Orthogonal functions in \(H^\infty\) (Q2496427)

Let \(f\) be a bounded analytic function on the unit disc \(D\) of the complex plane, which belongs to the unit ball of the space \(H^{\infty}\) and satisfies \(f(0)=0\). The function \(f\) has radial boundary values almost everywhere and it is called orthogonal if the sequence of powers \((f^n)_n\) is orthogonal. Given \(f\) as above, \(\mu_f(E):= | f^{-1}(E)| \), where \(| .| \) denotes the Lebesgue measure on the unit circle \(T\) normalized to have a mass 1, defines a Borel probability measure. A measure is called radial if \(\mu(E)=\mu(e^{it} E)\) for each real number \(t\) and each measurable set \(E\). If the function \(f\) is inner, then \(\mu_f\) is normalized Lebesgue measure on \(T\) and \(f\) is orthogonal. In 1988 W. Rudin asked whether multiples of inner functions are the only orthogonal functions on the disc, or, in other words, whether normalized Lebesgue measure on the circle is the only radial measure which can occur as \(\mu_f\). The main result of this paper is the following characterization: A function \(f\) in the unit ball of \(H^{\infty}\) with \(f(0)=0\) is orthogonal if and only if \(\mu_f\) is a radial probability measure supported in the closed unit disc \(\overline{D}\) satisfying \(\int_{\overline{D}} \log\frac{1}{| z| } \,d\mu_f(z) < \infty\). Moreover, given any measure \(\mu\) satisfying these conditions, there is \(f\) as above with \(\mu=\mu_f\). This characterization permits the author to show that many other symmetric measures can occur as \(\mu_f\), and hence provide counterexamples to Rudin's conjecture. This conjecture was independently disproved by \textit{C. Sundberg} [J. Am. Math. Soc. 16, 69--90 (2003; Zbl 1012.30022)]. Among many interesting consequences of the characterization, it is proved that there is \(f\) in the unit ball of \(H^{\infty}\) such that the corresponding composition operator maps the Bergman space isometrically into a closed subspace of the Hardy space.