Composition Operators

on Spaces of Analytic Functions

A. G. Siskakis
Samos, July 2012
Contents
1. General facts about Composition Operators.
2. Spaces of Analytic Functions.
3. Boundedness.
4. Compactness.
5. Membership in Schatten ideals.
6. Invariant subspaces and C

.
7. C

and the Brennan conjecture.

8. Semigroups of Composition Operators.
1. General facts.
Suppose S is a set, and : S S a self-map of S.
Let also X be a linear space consisting of function
f : S C.
The composition operator induced by is
C

(f)(s) = f((s)), f X.
In addition if : S C is a function, the weighted
composition operator induced by and is
W
,
(f)(s) = (s)f((s)).
We assume C

(X) X or W
,
(X) X whenever
needed.
Initial observations:
1. Clearly C

and W
,
are linear maps.
2. C

can viewed as generalizing the translations

f f(x +a), on R,
or the rotations
f f(e
i
z) on the unit circle T.
3. If (s) = s for each s, the identity function,
then C

= I, the identity operator. If (s) = s

0
,
constant, then
C

: f f(s
0
)
is a point evaluation.
4. C

is multiplicative:
C

(fg) = f g = C

(f)C

(g).
5. We have C

1
C

2
= C

1
. In particular if

n
=
n1
, n N
are the iterates of then
C
n

= C

n
.
Historical information:
E. Schroder (1871) asked,
Given analytic self-map of a domain D, nd f
and such that
f((z)) = f(z), z D.
G. Konigs (1884):
Solved Schroders equation in case D = D, the unit
disc in C.
J. E. Littlewood (1925):
If U : D R is subharmonic and : D D analytic
with (0) = 0 then

2
0
U((re
i
)) d

2
0
U(re
i
) d, 0 < r < 1.
B. O. Koopman (1930s):
Used composition operators in studying Statistical
Mechanics.
Composition operators were used in Ergodic The-
ory and Dynamical systems. In this setting they are
the adjoints of Perron-Frobenius operators.
The systematic study on spaces of analytic func-
tions started in the 1960s with the work of E.
Nordgren, J. Ry, and H. J. Schwartz.
How wide is the class of Composition Operators
Consider sequence in l
2
as functions on N, i.e.
a
n
= f(n). Then the backward shift operator
(f(0), f(1), f(2), ) (f(1), f(2), )
is the composition operator f f induced by
(n) = n +1.
The Banach-Stone theorem (1930s):
If Q, K are compact Hausdor spaces and T an iso-
metric isomorphism between C(Q) and C(K) then
T(f)(t) = (t)f((t)),
where : K Q is a homeomorphism and
C(K) with || = 1.
F. Forelli (1964):
If T : H
p
H
p
, (p 1, p = 2), is an isometric
isomorphism, then
T(f)(z) = e
i
(

(z))
1/p
f((z)),
where is a Mobius automorphism of the disc and
real constant.
Consider the multiplication operator
M
g
(f)(z) = g(z)f(z)
Which operators commute with M
g
? Clearly ev-
ery multiplication operator does. But when is
such that g((z)) = g(z) for every z, then C

also
commutes with M
g
:
C

M
g
(f) = g f = g f = M
g
C

(f).
There are universal operators among the compo-
sition operators (details later).
Certain classical operators can be written as av-
erages of composition operators.
Hausdor means. In the Theory of Summability,
the Hausdor summability method uses lower tri-
angular matrices H = (c
n,k
) whose entries are
c
n,k
=
_
_
_
_
n
k
_

1
0
t
k
(1 t)
nk
d(t), k n
0, k > n,
where is a Borel measure on [0, 1).
When applied to sequences or to series, these ma-
trices are expected to improve convergence. If
we consider such a matrix H as an operator on
l
2
, and rewrite it equivalently on H
2
, the analytic
disguise of l
2
, then it takes the form
H(f)(z) =

1
0
s
(s 1)z +1
f
_
sz
(s 1)z +1
_
d(s),
i.e. H is a -average of weighted composition op-
erators.
The Hilbert matrix. The Hilbert matrix
H =
_
_
_
_
_
1, 1/2, 1/3,
1/2, 1/3, 1/4,
1/3, 1/4, 1/5,
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
_
_
_
_
_
,
which is the prototype for a Hankel operator, when
written on H
2
, is seen to be an average of weighted
composition operators:
H(f)(z) =

1
0
s
(s 1)z +1
f
_
s
(s 1)z +1
_
ds.
Two major directions of study of C

.
1. (S, M, ) a measure space,
: S S a measurable map, and
X = L
p
(S, M, ) or some other space of measurable
functions.
2. S = C (or of C
n
) a region,
: analytic and
X = some space of analytic functions on .
We will concentrate on spaces of analytic functions
in one complex variable, and mostly when = D,
the unit disc or = U, the upper half-plane and
will consider mainly Hardy, Bergman and Dirichlet
spaces.
2. Spaces of Analytic Functions.
D = {z : |z| < 1} the unit disc, T = D,
d() =
d
2
,
A(D) = {f : D C, analytic }.
Hardy spaces
Let 0 < p . The Hardy space H
p
= H
p
(D)
consists of all and f A(D) such that
f
p
= sup
r<1
_
T
|f(re
i
)|
p
d()
_
1/p
< ,
or
f

= sup
zD
|f(z)| < , (for p = ).
Each H
p
is a linear space, and a Banach space
when 1 p . For p = 2 the norm of f(z) =

n=0
a
n
z
n
H
2
is
f
2
2
= sup
r

T
|f(re
i
)|
2
d()
=

n=0
|a
n
|
2
.
This identies H
2
with l
2
. In particular H
2
is a
Hilbert space, with inner product
f, g = lim
r1

2
0
f(re
i
)g(re
i
)d()
=

k=0
a
k
b
k
.
Basic properties of H
p
:
If 1 < p < q < then
H
1
H
p
H
q
H

,
with strict containment in each case.
If f H
p
then the limit
f

(e
i
) = lim
r1
f(re
i
)
exists for almost all [0, 2]. The resulting func-
tion f

is p-integrable on the circle T, and

f

L
p
(T)
= f
H
p.
If f, g H
p
and f

(e
i
) = g

(e
i
) on a set of
positive measure on T then f g (this is a form of
the identity principle).
Consider the polynomials p(e
i
) in L
p
(T). Then
{f

: f H
p
} =
_
p(e
i
) : p polynomial
_
.
Thus H
p
can be identied, isometrically, with this
closed subspace of L
p
(T).
If 1 p and f L
p
(T) the f = g

for some
g H
p
if and only if the Fourier coecients of f
with negative indices are all zero.
If 1 p < and L
p
(T) then its Poisson
integral
f(z) = (re
i
) =

T
P(r, t)(e
it
)d(t)
is an analytic function in H
p
.
The Riesz Projection P
+
: L
p
(T) H
p
P
+
:

f(n)e
in

n=0

f(n)e
in
,
is a bounded operator for 1 < p < .
Each f H
p
has a factorization
f(z) = B(z)S

(z)F(z)
where B(z) is a Blaschke product
B(z) = z
m

n=0
|a
n
|
a
n
a
n
z
1 a
n
z
containing the zeros of f, S

(z) is singular inner

function
S

(z) = exp
_

T
+z
z
d()
_
arising from a singular measure on T, and F(z)
an outer function.
Point evaluations are bounded linear functionals
on H
p
: For f H
p
,
|f(z)|
C
p
f
p
(1 |z|)
1/p
, z D.
Let f
s
(z) =
1
(1z)
s
. Then
f
s
(z) H
p
s <
1
p
,
and lim
s
1
p
f
s

p
= .
Hardy spaces of the half-plane
Let U = {z : Im(z) > 0} the upper half-plane.
For 0 < p < , H
p
(U) contains all analytic
f : U C such that
f
p
H
p
(U)
= sup
y>0

|f(x +iy)|
p
dx < .
H
p
(U) are Banach spaces for 1 p < . They
are isometrically isomorphic to H
p
(D) via the linear
isometry
V (f)(z) =

1/p
(i +z)
2/p
f(
1
(z))
where : D U is the conformal map (z) = i
1+z
1z
.
Bergman spaces
Let 0 < p < . The Bergman space A
p
consists of
all f A(D) such that
f
p
A
p
=

D
|f(z)|
p
dA(z) < ,
where dA(z) =
1

dxdy, the normalized area measure

of D.
A
p
are Banach spaces for 1 p < , A
2
is a Hilbert
space and
f
2
A
2
=

n=0
|a
n
|
2
n +1
.
Basic properties of A
p
:
If 1 < p < q < then
A
1
A
p
A
q
H

,
with strict containment in each case. By the de-
nition, if f H
p
then
f
p
A
p
=

D
|f(z)|
p
dA(z)
=

1
0
_
T
|f(re
i
)|
p
d()
_
r dr

1
0
sup
r
_
T
|f(re
i
)|
p
d()
_
dr
= f
p
H
p
< ,
so that H
p
A
p
for each p. But in fact the sharper
containment holds
H
p
A
2p
, and f
A
2p
f
H
p, 0 < p < .
In contrast to Hardy spaces, functions in A
p
need
not have boundary values on T.
Point evaluations are bounded linear functionals.
For f A
p
,
|f(z)|
C
p
f
A
p
(1 |z|)
2/p
, z D.
For s R,
f
s
(z) =
1
(1 z)
s
A
p
if and only if s <
2
p
, and lim
s
2
p
f
s

p
= .
The Dirichlet space
The Dirichlet space D consists of all analytic f on
D for which
f
2
D
= |f(0)|
2
+

D
|f

(z)|
2
dA(z) < .
The norm can be written
f
2
D
=

n=0
(n +1)|a
n
|
2
, f(z) =

n=0
a
n
z
n
,
and D is a Hilbert space.
Properties of D:
For f E V we have IIJIIH2 < ll!llv- In particular
V c H
2
, so functions in V have boundary values
a.e. on 1f.
Notice that
Area(f(illl)) = . ~ fJ
1
1dA(z) = k lf'(z)edA(z),
(Jf the Jacobian), so V contains exactly the func-
tions f such that j(]J)) has finite area (counting
multiplicity).
In particular V contains some unbounded functions
and it does not contain all bounded functions: The
function
takes D into itself, but f / D because f covers in-
nitely many times the area of D. In fact D does
not contain any innite Blaschke product, (it con-
tain all nite ones) and does not contain any non-
trivial ( = to a constant) singular inner function
S

(z).
If f D then
|f(z)| Cf
D
log
_
1
1 |z|
2
_
1/2
.
Other spaces on which composition operators have
been studied include, in addition to weighted ver-
sions of the above paces, the spaces BMOA of
analytic functions whose boundary values are of
bounded mean oscillation, the Bloch space, Besov
spaces, spaces of entire functions, spaces of Dirich-
let series, e.t.c.
On each of these spaces questions and results in-
clude
1. Boundedness, compactness of C

.
2. Spectra.
3. Dynamical behavior (cyclicity - hypercyclicity).
4. Semigroups of composition operators.
5. Topology of the metric space M = {C

: bounded}.
6. Connections with other questions of operator
theory and classical analysis.
A common characteristic is the relation
function theoretic
properties of

operator theoretic
properties of C

Some typical cases of

cp(z) ==
1
~ : z ' a E IIJ), a Mobius automorphism, or
a finite product of those
n
ak- z
cp(z) == IT 1 - '
k==l - akz
or (z) == B(z) an infinite Blascke product, or
cp(z) == Sf-L(z) a singular inner function, or com-
bination of the above
cp(z) == B(z)Sf-L(z).
In all these cases l*(ei
8
)1 == 1 a.e .
cp(IIJ)) c IIJ),
cp(IIJ)) touches 1f in an angle
<f (ID)
<fU) 1-Vi-t
(JD)) touches 1r tangentially
i(ll>)
<1 ( ~ ) :::
( + ~
-
2
(JD)) intersects 1r in positive measure
1( m)
a combination of the above
One more case
All the above cases can be realized even by univa-
lent by applying the Riemann mapping theorem.
3. Boundedness
Consider this problem rst. Suppose : D D has
the expansion
(z) =

n=1
b
n
z
n
,
and let f(z) =

n=0
a
n
z
n
be in H
2
. Then
f((z)) =

n=0
a
n
(z)
n
=
=

n=0
A
n
z
n
, A
n
= A
n
(a
i
, b
j
).
Prove by hand using only the above computation
of A
n
that C

is bounded on H
2
, i.e.

n=0
|A
n
|
2
C

k=0
|a
k
|
2
with C independent of f.
Littlewoods subordination theorem:
If U : D R is subharmonic and : D D analytic
with (0) = 0 then

2
0
U((re
i
)) d

2
0
U(re
i
) d, 0 < r < 1.
Proof. For 0 < r < 1, nd harmonic
h : {|z| r} R, with h = U on {|z| = r}.
Then U(z) h(z) for |z| r and h((z)) is har-
monic, so,

2
0
U((re
i
)) d

2
0
(h )(re
i
)) d
= 2(h )(0)) = 2h(0) =

2
0
h(re
i
) d
=

2
0
U(re
i
) d.
completing the proof.
Suppose f H
p
and (0) = 0. Apply the theo-
rem to the subharmonic function U(z) = |f(z)|
p
to
obtain
f
p
f
p
.
Next if
a
(z) =
az
1az
, a disc automorphism, then

a
is 1-1 and maps T onto T. A change of variable
in the integral dening f
a
gives
f
a

_
1 +|a|
1 |a
_
1/p
f
p
,
for each f H
p
, 1 p < , and in fact,
C

a
=
_
1 +|a|
1 |a|
_
1/p
.
Notice that |a| = |
a
(0)|.
Finally for a general , let a = (0), consider the
automorphism
a
(z) =
az
1az
and put
0
=
a
.
Then
0
(0) = 0 and
=
1
a

0
=
a

0
,
so that
C

= C

0
C

a
.
Thus C

: H
p
H
p
, 1 p < , is bounded and
C

0
C

=
_
1 +|a|
1 |a|
_
1/p
=
_
1 +|(0)|
1 |(0)|
_
1/p
.
Theorem. C

is bounded on H
p
and
_
1
1 |(0)|
2
_
1/p
C

_
1 +|(0)|
1 |(0)|
_
1/p
.
The left estimate is obtained by observing that
C

(L
0
) = L
(0)
, where L
w
is the point evaluation
functional at w.
Boundedness on Bergman spaces
Writing the integral dening the Bergman norm in
polar coordinates and using Littlewoods subordi-
nation theorem we obtain
Theorem. C

is bounded on A
p
and
_
1
1 |(0)|
2
_
2/p
C

_
1 +|(0)|
1 |(0)|
_
2/p
.
On the Dirichlet space
For C

to be bounded on D it is necessary that

D, because
C

(f) = , for f(z) = z D.

Thus it must be

D
|

(z)|
2
dA(z) < ,
so any such that area((ID)) == oo (counting mul-
tiplicity) induces unbounded C on V. Such a func-
tion is the example
(
1 + z)
(z) == exp - .
1-z
Characterization: Given and wE ID let
n(w) == #{z: (z) == w}
the number of solutions (counting multiplicity) of
(z) == w, and
dJ-L(w) == n(w)dA(w).
Also for ( E 1r and 0 < 6 < 2 let
S((,6) == {z E ID: iz- (i < 6}
Theorem. C : V--+ V is bounded if and only if

8
)) = 0(1), (( E '[', 0 < 8 < 2),
or in the customary terminology, 1-l is a Carleson
measure for V.
For future reference we mention that 1-l will be
called a vanishing Carleson measure if
M(S((, 6)) _ (
1
)
sup
2
- o ,
(E'JI' 6
(6--+0).
On Hardy spaces of the half-plane
In contrast to H
p
(D), there are : U U analytic
which induce unbounded C

on H
p
(U).
No bounded : U U induces a bounded C

.
Consider the linear fractional maps
(z) =
az +b
cz +d
,
which map U into U. Of those the only ones which
induce bounded C

on H
p
(U) are those of the form
(z) = az +b with a > 0 and Im(b) 0.
If (z) =

z then C

is not bounded.
If (z) = az + b +

z, a > 0, Im(b) 0, then C

is bounded.
There is a characterization of the bounded C

on
H
p
(U) in terms of Carleson measures which implies,
(i) either C

if bounded on H
p
(U) for all p,
(ii) or C

if not bounded on H
p
(U) for any p.
A better characterization.
Theorem. C is bounded on HP(TJJ) if and only if
'(=) = lim (z)
z----too z
n.t.
exists and is finite.
Note: z == x + iy ----+ oo
non-tangentially (n.t.)
if if z stays inside an
angle lxl < Cy
(
I
I
If the limit '(oo) is finite then necessarily
lim (z) == oo
z----+oo
n.t.
and '(oo) E (0, oo). In this case,
1
II c II HP(U)----t HP(1U) == ' ( 00)- p.
Remarks about boundednes and norms
1. As a rule of thump, C is bounded on spaces of
~ ~ m e d i u m size".
2. Spaces of small size, like D, may not contain
all inducing function . In such cases bounded-
ness is usually characterized by some O(1) condi-
tion which may be dicult to apply in practice.
3. Spaces of large sizecan contain fast increas-
ing analytic functions, making it dicult for C

to
be bounded. For example for any sequence (
n
) of
positive numbers with
n
0 we may dene the
Hilbert space
H

=
_
_
_
f(z) =

n=0
a
n
z
n
:

n=0

2
n
|a
n
|
2
<
_
_
_
.
When the convergence
n
0 is very fast, for
example if
n
s

n
0 for each s > 0,
then the automorphisms (z) =
z+r
1+rz
, 0 < r < 1,
do not induce bounded C

on H

.
4. The norm of C

is dicult to compute in the

general case. A few exceptions are,
If is a disc automorphism then
C

H
p
H
p =
_
1 +|(0)|
1 |(0)|
_
1/p
.
If (0) = 0 then is inner if and only if
C

H
p
H
p =
_
1 +|(0)|
1 |(0)|
_
1/p
.
If (0) = 0 then is inner if and only if
C

H
p
0
H
p
0
= 1, (H
p
0
= zH
p
).
If is univalent then on the Dirichlet space,
C

DD
=

_
L +2 +

L(4 +L)
2
where L = log(1 |(0)|
2
).
If (z) = sz +t, |s| +|t| 1, then
C

H
2
H
2 =

2
1 +|s|
2
|t|
2
+

(1 |s|
2
+|t|
2
)
2
4|t|
2
4. Compactness
Recall that an operator T : X X is compact
if the image of the unit ball of X is a relatively
compact set in X, or equivalently, the image of
every bounded sequences in X has a convergent
subsequence.
For C

on H
p
(D) this specializes as follows:
C

is compact if and only if,

If {f
n
} is a sequence in H
p
(D) with f
n

p
M and
f
n
0 uniformly on compact subsets of D, then
f
n

p
0.
Choosing f
n
(z) = z
n
we nd: If C

is compact
then the set E

= {e
i
: |

(e
i
)| = 1} T has mea-
sure 0. In particular no inner function can induce
a compact C

on Hardy spaces.
Either C

is compact on H
p
for all p or it is not
compact for any p.
If (D) D then C

is compact.
If (JD)) touches 1r only at the vertex of an angle,
and otherwise is contained in the angle, then C is
compact on HP
If (z) :.__
1
tz then C is not compact
As a general rule: C compact rv (JD)) does not
touch the boundary 1r too much.
Compactness and angular derivatives:
For : JD)---+ JD) analytic and wE 1r, say that has a
(finite) angular derivative at w, if for some ( E 1r
the limit
ql(w) = lim (z)- (
z---+w z- W
n.t.
exists and is finite, where n.t. means z---+ w within
an angle. For this to happen it is necessary that
lim (z) == (.
z---+w
n.t.
Interpreting the last limit as (w), we can write

(w) = lim
zw
n.t.
(z) (w)
z w
,
and the niteness of

(w) means that is in con-

formalat w.
With this at hand we have:
If C

is compact on H
p
or on A
p
then does not
have a nite angular derivative at any w T.
On the Bergman space A
p
the converse is also
true. Thus:
C

compact on A
p

(w) does not exist nitely

at any w T.
For univalent or bounded-valent the same char-
acterization is valid on H
p
.
On the other hand there are that have no nite
angular derivative at any point on T and such that
{e
i
: |

(e
i
)| = 1} has measure 0, yet C

is not
compact on H
p
.
There are such that (D) = D and C

is com-
pact on H
p
.
If C

is compact on H
p
then has a xed point
in D.
Full characterization of compactness on H
p
was
found by J. Shapiro (1987):
For w D \ {(0)} dene
N

(w) =

z
1
({w})
log
1
|z|
,
if w (D), and N

(w) = 0 if w / (D). This is

the Nevanlinna Counting function.
Note that, since log
1
|z|
(1 |z|) for |z| near 1,
and since (z) w is a bounded function of z, the
zeros z
j
of (z) w have the Blaschke property

(1 |z
j
|) < . Thus the above series for N

converges.
Theorem. C

is compact on H
p
if and only if
lim
|w|1
N

(w)
log
1
|w|
= 0.
Recall that the essential norm of an operator T is
the distance of T from the ideal of all compact
operators.
Theorem. The essential norm of C

on H
p
is
C

p
e
= limsup
|w|1
N

(w)
log
1
|w|
.
Recently it was shown that
limsup
|w|1
N

(w)
log
1
|w|
= limsup
|a|1

T
1 |a|
2
|1 a(e
i
)|
2
d
so the latter quantity provides another test for
compactness and for the essential norm.
Similar theorems hold for Bergman spaces, with a
modied Nevanlinna counting function.
It is worth noting that although no inner function
can induce a compact C

on Hardy spaces, there

are singular inner such that C

is compact on A
p
.
On the Dirichlet space,
Recall: C

: D D is bounded if and only if the

measure d

(w) = n

(w)dA(w) is Carleson mea-

sure, that is,

(S(, ))

2
= O(1), ( T, 0 < < 2)
Theorem. C

: D D is compact if and only if

sup
T

(S(, ))

2
= o(1), ( 0)
i.e.

is a vanishing Carleson measure.

The O(1), o(1) analogy for boundedness - com-
pactness of C

appears in many other cases.

On Hardy spaces of the half plane,
Theorem. [Matache] There are no compact com-
position operators C

on H
p
(U).
The following general theorem was motivated by
the above result of Matache:
For a simply connected C let
h : D ,
a Riemann map. Dene H
p
() to consist of all
analytic f : C such that the integrals of |f(z)|
p
over the curves

r
= h({|z| = r}), 0 < r < 1,
remain bounded as r 1. Then
f
p
H
p
()
= sup
0<r<1

r
|f(z)|
p
|dz|
is a Banach space norm for p 1. For :
analytic, C

is dened on H
p
() in the usual way.
Theorem. [Shapiro-Smith] H
p
() supports com-
pact composition operators if and only if the bound-
ary has nite one-dimensional Hausdor mea-
sure. Equivalently if and only if h

H
1
(D).
This says in particular that there are bounded
such that no composition operator is compact on
H
p
().
Note that for Jordan domains,
has nite Hausdor measure is rectiable.
There is a similar theorem for Bergman spaces. For
simply connected , A
p
() consists of f : C
analytic such that

|f(z)|
p
dA(z) < .
Theorem. A
p
() supports compact composition
operators if and only if Area() < .
5. Membership of C

in Schatten ideals.
Recall that if T : H H is a bounded operator on
a Hilbert space, its singular numbers (
n
) are

n
(T) =: inf{T F : F : H H is of rank n}
Compact operators are those for which
n
0,
Finite rank operators are those for which (
n
) is
eventually 0.
Between these two lie the Schatten classes S
p
(H).
S
p
(H) consists of those operators T : H H such
that (
n
) l
p
. If 1 p < then
T
S
p
= (
n
)
l
p
is a norm on S
p
(H), making it a Banach space.
Each S
p
is an ideal in the space of all bounded
operators on H.
For p = 2, S
2
(H) is called the Hilbert-Schmidt
class. An operator T belongs to this class if and
only if

n=1
T(e
n
)
2
< ,
where (e
n
) is an orthonormal basis for H.
For C

on H
2
, choosing e
n
(z) = z
n
as an orthonor-
mal basis we have

n=0
C

(e
n
)
2
=

n=0

n=0

T
|(e
i
)|
2n
d()
=

n=0
|(e
i
)|
2n
d()
=

T
1
1 |(e
i
)|
2
d()
Thus on H
2
,
C

is Hilbert-Schmidt

T
1
1 |(e
i
)|
2
d <
In particular if maps D inside a polygon inscribed
in T, then C

is Hilbert-Schmidt.
Similar computations lead to characterizations of
Hilbert-Schmidt operators for A
2
and D. For the
latter
C

S
2
(D)

D
|

(z)|
2
(1 |(z)|
2
)
2
dA(z) < ,
or equivalently, in case is univalent and (0) = 0,
by changing variable,
C

S
2
(D)

(D)
1
(1 |z|
2
)
2
dA(z) < .
Thus, in this special, case C

S
2
(D) if and only
if (D) has nite hyperbolic area.
The complete characterization for C

to be in S
p
(H
2
)
uses the Nevanlinna counting function N

.
Theorem. [Luecking -Zhu] For 0 < p < ,
C

S
p
(H
2
)
N

(z)
log(1/|z|)
L
p/2
(D, d),
where d(z) =
dA(z)
(1|z|
2
)
2
is the Mobius invariant area
measure on D.
Fort A
2
there is a partial result:
Theorem.[Zhu] Suppose p 2 and : D D is
univalent or bounded-valent. Then
C

S
p
(A
2
)

D
_
1 |z|
2
1 |(z)|
2
_
p
d(z) < .
There are several constructions of maps such
that Cr_p belongs or does not belong to certain Sp(H
2
).
For example if
1 1
(]J)) = {z : Im(z) > 0, lz- -1 < -},
2 2
conformally with (1) = 1,
then Cr_p E Sp(H
2
) {::} p > 2. Changing the angle
between the two arcs in the above picture, one can
obtain such that Cr_p belongs to Sp(H
2
) exactly
when p >Po, for any desired PoE (0, oo).
In addition there are constructions of such that:
(i) Cr_p is compact but Cr_p tf:_ Sp(H
2
) for any p > 0.
(ii) (]J)) = ]J) and Cr_p E Sp(H
2
) for all p > 0.
Similar results hold for composition operators be-
longing to Schatten classes of A
2
and D.
6. Invariant subspaces and Composition Op-
erators.
If H is a Hilbert space and T : H H a bounded
linear operator, a subspace K is invariant under T
if T(K) K.
The invariant subspace problem asks if every T
has a nontrivial closed invariant subspace. That is,
if for every T,
Lat(T) = {{0}, H},
where Lat(T) is lattice of all invariant closed sub-
spaces of T.
Normal operators (T

T = TT

), Compact opera-
tors, Polynomially compact operators, Operators
which commute with a non-zero compact opera-
tor (and are not multiples of I), have nontrivial
invariant subspaces.
Universal operators:
An bounded operator U on a Hilbert space H is
called universal if for every bounded operator T
on H there is a C and M Lat(U) such that
T = J
1
UJ,
with J : H M a linear isomorphism, that is T is
similar to U
|M
.
For example, T
a
: L
2
(0, ) L
2
(0, ), a > 0,
T
a
(f)(x) = f(x +a)
are universal.
If U : H H is onto and Ker(U) has innite
dimension then U is universal.
If U is universal, the following are equivalent:
1. Every linear bounded operator T on H has a
nontrivial closed invariant subspace.
2. Every closed invariant subspace M of U of di-
mension > 1 contains a proper closed invariant sub-
space. i.e. the minimal nontrivial closed invariant
subspaces for U are one-dimensional.
Now consider C

on H
2
.
C

is normal if and only if (z) = az with |a| 1.

If U : H H is onto and Ker(U) has innite
dimension then U is universal.
Proof: Let K = Ker(U). Construct V, W bounded
operators on H as follows:
V =

U
1
where

U = U|
K

and
W(e
n
) = e

n
,
(e
n
), (e

n
) orthonormal bases for H and K. Then
1. UV = I, UW = 0
2. Ker(W) = 0
3. W(H) = K and V (H) = K

Let T be a linear bounded operator on H. Let = 0

such that ||TU < 1 and dene
J =

k=0

k
V
k
WT
k
Then J satises J = W+V JT thus UJ = JT . In
addition M = J(H) is a closed invariant subspace
of U, and J is an isomorphism onto M.
Concentrate to invertible C,
C is invertible if and only if is a conformal au-
tomorphisms of JD),
a- z
(z) == e ~ r _ , ial < 1, r E (-1r, 1r]
1- az
These are classified according to the location of
the two fixed points of as,
Elliptic when has a fixed point in JD), and the
other fixed point outside JD)_ This happens if and
only if lal < cos(r/2).
Parabolic when there is one fixed point of on 1f of
multiplicity 2. This cor-responds to lal == cos(r/2).
Hyperbolic when there are two distinct fixed points
of on 1f. This corresponds to lal > cos(r/2).
Without loss of generality we may assume that
the xed points are: 0 for elliptic, 1 for parabolic,
and {1, 1} for hyperbolic. This is because in all
cases there is an automorphism that moves the
xed points to the special ones, and
C

1
C

= C

1
so C

is similar to a composition operator of the

special type.
Invariant subspaces for C

Clearly the space C of constants is invariant by

all composition operators on H
2
.
For invertible C

we have,
C is the only nontrivial common invariant sub-
space of the set of all invertible composition oper-
ators.
Moreover the strongly closed unital algebra gen-
erated by the invertible composition operators is
Alg{0, C, H
2
}, that is, all operators in B(H
2
) leav-
ing {0}, C and H
2
invariant.
If is elliptic automorphism of innite order (i.e.
no iterate of is the identity) then every strongly
closed algebra A of operators containing C

is re-
exive, (that is, every operator that leaves invariant
all the invariant subspaces of A is actually in A).
If is elliptic automorphism of innite order and
any automorphism that does not commute with ,
then the only nontrivial common invariant subspace
of C

and C

is C.
If is parabolic or hyperbolic automorphism then
every weakly closed unital subalgebra of the algebra
generated by C

is reexive; that is, C

is super-
reexive.
More concrete results:
For automorphism dene the iterates {
n
: n Z}
as
0
(z) = z,

n
=
n1
, n = 1, 2,
and

n
=
1

n+1
, n = 1, 2,
If is a hyperbolic or parabolic automorphism let
z
n
=
n
(0), n Z,
be the orbit of 0 under all iterates of . Then
{z
n
}
nZ
is a Blaschke sequence.
Therefore we can form the Blaschke product
B(z) =

nZ

n
(z),
where
0
= 1 and
n
= z
n
/z
n
for n = 0. This B
satises
B((z)) = B(z),
(+ for parabolic, for hyperbolic).
If is hyperbolic xing {1, 1} then
(z) =
z +r
1 +rz
, for some 0 < r < 1,
and the spectrum of C

on H
2
is
(C

) =
_
_
_
z :

1 r
1 +r
|z|

1 +r
1 r
_
_
_
.
Furthermore each in the interior of this annulus
is an eigenvalue, and for each such , C

maps
H
2
onto H
2
.
Take such an eigenvalue , and let f be an eigen-
vector corresponding to . Then for every integer
k 0,
C

(B(z)
2k
f(z)) = B((z))
2k
f((z))
= (B(z))
2k
f(z)
= B(z)
2k
f(z)
i.e. B
2k
f is also an eigenvector corresponding to
. Thus C

has innite dimensional kernel.

Theorem. [Nordgren-Rosenthal-Wintrobe] If is
a hyperbolic automorphism and a point in the
interior of (C

) then C

is a universal operator.
Corollary. The invariant subspace problem has a
positive answer if and only if the minimal nontriv-
ial invariant subspaces of C

, for a hyperbolic
automorphism, are all one-dimensional.
Example: (z) =
2z+1
2+z
Note: C

itself is not universal (it has trivial kernel)

but it has the same invariant subspaces as C

I
which is universal.
In general, a minimal invariant subspace M of an
invertible operator T : H H is also invariant un-
der T
1
.
Fix C

as above. For f H
2
denote
f = span{C
n

(f) : n 0} = span{f
n
: n 0}.
By the remark above we actually have
f = span{f
n
: n Z}.
Suppose f H
2
is non-constant and lim
r1
f(r) =
f(1) exists and is = 0 and f

is essentially bounded
on an open arc containing +1 or 1 then f is not
minimal.
If f H
2
has a singular inner factor S

(z) such
that ({1}) > 0 or ({1}) > 0 then f is not
minimal.
Some results on non-automorphisms
Theorem. Suppose is an inner function with
(0) = 0 and is not an automorphism. Then C

is
a universal operator.
Next look at the family of non-automorphisms

a
(z) =
(2 a)z +a
az +2 +a
, Re(a) > 0.
Each
a
maps D into D, and on H
2
,
(C

a
) = {0} {e
at
: t [0, )}.
In fact C

a
(f
t
)(z) = e
at
f
t
(z) for
f
t
(z) = exp
_
t
z +1
z 1
_
, t 0.
Based on this information for the spectrum, the
invariant subspaces of this family of composition
operators were completely determined:
Theorem.[Montes, Ponce-Escudero, Shkarin]
A closed subspace M of H
2
is invariant for C

a
if
and only if there is a closed set F [0, ) such
that
M = span
_
e
t
1+z
1z
: t F
_
.
7. C

and the Brennan conjecture.

Let a simply connected open set in C, not the
whole plane, and let
h : D
a Riemman map. That is, h is 1-1, onto and ana-
lytic on . We may assume that contains 0 and
h(0) = 0.
For p > 0 consider the integral

|h

(z)|
p
dA(z).
For p = 2 the integral gives the area of D.
For 4/3 < p < 3 the Koebe distortion theorem from
the theory of Univalent Functions implies that the
integral is nite.
If we take = C \ (, 1/4] and
h(z) = k
1
(z) : D,
where k(z) =
z
(1z)
2
is the Koebe function, shows
that the integral diverges for p / (4/3, 4).
J. Brennan (1978) proved: there is a > 0, inde-
pendent of , such that the integral is nite for
4/3 < p < 3 +.
The conjecture says: the integral is nite for all
p (4/3, 4).
The conjecture is known to be valid for some spe-
cial cases:
is convex,
i.e. for z, w the segment [z, w] .
is starlike at 0,
i.e. for every w , [0, w] .
is close-to-convex.
is a basin of attraction to of f
c
(z) = z
2
+c,
=
c
= {z : (f
c
)
n
(z) as n },
where c C is such that the orbit
f
c
(0), (f
c
)
2
(0), , (f
c
)
n
(0), , n N,
remains bounded. Each such
c
is simply con-
nected in the Riemann sphere, and has a fractal
boundary.
The conjecture is true when log(
zh

(z)
h(z)
) has posi-
tive Taylor coecients at 0.
The range of p for which the conjecture has been
veried is 4/3 < p < 3.42...
Brennans conjecture can be restated in terms of
g = h
1
: D in the following form:

D
1
|g

(z)|
p
dA(z) < for 2/3 < p < 2.
The corresponding interval where it has been veri-
ed is 2/3 < p < 1.42...
Observe that the niteness of the above integral
can be restated as
1
(g

)
p/2
A
2
, so the conjecture is
equivalent to: For each g univalent on D,
1
(g

)
p
A
2
for all p (1/3, 1).
Connection to composition operators
Consider univalent maps : D D, and the weighted
composition operators
C
,
(f)(z) = (

(z))

f((z)), R.
For f A
2
we have
C
,
(f)
A
2
=

D
|

(z)|
2
|f((z))|
2
dA(z)
=

D
|

(z)|
22
|f((z))|
2
|

(z)|
2
dA(z)
=

(D)
|

(
1
(w))|
22
|f(w)|
2
dA(w),
and if we put f = 1 the last integral is

(D)
|

(
1
(w))|
22
dA(w)
=

(D)
|(
1
)

(w)|
22
dA(w).
Thus boundedness of C
,
on A
2
implies in partic-
ular the integrability of the derivative of the uni-
valent function h =
1
on the simply connected
= (D). Exploiting this idea one obtains,
Theorem.[Shimorin] The following are equivalent
(i) The Brennan conjecture is valid.
(ii) For every : D D univalent the weighted
composition operators
C
,
(f)(z) = (

(z))

f((z))
are bounded on A
2
for every (1, 0).
There is dierent way in which the conjecture re-
lates to composition operators,
For g : D C univalent and : D D analytic
(not necessarily univalent) consider the weighted
composition operators
W
,p
(f)(z) = (

(z))
p
f((z)), p R,
where

(z) =
g

((z))
g

(z)
.
Assuming this operator is bounded on A
2
and using
the reproducing kernels for A
2
,
K
a
(z) =
1
(1 az)
2
, a D,
we nd
W

,p
(K
a
) = (

(a))
p
K
(a)
.
Suppose now that for some and p this operator
is compact on A
2
. Then it can be shown that
has a xed point b D, and that it is not an
automorphism. Then
W

,p
(K
b
) = (

(b))
p
K
(b)
= K
b
.
Thus 1 is an eigenvalue of W

,p
so it is in the spec-
trum of W
,p
and since the later is compact, 1 is
also an eigenvalue of W
,p
. Thus there is f A
2
such that
(

(z))
p
f((z)) = f(z)
or equivalently the function = (g

)
p
f satises
((z)) = k(z).
Since is not an automorphism, its iterates
n
converge pointwise to b. It follows that for each
z D,
(z) = ((z)) = (
n
(z)) (b),
i.e. (z) = (b) is constant = 0 (since f = 0).
Thus (1/g

)
p
=
1
(b)
f A
2
.
Summarizing, if W
,p
is compact for some then
(1/g

)
p
A
2
. The converse of this conclusion is
also true and is veried by choosing to be a con-
stant, giving a rank 1 operator. So we have
Theorem.[Matache-Smith] The following are equiv-
alent
(i) The Brennan conjecture is valid.
(ii) For every p (1/3, 1) there is a such that
the weighted composition operator W
,p
is a com-
pact operator on A
2
.
The above theorem can be restated in another form
as follows:
For simply connected, h : D the conformal
map and p R consider the weighted Bergman
spaces A
2
,p
dened by
f
2
,p
=

|f(z)|
2
|h

(z)|
2p+2
dA(z) < .
Let

be an analytic self-map of and let =

h

h
1
the corresponding self-map of D. One
easily sees that a composition operator
C

: A
2
,p
A
2
,p
is unitarily equivalent to W
,p
: A
2
A
2
. Thus
Theorem. The following are equivalent
(i) The Brennan conjecture is valid.
(ii) The space A
2
,p
supports compact composition
operators for each 1/3 < p < 1.
8. Semigroups of composition operators.
For : D D analytic consider

0
,
1
,
2
, ,
n
, , n N,
the iterates of , where we put
0
(z) = z, the
identity, and
1
= .
Theorem.
1. If is an elliptic automorphism of D then there
is b D with (b) = b.
2. [Denjoy-Wol (1926)] Suppose is not an el-
liptic automorphism.
2-(i). If has a xed point b D then |

(b)| < 1
and
n
b, uniformly on compact subsets of D.
2-(ii). If has no xed point in D, then there is a
point = () T such that
n
, uniformly on
compact subsets of D. Moreover
lim
r1
(r) = , and

() 1.
Conversely if there is a xed point T such that

() 1, then necessarily
n
.
And if, in addition,

() < 1 then for each z D,

n
(z) nontangentially.
The distinguished point at which
n
converge, or
the xed point in the case of elliptic automorphisms
will be called the Denjoy-Wol point of .
Fractional iterates
In many cases it is possible to embed the discrete
semigroup of iterates {
n
} into a continuous pa-
rameter semigroup

t
, 0 t < ,
of fractional iterates of satisfying
s

t
=
s+t
for s, t 0. If is an automorphism this embedding
is always possible and in fact into a a continuous
parameter group {
t
: t R}.
Thus we assume that we have a family {
t
: t 0}
of analytic self-maps of D satisfying
(i)
0
is the identity map of D.
(ii)
s

t
=
s+t
for all s, t 0.
(iii)
t
t0

0
, uniformly on compact subsets of D.
Such a family will be called a semigroup of func-
tions.
Given a semigroup of functions {
t
: t 0} let
C
t
(f) = f
t
, f A(D).
the corresponding composition operators. The fam-
ily {C
t
}
t0
satises:
(i) C
0
I, the identity operator,
(ii) C
t
C
s
= C
t+s
, t, s 0,
i.e. it forms a semigroup of operators on A(D).
Thus if X A(D) is a Banach space such that
C
t
: X X
are bounded for all t 0, then we have an operator
semigroup {C
t
}
t0
on X.
Examples of {
t
}.
1. The group of rotations

t
(z) = e
it
z, t R.
2. A semigroup that shrinks compact sets to 0

t
(z) = e
t
z, t 0.
3. A semigroup that shrinks compact sets to 1

t
(z) = e
t
z +1 e
t
, t 0.
4. A semigroup that shrinks compact sets to 0,
but maintains 1 as a xed point

t
(z) =
e
t
z
(e
t
1)z +1
, t 0.
5. Similar as 4., but nontangential at 1

t
(z) = 1 (1 z)
e
t
, t 0.
6 Group of hyperbolic automorphisms

t
(z) =
(1 +e
t
)z 1 +e
t
(1 +e
t
)z +1 +e
t
, t R,
xing the points {1, 1}.
Some general facts for {
t
}.
[Berkson-Porta (1978)] For a semigroup {
t
} of
functions:
each
t
is univalent and all
t
share the same
Denjoy-Wol point.
The limit G(z) = lim
t0
+

t
(z)z
t
, exists uniformly
on compact subsets of D and it is therefore an
analytic function on D. G is called the innitesimal
generator of {
t
}.
G(z) satises
G(
t
(z)) =

t
(z)
t
= G(z)

t
(z)
z
,
for each z D, t 0.
G(z) has a unique representation
G(z) = (bz 1)(z b)F(z),
where |b| 1 is the common Denjoy-Wol point of

t
and F(z) is analytic on D with ReF(z) 0.
The cases |b| < 1 and |b| = 1 for the Denjoy-Wol
point turn out to be distinctly dierent as far as
the properties of {
t
} and the induced operator
semigroup {C
t
} are concerned. For simplicity and
in most cases without loss of generality we assume:
b = 0, for semigroups with |b| < 1,
b = 1, for semigroups with |b| = 1.
This can be achieved by pre- and post- composing

t
with automorphisms of D.
Furthermore for each semigroup {
t
} there is a
unique associated univalent function h : D C
from which the semigroup is obtained in the fol-
lowing way:
Case of DW point b = 0. Let G be the generator
of {
t
}. The dierential equation
h

(z) =
G

(0)
G(z)
h(z), h(0) = 0,
has a unique analytic solution h on D. Because
ReF(z) 0, it can be shown that h is a univa-
lent spirallike function, i.e. having the geometric
property
w h(D) e
G

(0)t
w h(D), t 0,
and satises the Schroder functional equation
h(
t
(z)) = e
G

(0)t
h(z), z D, t 0.
In particular

t
(z) = h
1
(e
G

(0)t
h(z)), z D, t 0.
Case of DW point b = 1. The dierential equa-
tion
h

(z) =
G(0)
G(z)
, h(0) = 0,
has again a unique analytic solution h. This h is
a close-to-convex univalent function, having the
geometric property
w h(D) w +G(0)t h(D), t 0,
and satises the Abel functional equation
h(
t
(z)) = h(z) +G(0)t, z D, t 0.
In particular

t
(z) = h
1
(h(z) +G(0)t), z D, t 0.
Thus, in principle, all information about {
t
} is con-
tained in each of the following objects:
the generator G(z), alternatively in the pair (b, F)
of the DW point and the corresponding function of
positive real part.
the pair (b, h) of the DW point and the associated
univalent function.
Strong continuity of {C
t
}.
Given a Banach space X of analytic functions on D
such that each composition operator C
t
(f) = f
t
is bounded on X, we would like to know if {C
t
} is
strongly continuous on X, i.e. if
lim
t0
C
t
(f) f
X
= 0, f X,
or maybe even uniformly continuous i.e.
lim
t0
C
t
I
X
= 0.
Note: Since
t
(z) z as t 0 it follows that
C
t
(f)(z) = f(
t
(z)) f(z)
for each z D. Thus proving strong continuity
requires that we pass from this pointwise conver-
gence to convergence in the norm of X.
A general argument applying to many spaces X is
as follows: Suppose X contains the polynomials as
a dense set, then for a polynomial P we have,
f
t
f
f
t
P
t
+P
t
P +P f
(C
t
+1)P f +P
t
P.
If we assume further that sup
t(0,)
C
t
< for
some > 0, a condition that is valid in all spaces
of concern, then the question reduces to showing
lim
t0
P
t
P = 0
for each P, and this will follow if we can show
lim
t0

t
(z)
k
z
k
= 0.
for each k. The latter in many classical spaces
follows from a dominated convergence or a similar
theorem.
Using the above arguments, one can prove strong
continuity of {C
t
} for all inducing {
t
} on,
i) the Hardy spaces H
p
, 1 p < ,
ii) the Bergman spaces A
p
, 1 p < ,
iii) the Dirichlet space D.
On other spaces of analytic functions dierent things
can happen. For example,
No nontrivial {
t
} induces a strongly continuous
{C
t
} on H

.
Note: {
t
} is trivial when
t
(z) = z for each t,
equivalently the generator G 0.
To prove the assertion we use a general result from
Functional Analysis:
Theorem [Lotz] If a space X
(i) is a Grothendieck space i.e. every weak

con-
vergent (x
n
) X

is also weakly convergent in X

,
(ii) and has the Dunford-Pettis property i.e. given
any sequences (x
n
) X and (x

n
) X

, weakly
convergent to zero, then x
n
, x

n
0,
then every strongly continuous semigroup {T
t
} of
bounded operators on X is automatically uniformly
continuous.
H

is such a space. If {C
t
} is strongly continuous
then the resulting uniform continuity would mean
that its innitesimal generator, which turns out to
be a dierential operator of the form
(f)(z) = G(z)f

(z),
is bounded on H

, which is impossible unless G =

0.
For the same reason, there are no nontrivial strongly
continuous {C
t
} on the Bloch space B of all analytic
f such that
f
B
= |f(0)| +sup
zD
(1 |z|
2
)|f

(z)| < .
On the disc algebra A(D), some {
t
} induce strongly
continuous {C
t
} and some other do not. The exact
characterization involves the associated univalent
function h of {
t
}. Consider the image = h(D)
as a subset of the Riemann sphere and

the
boundary of in the Riemann sphere, then
Theorem. [M. Contreras - S. Diaz-Madrigal] {C
t
}
is strongly continuous on A(D) if and only if

is locally connected.
The proof is nontrivial, involves the Caratheodory
extension theorem for conformal maps and prime
ends.
On Hardy spaces H
p
(U) of the upper half-plane,
semigroups {
t
} of analytic self-maps of U are de-
ned in analogy with D, but recall that not all
composition operators are bounded on H
p
(U). For
semigroups however the following holds
(i) If there is a t > 0 such that C
t
(f) = f
t
is
bounded on H
p
(U) then the same is true for all
t 0.
(ii) In that case {C
t
} is strongly continuous on
H
p
(U).
On the space BMOA:
BMOA contains functions in H
2
whose boundary
values f

have bounded mean oscillation on T. An

equivalent and more convenient for us denition is:
An analytic function f H
2
is in BMOA if
sup
aD
f(
a
(z)) f(a)
H
2
< ,
where the sup is taken over all automorphisms

a
(z) =
a z
1 az
of the disc. In other words BMOA contains every
function in H
2
whose Mobius translates
{ f(
a
(z)) f(a) : a D}
is bounded set in H
2
. With the norm
f

= |f(0)| +sup
aD
f(
a
(z)) f(a)
H
2
,
BMOA becomes a non separable Banach space. Its
size is

p<
H
p
BMOA H

,
and it contains unbounded functions such as f(z) =
log(
1
1z
). In general if f BMOA then
|f(z)| Cf

log
1
1 |z|
, z D.
The subspace of functions f BMOA such that
f(
a
(z)) f(a)
H
2
0 as |a| 1,
is the space VMOA, of functions with boundary
values f

of vanishing mean oscillation on T. With

the same norm

, VMOA is separable Banach

space and in fact
V MOA = {p : p polynomial }

.
Every function in VMOA has nite Dirichlet inte-
gral so V MOA D. Thus VMOA does not con-
tain all bounded functions, but contains some un-
bounded functions. Note that log(
1
1z
) / V MOA.
For any analytic self-map of D, C

is a bounded
operator on BMOA, and
C

BMOABMOA
C log
1 +|(0)|
1 |(0)|
.
But C

is bounded on VMOA if and only if

V MOA.
Now we come to strong continuity.
Since VMOA is the closure of the set of polyno-
mials it follows , one can prove that for every {
t
}
the induced operator semigroup {C
t
} is strongly
continuous on VMOA.
On BMOA the situation is much more complicated.
Given {
t
} we need
lim
t0
f
t
f

= 0, for each f BMOA.

On the other hand an old theorem of D. Sarason
says:
If f BMOA then the following are equivalent:
(a) f V MOA.
(b) lim
t0
f(e
it
z) f(z)

= 0.
(c) lim
t0
f(e
t
z) f(z)

= 0.
Thus for the semigroups

t
(z) = e
it
z or
t
(z) = e
t
z,
there is no f BMOA \ V MOA that obeys the
strong continuity requirement.
Consider however the semigroup

t
(z) = e
t
z +1 e
t
,
then for the function
f(z) = log(
1
1 z
) BMOA\ V MOA,
we nd
lim
t0
f
t
f

= ... = lim
t0
t = 0,
so this {
t
} induces a strongly continuous {C
t
} on
V = span{V MOA, log(1/(1 z))},
a space strictly between VMOA and BMOA.
In a similar way suppose
h : D C, h(0) = 0,
is a starlike univalent function with the property
h BMOA\ V MOA and
h(z)
k
BMOA, 1 k k
0
.
Let

t
(z) = h
1
(e
t
h(z)),
then for 1 k k
0
,
lim
t0
(h
t
)
k
h
k

= lim
t0
|e
kt
1|h
k

= 0,
so {C
t
} is strongly continuous on the space
V = span{V MOA, h, h
2
, h
k
0
}.
We are led therefore to dene for each {
t
} the
space
V (
t
) = the maximal subspace of BMOA on which
{
t
} is strongly continuous.
From the above examples there are {
t
} such that
V MOA V (
t
), and there are other for which
V MOA = V (
t
).
The next theorem gives a condition for equality
V MOA = V (
t
). Recall that the generator of {
t
}
has the form
G(z) = (bz 1)(z b)F(z)
where b D and ReF(z) 0. Assume b = 0 then
G(z) = zF(z), and recall that functions F of pos-
itive real part satisfy the lower growth inequality
|F(z)| C
1 |z|
1 +|z|
, |z| 1.
Thus we have when b = 0
1 |z|
G(z)
= O(1), |z| 1.
Theorem. Let G be the generator of {
t
}. If for
some 0 < < 1,
(1 |z|)

G(z)
= O(1) , |z| 1,
then V MOA = V (
t
).
Thus in addition to

t
(z) = e
t
z,
t
(z) = e
it
z,
there are plenty of {
t
} for which V MOA = V (
t
).
For example,
G(z) = z(1 z)

, 0 < < 1.
Innitesimal generators
For those {C
t
} that are strongly continuous on a
space X, the innitesimal generator of {C
t
} by def-
inition is
(f) = lim
t0
C
t
(f) f
t
,
the limit taken in
X
. In all cases of concern,
convergence in norm implies in particular pointwise
convergence. It follows that for z D,
(f)(z) = lim
t0
f(
t
(z)) f(z)
t
= lim
t0
(f
t
)(z) (f
0
)(z)
t
=
(f
t
)(z)
t
|
t=0
= f

(
0
(z))

t
(z)
t
|
t=0
= f

(z)G(z),
where in the last step we have used the earlier men-
tioned fact that
G(z) = lim
t0

t
(z) z
t
=

t
(z)
t
|
t=0
.
Thus the innitesimal generator of {C
t
} is the dif-
ferential operator
(f) = Gf

,
and is dened on the domain D() = {f X :
Gf

X}. Since dierential operators such as

are not bounded on spaces under concern, non-
trivial strongly continuous {C
t
} are never uniformly
continuous.
Resolvent and related operators
The spectrum of the innitesimal generator is
always contained in a left half-plane and in some
special cases it can be found precisely. For not
in the spectrum the resolvent operator is
R(, ) = ( )
1
.
We restrict to the case when the DW point of {
t
}
is b = 0. Calculating the resolvent involves solving
a dierential equation of the form
f = g Gg

.
Choosing the convenient point = G

(0) we nd
R(G

(0), ) to be a constant multiple of

R
h
(f)(z) =
1
h(z)

z
0
f()h

() d,
where h is the univalent function associated to {
t
}.
A calculation shows that R
h
is closely related to
the operator
Q
h
(f)(z) =
1
z

z
0
f()
h

()
h()
d,
(for example these two operators belong simulta-
neously to the same operator ideals). Another cal-
culation shows that the same is true between Q
h
and the operator
L
h
(f)(z) =
1
z

z
0
f()
_
log
h()

d.
A theorem from classical analysis says that for ev-
ery univalent function h with h(0) = 0 we have
log
h(z)
z
BMOA,
and this leads us to consider more general Volterra-
type operators of the form
T
g
(f)(z) =

z
0
f()g

() d
where g is analytic on D. The class of these op-
erators was studied intensively during the last 20
years on various spaces of analytic functions, with
the goal to nd conditions on the symbol g which
correspond various operator theoretic properties of
T
g
. A sample result is,
Theorem[A. Aleman, A.S.] Let 1 p < , then
(i) T
g
bounded on H
p
g BMOA
(ii) T
g
compact on H
p
g V MOA.
(iii) T
g
is in the Schatten ideal S
p
(H
2
), 1 < p < ,
if and only if g B
p
, the analytic Besov space.
As a consequence we have, among other, a com-
plete characterization of those inducing semigroups
{
t
} for which the composition operator semigroup
{C
t
} has compact resolvent.
Theorem. Let {
t
} be a semigroup of functions
with DW point b = 0 and associated univalent func-
tion h. Let also 1 p < and {C
t
} be the operator
semigroup induced by {
t
}. Then the following are
equivalent:
(i) R(, ) compact on H
p
.
(ii) log
h(z)
z
V MOA.
(iii) h
p<
H
p
.
Recall that the innitesimal generator of {
t
} has
a representation in terms of the DW point and a
function F of positive real part. Then 1/F has
also positive real part and so it admits a Herglotz
representation
1
F(z)
=

T
+z
z
d() +iIm
1
F(0)
,
where is a positive measure on T. It can be
shown then that each of the above three conditions
is further equivalent to
(iv) The measure in the representation of 1/F
has no point masses on T.
Similar results about T
g
and R(, ) can be proved
on Bergman and other spaces.
Weighted composition semigroups and applications
If {
t
} is a semigroup of functions and : D C is
analytic then the formula
S
t
(f)(z) =
(
t
(z))
(z)
f(
t
(z)),
denes formally a semigroup of operators S
t
.
Various choices of give interesting cases for {S
t
}.
For example if the DW point is b = 0 and we choose
= G, the generator of {
t
}, then we obtain
S
t
(f)(z) =

t
(z)f(
t
(z)),
a semigroup of operators related to the Brennan
conjecture. If {
t
} is a group of Mobious auto-
morphisms and we choose formally = G
1/p
we
obtain
S
t
(f)(z) = (

t
(z))
1/p
f(
t
(z)),
a group of isometries of H
p
.
Many questions about the class of weighted com-
position semigroups remain unanswered. For ex-
ample the strong continuity is not completely char-
acterized even on Hardy spaces.
When {S
t
} are strongly continuous, their innites-
imal generators have the form
(f)(z) = G(z)f

(z) +g(z)f(z),
i.e. they are perturbations of the innitesimal gen-
erators of the corresponding unweighted semigroups,
by the multiplication operator M
g
(f) = gf where g
depends on the weight function .
The resolvent operators often are related to classi-
cal integration or averaging operators. A particular
example is the Cesaro operator.
Cesaro operators
The name Cesaro operator is used for the averaging
process on sequences,
(a
n
) (A
n
), A
n
=
a
1
+a
2
+ +a
n
n
,
or on locally integrable functions
f F(x) =
1
x

x
0
f(t)dt.
Observe that both are linear processes. We con-
centrate on the discrete version. The classical
Hardys inequality

n=1

a
1
+a
2
+ +a
n
n

_
p
p 1
_
p

n=1
|a
n
|
p
,
which is valid for 1 < p < and for which the
constant
_
p
p1
_
p
is best possible, says that the op-
erator
C : (a
n
) (A
n
)
is a bounded operator on the sequence spaces l
p
with norm
C
l
p
l
p =
p
p 1
.
Using the identication H
2
l
2
we see that the
operator mapping f(z) =

n=0
a
n
z
n
H
2
to
C(f)(z) =

n=0
(
1
n +1
n

k=0
a
k
)z
n
is bounded and
C
H
2
H
2
= C
l
2
l
2
= 2.
The above transformation of power series can be
shown to map power series with radius of conver-
gence r 1, to power series with radius of conver-
gence R 1 (exercise). We would like to know if
it also maps H
p
into H
p
for p = 2.
To study this question we use a particular weighted
composition semigroup. Let

t
(z) =
e
t
z
(e
t
1)z +1
and (z) = z, then the operators
S
t
(f)(z) =

t
(z)
z
f(
t
(z))
are bounded on Hardy spaces, the semigroup {S
t
}
is strongly continuous and has generator
(f)(z) = z(1 z)f

(z) (1 z)f(z).
An involved calculation gives the spectrum,
() = {z : Re(z) 1/p}.
Thus 0 is in the resolvent set of . Observe that
(f)(z) = (1 z)(zf(z))

and we nd for func-

tions f(z) =

n=0
a
n
z
n
H
p
,
R(0, )(f)(z) =
1
z

z
0
f()
1
1
d
=

n=0
(
1
n +1
n

k=0
a
k
)
z
n
= C(f)(z),
the Cesaro operator. A detailed study of the semi-
group {S
t
} leads to
Theorem[A.S.] If 1 p < then C : H
p
H
p
is a
bounded operator. Moreover
(i) If 2 p < then C
H
p
H
p = p
(ii) For some p (1, 2), C
H
p
H
p > p.
It is remarkable that the adjoint C

is also the resol-

vent operator for a composition semigroup. Indeed
let

t
(z) = e
t
z +1 e
t
, and (z) = 1 z,
then the operators
T
t
(f)(z) =
w(
t
(z))
w(z)
f(
t
(z)) = e
t
f(
t
(z)),
from a semigroup of bounded operators on H
p
with
generator
(f)(z) =
(e
t
f(
t
(z)))
t
|
t=0
= (1z)f

(z)f(z).
It turns out that 0 is not in the spectrum of ,
and the resolvent at 0 is
A(f)(z) =
1
z 1

z
1
f() d.
This operator is the adjoint of C. The easiest way
to see this is to nd the matrices for C and A with
respect to the usual basis {1, z, z
2
, } of H
p
. They
are transposes of each other.
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