Mappings on Spaces of Continuous Functions

Let X and Y be locally compact Hausdorff spaces and T : C₀(X) C₀(Y) a ring homomorphism. We completely characterize such homomorphisms and show that if T is R-linear, then T is either C-linear or C-antilinear. In any case T is continuous and there is a continuous map : Y X such that Tf = f o , f C₀(X) (if T is C-linear) or (if T is C-antilinear). Thus, extending a result of Mólnar, we also derive the general form of an isometry T.AMS Subject Classification (2000): primary 46J05, 46E25(deceased) Passed away on 24 May 1999.