Some new properties of composition operators associated with lens maps (Q375693)

Let \(\mathbb D\) be the unit disk in the complex plane and \(\mathcal H(\mathbb D)\) the family of holomorphic functions in \(\mathbb D\). An analytic self-map (also called Schur function) \(\varphi:\mathbb D\to \mathbb D\) of the unit disk induces the composition operator \(C_\varphi: \mathcal H(\mathbb D)\to \mathcal H(\mathbb D)\) with symbol \(\varphi\) defined by \(C_\varphi(f)=f\circ \varphi\). As pointed out by the authors, in the general theory of composition operators it is of particular importance to consider those cases when the symbol of the operator is a lens map \(\varphi_\theta\). This fact is due to the different non-trivial examples these particular symbols provide. For \(0<\theta<1\), the lens map \(\varphi_\theta\) is defined by \[ \varphi_\theta(z)=\frac{(1+z)^\theta-(1-z)^\theta}{(1+z)^\theta+(1-z)^\theta}\,,\quad z\in\mathbb D\,. \] \smallskip The main result in Section 2 is to show that, as operators on the Hardy space \(H^2\), the approximation numbers \(a_n(C_{\varphi_\theta})\) of \(C_{\varphi_\theta}\) satisfy the bounds \[ a'e^{-b'\sqrt{n}} \leq a_n(C_{\varphi_\theta})\leq a e^{-b\sqrt{n}} \] for real positive constants \(a,\, b,\, a',\,\) and \(b'\) that only depend on \(\theta\). In particular, \(C_{\varphi_\theta}\) belongs to all Schatten classes \(S_p\), \(p>0\)\,. \smallskip In Section 3, the authors consider composition operators on \(H^2\) induced by certain self-maps \(\widetilde{\varphi}_\theta\) that are produced by ``spreading'' the lens maps. That is, they are obtained by the multiplication of \(\varphi_\theta\) by an appropriate inner function. They show that the approximation numbers of \(C_{\widetilde{\varphi}_\theta}\) become greater than those of \(C_{\varphi_\theta}\) and that \(C_{\widetilde{\varphi}_\theta}\) belongs to \(S_p\) if and only if \(p>2\theta\). \smallskip Finally, in Section 4, the authors consider lens maps in order to answer (in the negative) the question whether, for any non-reflexive Banach space \(X\) of analytic functions in the unit disk, every weakly compact (resp., Dunford-Pettis) composition operator \(C_\varphi\) on \(X\) is actually compact. To do so, the authors prove that there are composition operators on a non-reflexive Hardy-Orlicz space which are weakly compact and Dunford-Pettis, though not compact, and that there are composition operators on a non-reflexive Bergman-Orlicz space which are weakly compact but not compact. They also show that there are composition operators on a non-reflexive Hardy-Orlicz space which are weakly compact but not Dunford-Pettis.