On the connected component of compact composition operators on the Hardy space (Q947774)

Let \(\mathbb{D}\) denote the open unit disc of the complex plane and \(\mathcal{H}^2\) the space of analytic functions \(f\) on \(\mathbb{D}\) for which the norm \(\|f\|_2=(\sup_{0 \leq r <1} \int_0^{2 \pi} |f(re^{i \theta})|^2 \frac{d \theta}{2 \pi})^{1/2}\) is finite. If \(\varphi\) is an analytic self-map of \(\mathbb{D}\), then the composition operator \(C_\varphi f = f \circ \varphi\) is a bounded linear operator on \(\mathcal{H}^2\). The properties of these operators on \(\mathcal{H}^2\) and many other function spaces have been studied extensively. In particular, \textit{J.\,H.\thinspace Shapiro} and \textit{C.\,Sundberg} [Pac.\ J.\ Math.\ 145, 117--152 (1990; Zbl 0732.30027)] considered compactness properties of the set of composition operators, Comp\((\mathcal{H}^2)\). It was observed that the collection of all compact composition operators on \(\mathcal{H}^2\) is arcwise connected. They raised the following question and conjectured that it had a positive answer: (\(\star\)) Do the compact composition operators form a connected component of the set Comp\((\mathcal{H}^2)\)? In fact, Shapiro and Sundberg suggested that two elements of Comp\((\mathcal{H}^2)\) lie in the same component of Comp\((\mathcal{H}^2)\) if and only if they have compact difference. Recently, \textit{J.\,Moorhouse} and \textit{C.\,Toews} [Contemp.\ Math.\ 321, 207--213 (2003; Zbl 1052.47018)] and, independently, \textit{P.\,S.\thinspace Bourdon} [J.~Math.\ Anal.\ Appl.\ 279, 228--245 (2003; Zbl 1043.47021)] answered this conjecture in the negative. In fact, they gave an example of two elements in Comp\((\mathcal{H}^2)\) whose difference is not compact, yet which are arc-connected. However, in the examples the operators are non-compact, so question (\(\star\)) was still open. The main result in the paper under review is a negative answer to (\(\star\)). More generally, the authors show: For \(0 \leq t \leq 1\), there are analytic maps \(\varphi_t: \mathbb{D} \to \mathbb{D}\) such that \(C_{\varphi_0}\) is compact and \(C_{\varphi_1}\) is non-compact on \(\mathcal{H}^p\), and \(t \mapsto C_{\varphi_t}\) is continuous from \([0,1]\) into Comp\((\mathcal{H}^p)\), where \(1 \leq p < \infty\). The map \(\varphi_1\) is of fairly complicated construction because of \textit{B.\,D.\thinspace MacCluer}'s result [Integral Equations Oper.\ Theory 12, 725--738 (1989; Zbl 0685.47027)] that, if two composition operators belong to the same component of Comp\((\mathcal{H}^2)\), then their symbols must have the same angular derivative at any point of the unit circle \(\partial \mathbb{D}\). The maps \(\varphi_t\) are defined in terms of Aleksandrov-Clark measures and an integral representation for composition operators due to \textit{D.\,Sarason} [Lect.\ Notes Pure Appl.\ Math.\ 122, 545--565 (1990; Zbl 0712.47026)] is used. Finally, the authors propose the following problem: Determine all the non-compact composition operators that lie in the component of the compact ones in Comp\((\mathcal{H}^2)\).