Polynomial approximation, local polynomial convexity, and degenerate CR singularities (Q2495369)

One of the concerns of this paper is to study the following question: given a closed disc \(\overline D \Subset C\) and a complex-valued function \(F\in\mathcal C(\overline D)\), when is the uniform algebra on \(\overline D\) generated by \(z\) and \(F\) equal to \(\mathcal C(\overline D)\)? A necessary condition for a positive answer to this question is that graph\(_{\overline D}(F)\subset \mathbb C^2\) must be polynomially convex. A compact subset \(K\subset\mathbb C^2\) is said to be polynomially convex if for each point \(\xi\notin K\), there exists a holomorphic polynomial \(P\) such that \(P(\xi)= 1\) and \(\sup_K | P| < 1\). The compact \(K\) is said to be locally polynomially convex at a point \(p\in K\) if there exists a closed ball \(\mathbb B(p)\) centered at \(p\) such that \(K\cap\mathbb B(p)\) is polynomially convex. In general, it is difficult to determine whether a given compact \(K\subset\mathbb C^n\) is polynomially convex when \(n > 1\), but questions of polynomial convexity arise repeatedly in connection with function theory. When \(F\in\mathcal C^1(D)\), the problem is complicated by the presence of points in the surface \(S := \text{graph}_{\overline D}(F)\) that have complex tangents. Such points are called CR singularities. Let \(p\in S\) be a CR singularity at which the order of contact of the tangent plane with \(S\) is greater than 2; i.e., a degenerate CR singularity. The author provides sufficient conditions for \(S\) to be locally polynomially convex at the degenerate singularity \(p\). This is useful because it is essential to know whether \(S\) is locally polynomially convex at a CR singularity in order to answer the initial question. To this end, the author also presents a sufficient condition on a complex-valued \(F\in\mathcal C(\overline D)\) for the question posed above to have an affirmative answer. This sufficient condition is stated in terms of the value-distribution of \(F\), which is easy to understand, and may be applied to concrete situations. This result may be of independent interest because it is applicable even to non-smooth, complex-valued \(F\). Note that the Weierstrass approximation theorem is a special case of this theorem when \(F(z) =\overline z\).