The Structure of the Closure of the Rational Functions in L^q(μ)

Abstract.

Let K be a compact subset in the complex plane and let A(K) be the uniform closure of the functions continuous on K and analytic on K°. Let μ be a positive finite measure with its support contained in K. For 1 ≤ q < ∞, let A^q(K, μ) denote the closure of A(K) in L^q(μ). The aim of this work is to study the structure of the space A^q(K, μ). We seek a necessary and sufficient condition on K so that a Thomson-type structure theorem for A^q(K, μ) can be established. Our theorem deduces J. Thomson’s structure theorem for P^q(μ), the closure of polynomials in L^q(μ), as the special case when K is a closed disk containing the support of μ.