Quasi orthogonal Jacobi polynomials and best one-sided \(L_1\) approximation to step functions (Q2517312)

Let \(f\) be a bounded below, real-valued function defined on the interval \(-1 \leq t \leq 1\). Let \(P_n^l\) represent the polynomials \(p\) of degree \(n\) or fewer for which \(p(t) \leq f(t)\) for all \(t\). The general form of the question that is addressed here would be to characterize the polynomial(s) in \(P_n^l\) which minimize the \(L_1\)-norm of \(f-p\). This work addresses the basic case for \(f\) to be a simple one step function of value \(0\) to the left and value \(1\) to the right. This work identifies when the best approximation is unique. If best approximations are not unique, then the paper discusses the extreme functions of the convex set of best approximations.