Escaping points of meromorphic functions with a finite number of poles (Q816477)

In a previous paper [Proc. Am. Math. Soc. 133, 1109--1118 (2005; Zbl 1058.37006)] the authors showed that for a transcendental entire function \(f\) the set \(I(f)=\{z: f^n(z) \rightarrow \infty\}\) has at least one unbounded component. (Here \(f^n\) denotes the \(n-\)th iterate of \(f.)\) In fact they showed that the subset \(A(f)=\{z:\) there exists \(L>0\) such that \(| f^n(z)| >M(R,\; f^{n-L})\) for \(n>L\}\) of \(I(f)\) has an unbounded component. One key ingredient was to show that \(A(f)\) coincides with the set \(B(f)=\{z:\) there exists \(L>0\) such that \(f^{n+L}(z)\not\in \widetilde{f^n(D)}\) for all \(n\},\) where \(D\) is a disc intersecting the Julia set \(J(f)\) and \(\tilde{U}\) denotes the union of \(U\) and its bounded complementary components. The present paper is concerned with extending the above result on \(I(f),\) as well as other results, from entire functions to meromorphic functions with finitely many poles. In order to do so the authors have to modify the definition of \(B(f):\) they show that there exists a sequence of Jordan curves \(\gamma_n\) whose interior contains a disk containing the poles of \(f\) and which satisfy dist\((\gamma_n,0)\rightarrow \infty\) and \(\gamma_{n+1}\subset f(\gamma_n)\) and are such that any component of \(f^{-1}(E_{n+1})\) lies in \(E_n\) or in \(\{z:| z| \leq R\},\) where \(E_n\) is the exterior of \(\gamma_n.\) The set \(B(f)\) is then defined as the set of all \(z\) for which there exists \(L>0\) such that \(f^{n+1}(z)\in E_n\) for all \(n.\) It is first shown that for entire functions this definition agrees with the previous one. Then a number of properties of \(B(f)\) are shown, e.g. that \(B(f)\neq \varnothing,\) that \(J(f)=\partial B(f)\) and that \(B(f)\cap J(f)\neq \varnothing.\) In particular, it is shown that \(B(f)\) and hence \(I(f)\) have at least one unbounded component.