Envelopes of holomorphy and extension of functions of bounded type (Q664771)

Given an open subset \(U\) of a complex Banach space, what is the largest open set containing \(U\) to which every holomorphic function of bounded type on \(U\) has a unique holomorphic extension? This question about a characterization of the so called \( H_b\)-envelope of holomorphy is the motivation of this remarkable article. In order to properly pose the problem, the authors broaden the scope of the question by considering Riemann domains instead of open sets. For a Riemann domain \(X\) over a Banach space \(E\), it is denoted by \( H_b(X)\) the set of holomorphic functions from \(X\) to \(\mathbb C\) that are bounded on \(X\)-bounded sets. The authors show that the \( H_b\)-envelope of holomorphy of \(X\) can be seen as a subset of the spectrum of \( H_b(X)\). Then, they come back to open sets \(U\subset E\) and prove that when \(U\) is also balanced, the \(H_b\)-envelope of holomorphy is an open subset of \(E\): the so-called polynomially convex hull of \(U\). \textit{A. Hirschowitz} [``Analytic extension in infinite dimension'', Ann. Inst. Fourier 22, No. 2, 255--292 (1972; Zbl 0224.32015)] asked whether the extensions of bounded type holomorphic functions on \(U\) to the \( H_b\)-envelope are also of bounded type. The authors here answer affirmatively this question in the case that the balanced open set \(U\) is bounded and construct an example of an unbounded balanced open set in \(c_0\) for which extensions to the envelope are not necessarily of bounded type. They characterize also the largest set in the bidual of a symmetrically regular Banach space \(E\) to which every holomorphic function of bounded type defined on a balanced open set \(U\) of \(E\) can be canonically extended (i.e., by the Aron-Berner morphism). A Tsirelson-like space is a reflexive Banach space on which every polynomial is approximable by finite type polynomials. Thus, it has some resemblance to a finite dimensional space. \textit{D. M. Vieira} [``Spectra of algebras of holomorphic functions of bounded type'', Indag. Math., New Ser. 18, No. 2, 269--279 (2007; Zbl 1135.46023)] proved that if \(U\) is a balanced \(H_b(U)\)-convex subset of a Tsirelson-like space then the only elements of the spectrum of \(H_b(U)\) are evaluations at the points of \(U\). The authors of the article under review demonstrate a converse of this result: for a balanced open set \(U\) in a Banach space \(E\) with the approximation property, the fact that the spectrum of \(H_b(U)\) consists just of evaluations at points of \(U\) is equivalent to \(U\) being \(H_b(U)\)-convex and \(E\) being a Tsirelson-like space. Then they drop the hypothesis of reflexivity and obtain interesting characterizations in this case. They give as well a Banach-Stone type result. They concentrate also on the case when \(U\) is the unit ball of \(\ell_p\) and show that, surprisingly, the spectrum of \(H_b(U)\) is not a disjoint union of unit balls, as one might have expected from what happens when \(U\) is the whole space \(\ell_p\).