Reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces supporting nontrivial Hermitian weighted composition operators (Q371838)

A \textit{weighted Hardy space} \(H^2(\beta)\) determined by a weight sequence \(\beta\) (\(\beta = (\beta(0)=1, \beta(1), \dots )\)) is a Hilbert function space consisting of all analytic functions \(f(z) = \sum_{n=0}^\infty \hat{f}(n) z^n\) for which \[ \sum_{n=0}^\infty |\hat{f}(n)|^2 \beta(n)^2 < \infty . \] This space has a reproducing kernel \[ K(z,w) = k(z\bar w) , \] where \(k\) denotes the \textit{generating function} of \(H^2(\beta)\), \[ k(z) = \sum_{n=0}^\infty \beta(n)^{-2} z^n . \] Given functions \(\psi : \mathbb{D} \rightarrow \mathbb{C}\) and \(\varphi : \mathbb{D} \rightarrow \mathbb{D}\), the \textit{weighted composition operator} \(W_{\psi, \varphi}\) determined by \(\psi\) and \(\varphi\) is defined by \(W_{\psi,\varphi} f = \psi \cdot (f \circ \varphi)\). These are perhaps the most natural types of operators to study on Hilbert function spaces. The literature addresses many questions regarding weighted composition operators, asking under what conditions on \(\psi, \varphi\) does \(W_{\psi,\varphi}\) give rise to a well defined bounded operator from \(H^2(\beta)\) into itself, when it is a compact operator, etc. The paper under review treats the problem of when -- if at all -- a weighted composition operator can be Hermitian (selfadjoint). In [\textit{C. C. Cowen} et al., Complex Anal. Oper. Theory 7, No.~1, 69--99 (2013; Zbl 1296.47025)], it was shown that, if \(W_{\psi,\varphi}\) is Hermitian, then \(\varphi'(0)\) and \(\psi(0)\) are real, and \[ \psi(z) = c k(a_0 z) \text{ and } \varphi(z) = a_0 + a_1 \beta(1)^2 \frac{k'(a_0z)}{k(a_0z)} , \] where \(a_0 = \varphi(0)\), \(a_1 = \varphi'(0)\) and \(c = \psi(0)\). In that paper, it was also shown that, if the generating function is given by \(k(z) = (1-z)^{-\eta}\) and \(\eta \geq 1\), then this necessary condition is also sufficient. In the paper under review, the authors give a precise answer of when the above necessary condition is also sufficient. In fact, they show that a weighted Hardy space admits a non-trivial Hermitian weighted composition operator acting on it if and only if the generating function is either of the form \[ k(z) = e^{\frac{z}{\beta(1)^{2}}}, \] (and this happens when \(\frac{2 \beta(1)^4}{\beta(2)^2} = 1\)) or \[ k(z) = (1-\lambda z)^{-\frac{1}{\lambda\beta(1)^2}}, \] where \(\lambda = \frac{1}{\beta(1)^2}(\frac{2 \beta(1)^4}{\beta(2)^2}-1) \in (0,1]\).