The geometry of Pringsheim's continued fractions (Q5933873)

The author defines a Pringsheim continued fraction to be \(\lim_{n\to \infty} t_1 t_2 \cdots t_n(0)\) (when it exists), where each \(t_n(z)\) is of the form \(a_n/(b_n +z)\) and \(|b_n|\geq 1 + |a_n|\). By considering the image of the unit circle in the complex plane under the various composition maps \(T_n(z) = t_1 t_2 \cdots t_n(z)\), he reproves the 1898 result of Pringsheim that the above limit does in fact exist and is of norm at most 1. The geometric interpretation masterfully emphasized here shows much more, giving in particular a clear picture of a correspondence between Pringsheims continued fractions and nested sequences of circles inside the unit disc.