On continuity of the variation and the Fourier transform (Q797780)

Let S be a commutative semitopological semigroup with identity and involution, \(\Gamma\) a compact subset in the topology of pointwise convergence of the set of semicharacters on S. Let f be a function which admits a (necessarily unique) integral representation of the form \(f(s)=\int_{\Gamma}\rho (s) d\mu_ f(\rho)\) (\(p\in\Gamma \), \(s\in S)\) with respect to a complex regular Borel measure \(\mu_ f\) on \(\Gamma\). The function \(| f| (\cdot)\) defined by \(| f| (s)=\int_{\Gamma}\rho (s) d|\mu_ f|\) is called the variation of f. It is shown that the variation \(| f|\) is bounded and continuous if and only if f is also bounded and continuous. This, coupled with the author's previous characterization of functions of bounded variation, gives a new description of the Fourier transforms of bounded measures on locally compact commutative groups.