Numerical ranges of composition operators (Q5943026)

Let \(H^2\) be the usual Hardy space of analytic functions \(\sum^\infty_{n=0} a_nz^n\) with square summable Taylor coefficients. \(H^2\) becomes a Hilbert space if endowed with the inner product \(\langle f,g\rangle= \sum^\infty_{n=0} a_n b_n\). The author studies the numerical range \(W(T)= \{\langle Tf, f\rangle:\|f\|= 1\}\) of certain composition operators \(T= C_\varphi\) defined on \(H^2\) by \(C_\varphi(f)= f\circ\varphi\), whenever \(\varphi\) is an analytic selfmap of the unit disk \(\mathbb{D}\). For example if \(\varphi(z)=\lambda z\), where \(|\lambda|= 1\), then \(W(C_\varphi)\) is the closed convex hull of the set \(\{1,\lambda,\lambda^2,\dots, \lambda^{n-1}\}\) whenever \(\lambda^n= 1\) and \(W(C_\varphi)= \mathbb{D}\cup\{\lambda^n: n\in\mathbb{N}\}\) in the remaining case. The cases \(\varphi(z)= az\), for \(a\in \mathbb{D}\), and \(\varphi\equiv a\) are completely solved. Quite generally, if \(\varphi\) is an inner function, other than a disk automorphism, and having \(0\) as a fixed point, then the numerical range of \(C_\varphi\) is shown to be \(\mathbb{D}\cup\{1\}\). More difficult is the determination of the numerical range of \(C_\varphi\) whenever \(\varphi(z)= az^n\) for \(|a|< 1\). The paper contains nice pictures of examples of numerical ranges. Several problems of the following type are discussed, too: under which conditions the origin is an interior point or the point \(1\) a corner resp. extreme point of the numerical range for \(C_\varphi\). Readers interested in the subject, should also consult Paul Bourdon and Joel Shapiro's recent papers on this subject.