharp (z)=\frac{| f^\prime (z)}{1+| f(z)| ^2}\). If \[ \lim _{| z| \to 1}(1-| z| ^2)f^\sharp (z)=0, \] we say \(f\) is a strongly normal function. Let \(\mathcal N_0\) denote the class of all strongly normal functions in \(\mathbb D\). It is known that a non-constant normal analytic function \(f\) in \(\mathbb D\) has asymptotic values at a dense subset of \(\partial \mathbb D\). However, Lehto and Virtanen in his fundamental paper [Acta Math. 97, 47--65 (1957; Zbl 0077.07702)] proved that there exist normal meromorphic functions in \(\mathbb D\) with no asymptotic values. In this very nice paper the authors are concerned with the existence of asymptotic values for strongly normal functions. A lot of results are known for several subclasses of \(\mathcal N_0\). Let us mention the following ones: (i) Any univalent function is strongly normal and univalent functions have angular limits at all points of \(\partial \mathbb D\) apart from a set of logarithmic capacity zero. (ii) The little Bloch space \(\mathcal B_0\) consists of all \(f\) which are analytic in \(\mathbb D\) and satisfy \[ \lim_{| z| \to 1}(1-| z| ^2)f^\prime (z)=0. \] Clearly, \(\mathcal B_0\subset \mathcal N_0\). A number of authors have shown that functions in \(\mathcal B_0\) have asymptotic values on \`\` big\'\' \, subsets of \(\partial \mathbb D\). (iii) The authors proved in [Ann. Acad. Sci. Fenn., Math. 28, No. 2, 303--314 (2003; Zbl 1029.30021)] that a strongly normal locally univalent meromorphic function \(f\) in \(\mathbb D\) must have asymptotic values at points of an uncountably dense set and that the set of asymptotic values of \(f\) in any non-trivial arc \(\gamma \) of \(\partial \mathbb D\) is of positive linear measure. However, no result about the existence of asymptotic values for general strongly normal functions were known. In this paper the authors prove, among other results, that the results in (iii) remain true without the local univalence assumption. As a corollary of this result, they deduce that any function \(f\in \mathcal N_0\) must have angular limits at an uncountably dense subset of \(\partial \mathbb D\).