A characterization of \(P^ 2(\mu)\neq L^ 2(\mu)\) (Q1068341)

For \(\mu\) a positive compactly supported Borel measure in the complex plane \({\mathbb{C}}\), \(P^ 2(\mu)\) denotes the closure of the analytic polynomials in \(L^ 2(\mu)\). If \(P^ 2(\mu)\) does not equal \(L^ 2(\mu)\), a long-standing question is whether \(P^ 2(\mu)\) can be continuously embedded into a space of analytic functions. In this paper it is shown that \(P^ 2(\mu)\neq L^ 2(\mu)\) if and only if \(P^ 2(\mu)\) can be continuously embedded into \(L^ 1(\gamma)\) for some probability measure \(\gamma\) in \({\mathbb{C}}\) with \(\gamma\) \(\perp \mu\). Applications of this embedding point of view lead to new proofs of invariant subspace theorems for a non-normal subnormal operator S. Namely, for all large n, \(S^ n\) has no rationally cyclic vectors [\textit{C. A. Berger}, Integral Equations Oper. Theory 1, 444-447 (1978; Zbl 0416.47010)]. Similarly with S as above for \(\lambda\) 's in a set of positive area measure, \((S-\lambda)^ 2\) has no rationally cyclic vectors [\textit{R. Carey} and \textit{J. Pincus}, ibid. 4, 10-44 (1981; Zbl 0516.47013)].