Nonmaximal ideals and the Berkovich space of the algebra of bounded analytic functions
Let \(\mathbb{K}\) be an algebraically closed field, complete with respect to a non-Archimedean (NA) absolute value \(|\cdot|\), and let \(H^\infty\) be the space of \(\mathbb{K}\)-valued bounded analytic functions on the open disk \(\,\mathbb{D} := \{z \in \mathbb{K} : |z| < 1\}\), that is, the space of bounded power series \(f(z)=\sum_0^\infty a_nz^n\). With the norm \(\|f\|=\sup_{n\geq 0}|a_n|=\sup_{z\in \mathbb{D}}|f(z)|\), \(H^\infty\) is a Banach algebra. In contrast to the complex case, a Banach algebra over \(\mathbb{K}\) can contain maximal ideals that are not the kernels of any multiplicative linear functional. For this reason, the classical definition of the spectrum (as the space of maximal ideals) does not carry over to the ultrametric case. \textit{V. G. Berkovich} [Spectral theory and analytic geometry over non-archimedean fields. Providence, RI: American Mathematical Society (1990; Zbl 0715.14013)] found a definition of the multiplicative spectrum in the ultrametric case which agrees with the classical spectrum in the case \(\mathbb{K}=\mathbb C\). Let \(A\) be a commutative unital Banach algebra over \(\mathbb{K}\). The Berkovich spectrum of \(A\), denoted by \(\mathcal M(A)\), is the set of all continuous multiplicative seminorms \(\zeta:A\to[0,\infty)\) with the topology of pointwise convergence. These seminorms can be divided into four classes: I. points whose kernel is a maximal ideal of codimension 1; II. points whose kernel is a maximal ideal of codimension different from 1; III. points whose kernel is trivial, that is, equal to \(\{0\}\); IV. points whose kernel is a nonzero nonmaximal prime ideal. In the case \(A=H^\infty\), points of type I can be identified with points \(z\in \mathbb{D}\) through \(\delta_z(f)=|f(z)|,\, f\in H^\infty\). Points of type III are given by multiplicative norms as, e.g., \(\zeta_D(f)=\sup_{z\in D}|f(z)|\), where \(D\) is a disk contained in \(\mathbb{D}\). It is unknown if \(D\) is dense in \(\mathcal M(H^\infty)\) (the NA analog of the corona problem) -- one only knows that \(D\) is dense in the subset of seminorms whose kernel is a maximal ideal. The aim of the present paper is to study the points of type IV. The author proves the nonemptiness of this set (disproving a conjecture of \textit{A. Escassut} and \textit{N. Maïnetti} [Bull. Sci. Math. 132, No. 5, 382--394 (2008; Zbl 1223.46066)]) and shows that there can exist infinitely many points of type IV sharing the same nonzero nonmaximal prime ideal. The problem of the existence of such ideals was raised by \textit{M. van der Put} [Bull. Soc. Math. Fr., Suppl., Mém. 39--40, 287--317 (1974; Zbl 0303.46048)] and solved affirmatively in the case of a field \(\mathbb K\) of characteristic 0 by \textit{A. Escaussut} [Proc. Edinb. Math. Soc., II. Ser. 53, No. 2, 353--371 (2010; Zbl 1253.46056)]. The author proves the existence in \(H^\infty\) of infinite chains of nonzero prime ideals, for any field \(\mathbb K\).
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