Special classes of normal families (Q934533)

Let \(\mathbb D\) denote the unit disk in the complex plane \(\mathbb C\). A family \({\mathcal F}\) consisting of functions meromorphic on \(\mathbb D\) is called a normal family if each sequence of functions in \({\mathcal F}\) contains a subsequence that converges uniformly on each compact subset of \(\mathbb D\) to a meromorphic function on \(\mathbb D\). Let \(\Sigma\) stand for the set of all Möbius transformations of \(\mathbb D\) onto itself. A meromorphic function \(f\) is normal in \(\mathbb D\) if the family \(\{f\circ\sigma: \sigma\in\Sigma\}\) is normal in \(\mathbb D\). Two functions \(f_1\) and \(f_2\) are said to avoid each other if there is no point \(z\) in their common domain such that \(f_1(z)=f_2(z)\). If \(\mathcal F\) is a family of functions in \(\mathbb D\), let \(\mathcal F'=\{f\) meromorphic in \(\mathbb D\): there is a sequence \(\{f_n\}\subset{\mathcal D}\) converging uniformly on each compact subset of \(\mathbb D\) to the function \(f\}\). The family \({\mathcal F}'\) is called the limit family of \({\mathcal F}\), and a function \(f\in{\mathcal F}'\) is called a limit function on \({\mathcal F}\). In the paper under review families of normal functions consisting of those meromorphic functions on \(\mathbb D\) that avoid three fixed continuous functions that also avoid each other are investigated. It is shown that if the functions avoided are all meromorphic, then the family contains uncountably many functions, and the only limit functions not in the family are the functions avoided. This is not necessarily the case when the functions avoided are continuous but not all meromorphic; an example is given of three continuous functions that avoid each other for which the family of meromorphic functions avoiding these three functions is empty. This example is a consequence of another example giving a single continuous function that no holomorphic function can avoid. Finally it is given a surprising example; there exist three continuous functions such that these functions avoid each other and the set of all functions \(f\) meromorphic on \(\mathbb D\) such that \(f\) avoids each of these functions is equal to \(\{f\in H^{\infty}(\mathbb D): | z| <1\to| f(z)| <1\), \(z\in\mathbb D\}\).