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The displayed series converges absolutely in a Banach algebra. It is the holomorphic functional calculus value of the analytic branch $z\mapsto \log (1-z)$ on the unit disk. The composition rule for holomorphic functional calculus and $\exp (\log (1-z))=1-z$ give $\exp (\log (1-x))=1-x$. Thus every sufficiently small norm perturbation of the identity is an exponential.

Work over the complex scalar field. If $\lambda \in {\sigma }_A(x)$, the ideal generated by $x-\lambda 1$ is proper: otherwise commutativity would make $x-\lambda 1$ invertible. By Zorn lemma extend it to a maximal ideal $M$. This ideal is closed. Indeed, if its closure were all of $A$, it would contain an element of $M$ sufficiently close to $1$ to be invertible, since the invertible group is open; a proper ideal cannot contain such an element. Its closure is therefore proper, and maximality gives $\overline{M}=M$.

The quotient $A/M$ is a complex unital Banach algebra and a division algebra. The Gelfand-Mazur theorem identifies it with $\mathbb{C}$, giving a character of an algebra $\phi$ with $\phi (x)=\lambda$. Conversely, the argument in (a) shows that every $\phi (x)$ is in the spectrum. ThusHere, as usual, a unital Banach algebra has a nonzero identity; the zero algebra is excluded.

The holomorphic functional calculus assigns to every function holomorphic on an open neighbourhood $U$ of ${\sigma }_A(x)$ an element $f(x)\in A$. It is a unital algebra homomorphism, sends the coordinate function to $x$, agrees with evaluation of rational functions having no poles on the spectrum, depends only on the germ near the spectrum, and is continuous for uniform convergence on a fixed surrounding contour. Its formula isHere $\Gamma$ is a finite oriented contour cycle in $U\setminus {\sigma }_A(x)$, with winding number one on the spectrum and zero off $U$. A finite union of suitable polygonal boundary cycles suffices; no connectedness of $U$ is required. Such cycles exist by compactness of the spectrum, and the calculus is independent of the choice. The inverse is the resolvent of an element.

For the exponential, use a circle $|z|=R>\Vert x\Vert$. The uniformly convergent Neumann expansion $(z1-x{)}^{-1}={\sum }_{n\ge 0}{x}^n{z}^{-n-1}$ may be integrated term by term. The scalar Cauchy integral formula gives $\frac{1}{2\pi i}\int e^z{z}^{-n-1}dz=1/n!$, provingThis series converges absolutely in the Banach algebra norm.

A character of an algebra is bounded and takes the resolvent to $(z-\phi (x){)}^{-1}$. Applying it inside the contour integral and using the scalar Cauchy formula gives $\phi (f(x))=f(\phi (x))$. The character of an algebra description of the spectrum, now applied to $f(x)$, proves the spectral mapping theorem:In particular this spectrum is contained in $V$ when $V\supset f(U)$.

For the composition rule for holomorphic functional calculus, choose a relatively compact open neighbourhood $D$ of $f({\sigma }_A(x))$ whose closure is contained in $V$, and a surrounding contour cycle $\Delta$ in $V$ with winding number one on $D$. Choose a sufficiently small neighbourhood $\Omega$ of ${\sigma }_A(x)$ with $\overline{\Omega }\subset U$ and $f(\overline{\Omega })\subset D$, and a contour $\Gamma$ in $\Omega$ surrounding the spectrum. The neighbourhoods and cycles may be finite unions, obtained from finite covers of the relevant compact sets. For $\zeta \in \Delta$ the function $h_{\zeta }(z)=(\zeta -f(z){)}^{-1}$ is holomorphic near $\overline{\Omega }$. Locality and multiplicativity of the calculus giveInsert this in the formula for $g(f(x))$ and interchange the two vector-valued integrals. The scalar inner integral is $g(f(z))$, soThis proves equality as algebra elements. Equality of their character of an algebra values alone would be insufficient in a Banach algebra with nonzero radical.

Finally, $\Vert x\Vert <1$ places the spectrum in the open unit disk. On that disk $f(z)=\log (1-z)=-{\sum }_{n\ge 1}{z}^n/n$ is a holomorphic branch. Its calculus value is the norm-convergent series $y=-{\sum }_{n\ge 1}{x}^n/n$: one may integrate the uniformly convergent scalar series on a circle with $\Vert x\Vert <R<1$. Since $\exp (f(z))=1-z$, the composition rule gives the logarithm of an element near the identity formula