Property A in an Infinite-Dimensional Space. II

   Abstract. This paper continues the proof that an infinite-dimensional space of piecewise polynomial functions of degree at most n-1 with infinitely many simple knots, n ≥ 2 , satisfies Property A.     

Piecewise Monotone Pointwise Approximation

Let r, k, s be three integers such that , or We prove the following: Proposition. Let Y:={y _i } _i=1 ^s be a fixed collection of distinct points y _i ∈ (-1,1) and Π (x):= (x-y ₁ ). ... .(x-y _s ). Let I:=[-1,1]. If f ∈ C ^(r) (I) and f'(x)Π(x) ≥ 0, x ∈ I, then for each integer n ≥ k+r-1 there is an algebraic polynomial P _n =P _n (x) of degree ≤ n such that P _n '(x) Π (x) ≥ 0 and $$ \vert f(x)-P_n(x) \vert \le B\left(\frac{1}{n^2}+\frac{1}{n}\sqrt{1-x^2}\right)^r \omega_k \left(f^{(r)};\frac{1}{n^2}+\frac{1}{n}\sqrt{1-x^2}\right) \legno{(1)}$$ for all x∈ I, where ω _k (f ^(r) ;t) is the modulus of smoothness of the k -th order of the function f ^(r) and B is a constant depending only on r , k , and Y. If s=1, the constant B does not depend on Y except in the case (r=1, k=3). In addition it is shown that (1) does not hold for r=1, k>3. March 20, 1995. Dates revised: March 11, 1996; December 20, 1996; and August 7, 1997.     

Rates of Best Uniform Rational Approximation of Analytic Functions by Ray Sequences of Rational Functions

In this paper, problems related to the approximation of a holomorphic function f on a compact subset E of the complex plane C by rational functions from the class of all rational functions of order (n,m) are considered. Let ρ _n,m = ρ _n,m (f;E) be the distance of f in the uniform metric on E from the class . We obtain results characterizing the rate of convergence to zero of the sequence of the best rational approximation { ρ _n,m(n) } _n=0 ^∞ , m(n)/n → θ ∈ (0,1] as n → ∞ . In particular, we give an upper estimate for the liminf _{n →∞} ρ _n,m(n) ^1/(n+m(n)) in terms of the solution to a certain minimum energy problem with respect to the logarithmic potential. The proofs of the results obtained are based on the methods of the theory of Hankel operators. June 16, 1997. Date revised: December 1, 1997. Date accepted: December 1, 1997. Communicated by Ronald A. DeVore.     

Weighted Maximum Over Minimum Modulus of Polynomials, Applied to Ray Sequences of Padé Approximants

Let a≥ 0 , ɛ >0 . We use potential theory to obtain a sharp lower bound for the linear Lebesgue measure of the set Here P is an arbitrary polynomial of degree ≤ n . We then apply this to diagonal and ray Padé sequences for functions analytic (or meromorphic) in the unit ball. For example, we show that the diagonal \left{ [n/n]\right} _n=1 ^∞ sequence provides good approximation on almost one-eighth of the circles centre 0 , and the \left{ [2n/n]\right} _n=1 ^∞ sequence on almost one-quarter of such circles. July 18, 2000. Date revised: . Date accepted: April 19, 2001.     

Multiple Orthogonal Polynomials Associated with the Modified Bessel Functions of the First Kind

   Abstract. We consider polynomials which are orthogonal with respect to weight functions, which are defined in terms of the modified Bessel function I _ν and which are related to the noncentral χ ² -distribution. It turns out that it is the most convenient to use two weight functions with indices ν and ν+1 and to study orthogonality with respect to these two weights simultaneously. We show that the corresponding multiple orthogonal polynomials of type I and type II exist and give several properties of these polynomials (differential properties, Rodrigues formula, explicit formulas, recurrence relation, differential equation, and generating functions).     

On the Convergence in Capacity of Rational Approximants

Let {r _n } be a sequence of rational functions deg( r _n ≤ n) that converge rapidly in measure to an analytic function f on an open set in C ^N . We show that {r _n } converges rapidly in capacity to f on its natural domain of definition W _f (which, by a result of Goncar, is an open subset of C ^N ). In particular, for f meromorphic on C ^N and analytic near zero the sequence of Padé approximants {π _n (z, f, λ)} (as defined by Goncar) converges rapidly in capacity to f on C ^N . January 14, 1999. Date revised: October 7, 1999. Date accepted: November 1, 1999.     

On the Lebesgue Function of Weighted Lagrange Interpolation. I. (Freud-Type Weights)

For a wide class of Freud-type weights of form w = exp(-Q) we investigate the behavior of the corresponding weighted Lebesgue function λ _n (w,X,x) , where X = { x _kn } (-∞,∞) is an interpolatory matrix. We prove that for arbitrary X (-∞,∞) and ɛ > 0 , fixed, λ _n (w, X, x) ≥ c ɛ log n, x ∈ [-a _n , a _n ]\H _n , n ≥ 1, where a _n is the MRS number and |H _n | ≤ 2 ɛ a _n . The result corresponds to the behavior of the ``ordinary' Lebesgue function in [-1,1] . Other exponential weights are considered in our subsequent paper. October 28, 1996. Date revised: April 7, 1997. Date accepted: March 18, 1998.     

An Adaptive Compression Algorithm in Besov Spaces

Given a function f on [0,1] and a wavelet-type expansion of f , we introduce a new algorithm providing an approximation $\tilde f of f with a prescribed number D of nonzero coefficients in its expansion. This algorithm depends only on the number of coefficients to be kept and not on any smoothness assumption on f . Nevertheless it provides the optimal rate D ^-α of approximation with respect to the L _q -norm when f belongs to some Besov space B ^α _p,∈fty whenever α>(1/p-1/q) ⁺ . These results extend to more general expansions including splines and piecewise polynomials and to multivariate functions. Moreover, this construction allows us to compute easily the metric entropy of Besov balls. June 21, 1996. Dates revised: April 9, 1998; October 14, 1998. Date accepted: October 20, 1998.     

On the Best Approximation by Ridge Functions in the Uniform Norm

We consider the best approximation of some function classes by the manifold M _n consisting of sums of n arbitrary ridge functions. It is proved that the deviation of the Sobolev class W _p ^r,d from the manifold M _n in the space L _q for any 2≤ q≤ p≤∈fty behaves asymptotically as n ^-r/(d-1) . In particular, we obtain this asymptotic estimate for the uniform norm p=q=∈fty . January 10, 2000. Date revised: March 1, 2001. Date accepted: March 12, 2001.     

Best Meromorphic Approximation of Markov Functions on the Unit Circle

Let E \subset(-1,1) be a compact set, let μ be a positive Borel measure with support \supp μ =E , and let H _p (G), 1≤ p ≤∈fty, be the Hardy space of analytic functions on the open unit disk G with circumference Γ={z \colon |z|=1} . Let Δ _n,p be the error in best approximation of the Markov function \frac{1}{2π i} ∈t_E \frac{d μ(x)}{z-x} in the space L _p (Γ) by meromorphic functions that can be represented in the form h=P/Q , where P ∈ H _p (G), Q is a polynomial of degree at most n , Q\not \equiv 0 . We investigate the rate of decrease of Δ _n,p , 1≤ p ≤∈fty , and its connection with n -widths. The convergence of the best meromorphic approximants and the limiting distribution of poles of the best approximants are described in the case when 1<p≤∈fty and the measure μ with support E=[a,b] satisfies the Szegő condition ∈t_a^b \frac{\log(d μ/ d x)}{\sqrt{(x-a)(b-x)}} dx >- ∈fty. July 27, 2000. Final version received: May 19, 2001.     

Density Results in Sobolev Spaces Whose Elements Vanish on a Part of the Boundary

This paper is devoted to the study of the subspace ofW ^m,r of functions that vanish on a part γ ₀ of the boundary. The author gives a crucial estimate of the Poincaré constant in balls centered on the boundary of γ ₀. Then, the convolution-translation method, a variant of the standard mollifier technique, can be used to prove the density of smooth functions that vanish in a neighborhood of γ ₀, in this subspace. The result is first proved for m = 1, then generalized to the case where m ≥ 1, in any dimension, in the framework of Lipschitz-continuous domain. However, as may be expected, it is needed to make additional assumptions on the boundary of γ ₀, namely that it is locally the graph of some Lipschitz-continuous function.     

Shape-Preserving Widths of Weighted Sobolev-Type Classes of Positive, Monotone, and Convex Functions on a Finite Interval

   Abstract. Let I be a finite interval, r∈ N and ρ(t)= dist {t, I} , t∈ I . Denote by Δ ^s ₊ L _q the subset of all functions y∈ L _q such that the s -difference Δ ^s _τ y(t) is nonnegative on I ,

Convex polynomial and spline approximation inL p,O<p<∞

We prove that a convex functionf ∈ L _p[−1, 1], 0<p<∞, can be approximated by convex polynomials with an error not exceeding Cω ₃ ^ϕ (f,1/n)_p where ω ₃ ^ϕ (f,·) is the Ditzian-Totik modulus of smoothness of order three off. We are thus filling the gap between previously known estimates involving ω ₃ ^ϕ (f,1/n)_p, and the impossibility of having such estimates involving ω₄. We also give similar estimates for the approximation off by convexC ⁰ andC ¹ piecewise quadratics as well as convexC ² piecewise cubic polynomials. Communicated by Dietrich Braess     

Markov—Bernstein-Type Inequality for Trigonometric Polynomials with Respect to Doubling Weights on [-ω,ω]

   Abstract. Various important, weighted polynomial inequalities, such as Bernstein, Marcinkiewicz, Nikolskii, Schur, Remez, etc., have been proved recently by Giuseppe Mastroianni and Vilmos Totik under minimal assumptions on the weights. In most cases this minimal assumption is the doubling condition. Here, based on a recently proved Bernstein-type inequality by D. S. Lubinsky, we establish Markov—Bernstein-type inequalities for trigonometric polynomials with respect to doubling weights on [-ω,ω] . Namely, we show the theorem below. Theorem Let p ∈ [1,∞) and ω ∈ (0, 1/2] . Suppose W is a weight function on [-ω,ω] such that W(ω cos t) is a doubling weight. Then there is a constant C depending only on p and the doubling constant L so that

Delta-semidefinite and Delta-convex Quadratic Forms in Banach Spaces

A continuous quadratic form (“quadratic form”, in short) on a Banach space X is: (a) delta-semidefinite (i.e., representable as a difference of two nonnegative quadratic forms) if and only if the corresponding symmetric linear operator factors through a Hilbert space; (b) delta-convex (i.e., representable as a difference of two continuous convex functions) if and only if T is a UMD-operator. It follows, for instance, that each quadratic form on an infinite-dimensional L _p (μ) space (1 ≤ p ≤ ∞) is: (a) delta-semidefinite iff p ≥ 2; (b) delta-convex iff p > 1. Some other related results concerning delta-convexity are proved and some open probms are stated. The first author was supported by NSF grant DMS-0555670. The second author was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, Grant 05-01-00066, and by Grant NSh-5813.2006.1. The third author was supported in part by the Ministero dell’Università e della Ricerca of Italy.     

Exploring multivariate Padé approximants for multiple hypergeometric series

We investigate the approximation of some hypergeometric functions of two variables, namely the Appell functions F _i , i = 1,...,4, by multivariate Padé approximants. Section 1 reviews the results that exist for the projection of the F _i onto ϰ=0 or y=0, namely, the Gauss function ₂ F ₁(a, b; c; z), since a great deal is known about Padé approximants for this hypergeometric series. Section 2 summarizes the definitions of both homogeneous and general multivariate Padé approximants. In section 3 we prove that the table of homogeneous multivariate Padé approximants is normal under similar conditions to those that hold in the univariate case. In contrast, in section 4, theorems are given which indicate that, already for the special case F ₁(a, b, b′; c; x; y) with a = b = b′ = 1 and c = 2, there is a high degree of degeneracy in the table of general multivariate Padé approximants. Section 5 presents some concluding remarks, highlighting the difference between the two types of multivariate Padé approximants in this context and discussing directions for future work. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Orthogonal decompositions of Sobolev spaces in Clifford analysis

The space L ₂(G;ℂ _m ) of Clifford-algebra-valued functions in bounded domains G of ℝ ^m is decomposed into the orthogonal sum of the subspace of poly-left-monogenic functions of arbitrary order k≥1 and its orthogonal complement and as well into the orthogonal sum of the subspace of polyharmonic functions of arbitrary order k≥1 and its orthogonal complement. The complementary subspaces are given explicitly. In the particular case m=2, complex functions are involved. Although this case has to be treated separately, the results are as before. The proofs are based on proper higher-order Cauchy–Pompeiu formulas and Green functions for powers of the Laplacian. Received: July 4, 2000; in final form: January 7, 2001?Published online: December 19, 2001     

Some New Observations on Interpolation in the Spectral Unit Ball

We present several results associated to a holomorphic-interpolation problem for the spectral unit ball Ω _n , n ≥ 2. We begin by showing that a known necessary condition for the existence of a -interpolant ( here being the unit disc in ), given that the matricial data are non-derogatory, is not sufficient. We provide next a new necessary condition for the solvability of the two-point interpolation problem – one which is not restricted only to non-derogatory data, and which incorporates the Jordan structure of the prescribed data. We then use some of the ideas used in deducing the latter result to prove a Schwarz-type lemma for holomorphic self-maps of Ω _n , n ≥ 2. This work is supported in part by a grant from the UGC under DSA-SAP, Phase IV.     

On Negative Inertia of Pick Matrices Associated with Generalized Schur Functions

It is known [6] that for every function f in the generalized Schur class and every nonempty open subset Ω of the unit disk , there exist points z₁,...,z_n ∈Ω such that the n × nPick matrix has κ negative eigenvalues. In this paper we discuss existence of an integer n₀ such that any Pick matrix based on z₁,...,z_n ∈Ω with n ≥ n₀ has κ negative eigenvalues. Definitely, the answer depends on Ω. We prove that if , then such a number n₀ does not exist unless f is a ratio of two finite Blaschke products; in the latter case the minimal value of n₀ can be found. We show also that if the closure of Ω is contained in then such a number n₀ exists for every function f in .     

On the Asymptotics of the Meixner—Pollaczek Polynomials and Their Zeros

An infinite asymptotic expansion is derived for the Meixner—Pollaczek polynomials M _n (nα;δ, η) as n→∞ , which holds uniformly for -M≤α≤ M , where M can be any positive number. This expansion involves the parabolic cylinder function and its derivative. If α _{n, s} denotes the s th zero of M _n (nα;δ, η) , counted from the right, and if α˜ _n,s denotes its s th zero counted from the left, then for each fixed s , three-term asymptotic approximations are obtained for both α _n,s and α˜ _n,s as n→∞ . December 28, 1998. Date revised: June 4, 1999. Date accepted: September 6, 1999.