On a class of inner maps (Q879739)

Summary: Let \(f\) be a continuous map of the closure \(\overline{\Delta}\) of the open unit disc \(\Delta\) of \(\mathbb C\) into a unital associative Banach algebra \(\mathcal A\), whose restriction to \(\Delta\) is holomorphic, and which satisfies the condition whereby \(0\not\in\sigma (f(z))\subset\overline{\Delta}\) for all \(z\in\Delta\) and \(\sigma(f(z))\subset\partial \Delta\) whenever \(z\in\partial\Delta\) (where \(\sigma(x)\) is the spectrum of any \(x\in\mathcal A\)). One of the basic results of the present paper is that \(f\) is spectrally constant, that is to say, \(\sigma(f(z))\) is then a compact subset of \(\partial\Delta\) that does not depend on \(z\) for all \(z\in\overline{\Delta}\). This fact will be applied to holomorphic self-maps of the open unit ball of some \(J^*\)-algebra and, in particular, of any unital \(C^*\)-algebra, investigating some cases in which not only the spectra but the maps themselves are necessarily constant.