Let T be a positive plurisubharmonic current of bidimension (p,p) and let $δ>0$. Assume that the Lelong number of T satisfies $ν(T,a)\geq δ$ on a dense subset of supp(T) (rectifiable currents satisfy this condition). Then $T=ϕ[X]$, where X is a complex subvariety of pure dimension p and $ϕ$ is a weakly plurisubharmonic function on X. We have an analogous result for plurisuperharmonic currents. We also introduce and study a notion of polynomial p-hull.
We use our disc formula for the Siciak-Zahariuta extremal function to characterize the polynomial hull of a connected compact subset of complex affine space in terms of analytic discs.
Given a 2-sheeted torus over the circle with winding number 1, we prove that its polynomial hull is a union of 2-sheeted holomorphic discs. Moreover when the hull is non degenerate its boundary is a Levi-flat solid torus foliated by such discs.
It is shown that no purely topological condition implies the equality of the polynomial and rational hulls of a set: For any compact subset $K$ of a Euclidean space, there exists a set $X$, in some ${\mathbb C}^N$, that is homeomorphic to $K$ and is rationally convex but not polynomially convex. In addition, it is shown that for the surfaces in ${\mathbb C}^3$ constructed by Izzo and Stout, whose polynomial hulls are nontrivial but contain no analytic discs, the polynomial and rational hulls coincide, thereby answering a question of Gupta. Equality of polynomial and rational hulls is shown als…
We prove that if a compact set E in complex Euclidean space is contained in an arc J, then there is a choice of J whose polynomial hull is the union of J and the polynomial hull of E. This strengthens an earlier result of the author. We also correct an inaccuracy in the statement, and fill a gap in the proof, of that earlier result.
We embed compact $C^\infty$ manifolds into $\mathbb C^n$ as totally real manifolds with prescribed polynomial hulls. As a consequence we show that any compact $C^\infty$ manifold of dimension $d$ admits a totally real embedding into $\mathbb C^{\lfloor \frac{3d}{2}\rfloor}$ with non-trivial polynomial hull without complex structure.
A generalization of a result of Wermer concerning the existence of polynomial hulls without analytic discs is presented. As a consequence it is shown that there exists a Cantor set $X$ in ${\mathbb C}^3$ whose polynomial hull is strictly larger than $X$ but contains no analytic discs.
We prove two disc formulas for the Siciak-Zahariuta extremal function of an arbitrary open subset of complex affine space. We use these formulas to characterize the polynomial hull of an arbitrary compact subset of complex affine space in terms of analytic discs. Similar results in previous work of ours required the subsets to be connected.
It is known from the Runge approximation theorem that every function which is holomorphic in a neighborhood of a compact polynomially convex set $K\subset \complexes^{n}$ can be approximated uniformly on $K$ by analytic polynomials. We shall here prove the same result when the role of the polynomially convex hull $\hat {K}$ is played by the generalized polynomial hull $h_{q}(K)$ introduced by Basener and which can be defined, for each integer $q\in {0,...,n-1}$, by $h_{q}(K)=\displaystyle\bigcup_{P\in \complexes [z_{1},...,z_{n}]} A_{P}$ where $A_{P}=\{z\in \complexes^{n}: |P(z)|\leq δ_{K}(P,z…
It is an old question how massive polynomial hulls of Cantor sets in $\mathbb{C}^n$ can be. In contrast to expectation e.g. Rudin, Vitushkin and Henkin showed on examples that it can be rather massive. Motivated by problems of holomorphic convexity of subsets of strictly pseudoconvex boundaries and removable singularities the question was asked for Cantor sets in the unit sphere. It was known that tame Cantor sets in the unit sphere are polynomially convex. We give an example of a wild Cantor set in the sphere whose polynomial hull contains a large ball. In some sense this can be opposed to a …
Extensions of the notions of polynomially and rationally convex hulls are introduced. Using these notions, a generalization of a result of Duval and Levenberg on polynomially convex hulls containing no analytic discs is presented. As a consequence it is shown that there exists a Cantor set $X$ in ${\mathbb C}^3$ with a nontrivial polynomially convex hull that contains no analytic discs. Using this Cantor set, it is shown that there exist arcs and curves in ${\mathbb C}^4$ with nontrivial polynomially convex hulls that contain no analytic discs. This answers a question raised a few years ago by…
It is shown that there exist arcs and simple closed curves in ${\mathbb C}^3$ with nontrivial polynomial hulls that contain no analytic discs. It is also shown that in any bounded Runge domain of holomorphy in ${\mathbb C}^N$ ($N \geq 2$) there exist polynomially convex arcs and simple closed curves of almost full measure. These results, which strengthen earlier results of the author, are obtained as consequences of a general result about polynomial hulls of arcs and simple closed curves through Cantor sets.
It is shown that if $A$ is a unital commutative Banach algebra with a dense set of invertible elements, then the maximal ideal space of $A$ contains no compact, locally connected, simply coconnected subspace of topological dimension $\geq 2$. As a consequence, the existence of a compact set in ${\mathbb C}^2$ with a nontrivial polynomial hull that contains no topological discs is obtained. This strengthens the celebrated result of Stolzenberg from 1963 that there exists a nontrivial polynomial hull that contains no analytic discs, and it answers a question stated in the literature 10 years ago…
We prove P. Alexandersson's conjecture that for every complex polynomial $p$ of degree $d \geq 2$ the convex hull $H_p$ of the Julia set $J_p$ of $p$ satisfies $p^{-1}(H_p) \subset H_p$. We further prove that the equality $p^{-1}(H_p) = H_p$ is achieved only if $p$ is affinely conjugated to the Chebyshev polynomial $T_d$ of degree $d$, to $-T_d$ or a monomial $c z^d$ with $|c|=1$.
Let $V$ be a complex linear space, $G\subset\GL(V)$ be a compact group. We consider the problem of description of polynomial hulls $\wh{Gv}$ for orbits $Gv$, $v\in V$, assuming that the identity component of $G$ is a torus $T$. The paper contains a universal construction for orbits which satisfy the inclusion $Gv\subset T^\bbC v$ and a characterization of pairs $(G,V)$ such that it is true for a generic $v\in V$. The hull of a finite union of $T$-orbits in $T^\bbC v$ can be distinguished in $\clos T^\bbC v$ by a finite collection of inequalities of the type $\abs{z_1}^{s_1}...\abs{z_n}^{s_n}\l…
According to the classical Gauss-Lucas theorem all zeros of the derivative of a complex non-constant polynomial p lie in the convex hull of the zeros of p. It is proved that for a polynomial p of degree four with four different zeros forming a concave quadrilateral, the zeros of the derivative lie in two of the three triangles formed by the zeros of p. Thus a strengthening of the classical Gauss-Lucas theorem is established for this case, which can be extended to the case of a polynomial of degree n for which the zeros do not form a convex n-polygon.
Let T be the unit circle in the complex plane C. This paper proves the existence of analytic structure in a compact subset K of T X C^n, where K has so-called "lineally convex" or "hypoconvex" fibers over T. It also addresses a related H-infinity optimization problem. The theorems here remove a number of unnatural assumptions required in an earlier work by the same author, "Polynomial hulls and H-infinity control for a hypoconvex constraint." (See http://www.arxiv.org/abs/math.CV/0001039)
Let S be a smooth real surface in C^2 and let p\in S be a point at which the tangent plane is a complex line. How does one determine whether or not S is locally polynomially convex at such a p --- i.e. at a CR singularity ? Even when the order of contact of T_p(S) with S at p equals 2, no clean characterisation exists; difficulties are posed by parabolic points. Hence, we study non-parabolic CR singularities. We show that the presence or absence of Bishop discs around certain non-parabolic CR singularities is completely determined by a Maslov-type index. This result subsumes all known facts ab…
The main result of this paper is a characterization of the minimal surface hull of a compact set $K$ in $\mathbb R^3$ by sequences of conformal minimal discs whose boundaries converge to $K$ in the measure theoretic sense, and also by $2$-dimensional minimal currents which are limits of Green currents supported by conformal minimal discs. Analogous results are obtained for the null hull of a compact subset of $\mathbb C^3$. We also prove a null hull analogue of the Alexander-Stolzenberg-Wermer theorem on polynomial hulls of compact sets of finite linear measure, and a polynomial hull version o…
We say that a subset of C^n is hypoconvex if its complement is the union of complex hyperplanes. Let D be the closed unit disk in C, T the unit circle. We prove two conjectures of Helton and Marshall. (See ``Frequency domain design and analytic selections,'' Indiana Univ. Math. J. 39, no. 1 (1990), 157-184.) Let p:T X C^n --> R+ be a smooth function whose sublevel sets have compact hypoconvex fibers over T. Then, with some restrictions on p, if Y is the set where p is less than or equal to 1, the polynomial convex hull of Y is the union of graphs of analytic vector-valued functions with bounda…
Let S be a Pfaff system of dimension 1, on a compact complex manifold M. We prove that there is a positive ddbar-closed current T of mass 1 directed by the Pfaff system S. There is no integrability assumption. We also show that local singular solutions exist always. Using ddbar-negative currents, we discuss Jensen measures, local maximum principle and hulls with respect to a cone P of smooth functions in the Euclidean complex space, subharmonic in some directions. The case where P is the cone of plurisubharmonic functions is classical. We use the results to describe the harmonicity properties …
Each extreme edge of the Newton diagram of a plurisubharmonic polynomial on $\mathbb{C}^2$ gives rise to a plurisubharmonic polynomial. It is tempting to believe that the union of the extreme edges or the convex hull of said union will do the same. We construct a plurisubharmonic polynomial $P$ on $\mathbb{C}^2$ with precisely two extreme edges $E_1$ and $E_2$, such that neither $E_1\cup{E_2}$ nor $\text{Conv}({E_1\cup{}E_2})$ yields a plurisubharmonic polynomial.
The projective hull X^ of a subset X in complex projective space P^n is an analogue of the classical polynomial hull of a set in C^n. If X is contained in an affine chart C^n on P^n, then the affine part of X^ is the set of points x in C^n for which there exists a constant M=M_x so that |p(x)| < M^d sup{|p(y)| : y in X} for all polynomials p of degree less than or equal to d, and any d > 0. Let X^(M) be the set of points x where M_x can be chosen < M. Using an argument of E. Bishop, we show the following. Let G be a compact real analytic curve (not necessarily connected) in C^2. Then for any l…
Let $Λ$ be a finite set of nonnegative integers, and let $\mathcal P(Λ)$ be the linear hull of the monomials $z^k$ with $k\inΛ$, viewed as a subspace of $L^1$ on the unit circle. We characterize the extreme and exposed points of the unit ball in $\mathcal P(Λ)$.
