Uniform approximation of sgn (x) by polynomials and entire functions

Abstract: We study the best uniform approximation by polynomials of fixed degree of the function sgn(x) on the union of two intervals symmetric with respect to the origin. We obtain precise asymptotics, with explicit constants, for the error of the best approximation as the degrees tend to infinity. Our approach is based on a new representation of the extremal polynomials in terms of certain conformal maps. We also study the best polynomial approximation of sgn(x) on [-1,1] with respect to the Hausdorff distance between the completed graphs.

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Let \(p_m\) be the polynomial of degree at most \(2m+ 1\) of least deviation from \(\text{sgn}(x)\) on \(X(a)= [-1, -a]\cup[a, 1]\), where \(0< a< 1\). It follows from the general theory of Chebyshev that such a polynomial is unique. Let \(L_m(a)= \max_{X(a)}|p_m(x)- \text{sgn}(x)|\), resp. \(L(A)\) be the error of the best approximation of \(\text{sgn}(x)\) by entire functions of exponential type one, on the set \((-\infty, -A]\cup[A,+\infty]\). The following theorems are proved: Theorem 1: \(\lim_{m\to\infty}\sqrt{m}({1+a\over 1-a})^m L_m(a)= {1- a\over \sqrt{\pi\cdot a}}\); Theorem 2: \(\lim_{A\to\infty} \sqrt{A}\exp(a)\cdot L(A)= \sqrt{{2\over\pi}}\). In two further theorems the authors give an explicit description of the approximation errors with a function given in the form \(\cos\Phi(z)\), where \(\Phi\) is a appropriate conformal map. In a last theorem a new measure of the distance of \(\text{sgn}(x)\) and \(p_m\) is introduced and discussed.

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