We present counterexamples to a conjecture of Böttcher and Silbermann on the asymptotic multiplicity of the Poisson kernel of the space $L^{\infty }\left(\partial D\right)$ and discuss conditions under which the Poisson kernel is asymptotically multiplicative.

Let $𝒜$ be a homogeneous algebra on the circle and ${𝒜}^{+}$ the closed subalgebra of $𝒜$ of functions having analytic extensions into the unit disk $D$. This paper considers the structure of closed ideals of ${𝒜}^{+}$ under suitable restrictions on the synthesis properties of $𝒜$. In particular, completely characterized are the closed ideals in ${𝒜}^{+}$ whose zero sets meet the circle in a countable set of points. These results contain some previous results of Kahane and Taylor-Williams obtained independently.

Let A and B be semisimple commutative Banach algebras with bounded approximate identities. We investigate the problem of extending a homomorphism φ: A → B to a homomorphism of the multiplier algebras M(A) and M(B) of A and B, respectively. Various sufficient conditions in terms of B (or B and φ) are given that allow the construction of such extensions. We exhibit a number of classes of Banach algebras to which these criteria apply. In addition, we prove a polar decomposition for homomorphisms from...