Banach-Stone Theorems for maps preserving common zeros

TL;DR

This paper characterizes linear maps that preserve common zeros in spaces of continuous and differentiable functions, confirming a conjecture relating topological and algebraic structures of function spaces.

Contribution

It provides a characterization of Banach-Stone type maps with zero-preservation properties, confirming a conjecture for realcompact spaces and topological vector lattices or C*-algebras.

Findings

Characterization of linear bijections with zero-preservation property as Banach-Stone maps.

Confirmation of a conjecture relating zero sets and isomorphisms of function spaces.

Results on the continuity of zero-preserving maps.

Abstract

Let $X$ and $Y$ be completely regular spaces and $E$ and $F$ be Hausdorff topological vector spaces. We call a linear map $T$ from a subspace of $C(X,E)$ into $C(Y,F)$ a \emph{Banach-Stone map} if it has the form $Tf(y) = S_{y}(f(h(y))$ for a family of linear operators $S_{y} : E \to F$, $y \in Y$, and a function $h: Y \to X$. In this paper, we consider maps having the property: \cap^{k}_{i=1}Z(f_{i}) \neq\emptyset\iff\cap^{k}_{i=1}Z(Tf_{i}) \neq \emptyset, where $Z(f) = \{f = 0\}$. We characterize linear bijections with property (Z) between spaces of continuous functions, respectively, spaces of differentiable functions (including $C^{\infty}$), as Banach-Stone maps. In particular, we confirm a conjecture of Ercan and \"Onal: Suppose that $X$ and $Y$ are realcompact spaces and $E$ and $F$ are Hausdorff topological vector lattices (respectively, $C^{*}$-algebras). Let $T: C(X,E) \to C(Y,F)$ be a vector lattice isomorphism (respectively, *-algebra isomorphism) such that Z(f) \neq\emptyset\iff Z(Tf) \neq\emptyset. Then $X$ is homeomorphic to $Y$ and $E$ is lattice isomorphic (respectively, $C^{*}$-isomorphic) to $F$. Some results concerning the continuity of $T$ are also obtained.