Many connections have been found between the theory of analytic functions of one or more complex variables and the study of commutative Banach algebras. While function theory has often been employed to answer algebraic questions such as the existence of idempotents in a Banach algebra, concepts arising from the study of Banach algebras including the maximal ideal space, the Silov boundary, Geason parts, etc. have led to new questions and to new methods of proofs in function theory. This book is concerned with developing some of the principal applications of function theory in several complex variables to Banach algebras. The authors do not presuppose any knowledge of several complex variables on the part of the reader and all relevant material is developed within the text. Furthermore, the book deals with problems of uniform approximation on compact subsets of the space of n complex variables. The third edition of this book contains new material on; maximum modulus algebras and subharmonicity, the hull of a smooth curve, integral kernels, perturbations of the Stone-Weierstrass Theorem, boundaries of analytic varieties, polynomial hulls of sets over the circle, areas, and the topology of hulls. The authors have also included a new chapter containing commentaries on history and recent developments and an updated and expanded reading list.

Contains papers presented at the conference on Banach Algebras and Several Complex Variables held June 21-24, 1983, to honor Professor Charles E Rickart upon his retirement from Yale University. This work includes articles that present advances in topics related to Banach algebras, function algebras and infinite dimensional holomorphy.

This volume contains articles based on talks given at the Symposium on several complex variables, Park City, March 30 - April 3, 1970. The papers herein represent a broad spectrum of mathematical research (e.g. function algebras, sheaf theory, differential operators, manifolds) but are related by the fact that they are all related to some degree to the area of several complex variables.

A development of some of the principal applications of function theory in several complex variables to Banach algebras. The authors do not presuppose any knowledge of several complex variables on the part of the reader, and all relevant material is developed within the text. Furthermore, the book deals with problems of uniform approximation on compact subsets of the space of n complex variables. This third edition contains new material on maximum modulus algebras and subharmonicity, the hull of a smooth curve, integral kernels, perturbations of the Stone-Weierstrass Theorem, boundaries of analytic varieties, polynomial hulls of sets over the circle, areas, and the topology of hulls. The authors have also included a new chapter commenting on history and recent developments, as well as an updated and expanded reading list.

During the past twenty years many connections have been found between the theory of analytic functions of one or more complex variables and the study of commutative Banach algebras. On the one hand, function theory has been used to answer algebraic questions such as the question of the existence of idempotents in a Banach algebra. On the other hand, concepts arising from the study of Banach algebras such as the maximal ideal space, the Silov boundary, Gleason parts, etc. have led to new questions and to new methods of proof in function theory. Roughly one third of this book isconcerned with developing some of the principal applications of function theory in several complex variables to Banach algebras. We presuppose no knowledge of severalcomplex variables on the part of the reader but develop the necessary material from scratch. The remainder of the book deals with problems of uniform approximation on compact subsets of the space of n complex variables. For n > I no complete theory exists but many important particular problems have been solved. Throughout, our aim has been to make the exposition elementary and self-contained. We have cheerfully sacrificed generality and completeness all along the way in order to make it easier to understand the main ideas.

The development of complex analysis is based on issues related to holomorphic continuation and holomorphic approximation. This volume presents a unified view of these topics in finite and infinite dimensions. A high-level tutorial in pure and applied mathematics, its prerequisites include a familiarity with the basic properties of holomorphic functions, the principles of Banach and Hilbert spaces, and the theory of Lebesgue integration. The four-part treatment begins with an overview of the basic properties of holomorphic mappings and holomorphic domains in Banach spaces. The second section explores differentiable mappings, differentiable forms, and polynomially convex compact sets, in which the results are applied to the study of Banach and Fréchet algebras. Subsequent sections examine plurisubharmonic functions and pseudoconvex domains in Banach spaces, along with Riemann domains and envelopes of holomorphy. In addition to its value as a text for advanced graduate students of mathematics, this volume also functions as a reference for researchers and professionals.