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For a locally compact Hausdorff Abelian group, each continuous unitary character defines an algebra character by $f\mapsto \int f(x)\chi (x)dx$. Conversely, if $\Phi$ is a nonzero algebra character and $\Phi (g)\ne 0$, the ratio $\Phi (T_{x}g)/\Phi (g)$ is independent of $g$, continuous and multiplicative. Translation isometries bound all its integer powers, so its modulus is one. The convolution formula $f\ast g=\int f(x)T_{x}gdx$ recovers $\Phi (f)=\int f\chi$. The Gelfand topology corresponds to the compact-open topology on the Pontryagin dual group; conjugating the characters gives the alternative Fourier sign convention.

A maximal ideal $M$ of $C(\mathbb{T})$ has a common zero: otherwise finitely many $f_j\in M$ have no simultaneous zero, and ${\sum }_j|f_j{|}^2\in M$ is invertible, a contradiction. If the common zero is $z$, then $M$ is the kernel of evaluation at $z$ by maximality. Thus every algebra character is point evaluation. Continuous functions separate distinct points of the unit circle, and the evaluation bijection is a homeomorphism for the Gelfand topology.

Every algebra character of the analytic Wiener algebra is evaluation at a unique point $z$ of the closed unit disk. Indeed, for $u(w)=w$, continuity and multiplicativity give $z=\varphi (u)$, $|z|\le \Vert u\Vert =1$ and $\varphi (f)={\sum }_{n\ge 0}{a}_n{z}^n$. Conversely, this formula defines a continuous algebra character for every such $z$. The evaluation correspondence is a homeomorphism for the Gelfand topology, since the power series are uniformly convergent on the closed unit disk.

Every algebra character of the Wiener algebra is evaluation at a unique point of the unit circle. Writing $u(w)=w$, both $u$ and $u^{-1}$ have norm one. Thus $z=\varphi (u)$ satisfies $|z|\le 1$ and $|z^{-1}|\le 1$, hence $|z|=1$. Continuity then gives $\varphi ({\sum }_{n\in \mathbb{Z}}{a}_n{u}^n)=\sum a_n{z}^n$. Conversely, evaluation defines a continuous algebra character. The resulting bijection is a homeomorphism for the Gelfand topology.

For a commutative complex unital Banach algebra, maximal ideals correspond bijectively to characters of an algebra by taking kernels. Give the maximal ideal space the Gelfand topology through this correspondence. It is a compact Hausdorff space, since the characters form a weak-star closed subset of the dual unit ball, which is compact by the Banach-Alaoglu theorem.

Use the following general Banach algebra facts: in a complex commutative unital Banach algebra, maximal ideals are exactly the kernels of algebra characters, meaning nonzero complex multiplicative linear functionals. Such a character satisfies $\varphi (1)=1$ and $|\varphi (f)|\le \Vert f\Vert$, hence is continuous. The maximal ideal space is given the Gelfand topology, that is, pointwise convergence of characters on algebra elements. These facts follow from closedness of maximal ideals, the Gelfand-Mazur theorem for their quotients, and the spectral bound for character values. They do not identify any of the three spaces by themselves.

For the Wiener algebra, write $f={\sum }_{n\in \mathbb{Z}}{a}_n{u}^n$, where $u(e^{it})=e^{it}$ and $\Vert f{\Vert }_A=\sum |a_n|$. The Fourier series converges absolutely in the algebra norm. If $\varphi$ is a character, set $z=\varphi (u)$. Since $u$ is invertible and $\Vert u{\Vert }_A=\Vert u^{-1}{\Vert }_A=1$, multiplicativity and the norm bound give $|z|\le 1$, $|z^{-1}|\le 1$. Thus $|z|=1$. Continuity now givesConversely, for every $z\in \mathbb{T}$, evaluation is nonzero, linear and multiplicative, and $|f(z)|\le \sum |a_n|$ makes it continuous. Distinct $z$ give distinct characters because they have different values on $u$. Hence the character space of the Wiener algebra is the circle.

For the analytic Wiener algebra, the same expression uses only $n\ge 0$. A character is again determined by $z=\varphi (u)$, but $u^{-1}$ is no longer in this algebra, so only $|z|\le 1$ is forced. Continuity gives $\varphi (f)={\sum }_{n\ge 0}{a}_n{z}^n$. Conversely, every $z$ in the closed unit disk defines evaluation on this absolutely convergent power series. It is bounded and multiplicative, since multiplication of the series is absolutely convergent discrete convolution. Distinct $z$ again differ on $u$. Therefore the character space of the analytic Wiener algebra is the closed disk, including its interior and boundary, not just the original boundary circle.

For $C(\mathbb{T})$ with the supremum norm, let $M=\ker \varphi$ for a character. Suppose the functions in $M$ had no common zero. At each point choose some $f\in M$ nonzero there. Continuity supplies a neighborhood where it remains nonzero; compactness gives a finite subcover associated to $f_1,\dots ,f_k\in M$. Thenis continuous and strictly positive everywhere. It belongs to $M$ because $M$ is an ideal, but it is invertible in $C(\mathbb{T})$ with continuous inverse $1/g$. This would imply $1\in M$, a contradiction. There is therefore a common zero $z$ of $M$. The point-evaluation kernel $I_z=\{f:f(z)=0\}$ is maximal, and $M\subseteq I_z$ forces equality. Since $\varphi (1)=1$, writing $f=f(z)1+(f-f(z)1)$ then proves $\varphi (f)=f(z)$. Conversely every evaluation is a character, and $u$ distinguishes the points. Thus the character space of continuous functions on the circle is the circle.

These are topological identifications as well as bijections. The evaluation map $z\mapsto {\varphi }_z$ is continuous for the Gelfand topology, because each fixed algebra element is a continuous function of $z$: absolute convergence gives uniform convergence on the circle or closed disk in the first two cases. The parameter spaces are compact, while the character spaces are Hausdorff as subspaces of the pointwise topology. A continuous bijection from a compact space to a Hausdorff space is a homeomorphism. Consequently the three maximal ideal spaces are, respectively,In each case the maximal ideal associated to a point is the kernel of the evaluation just described. The spelling “Weiner” in the source refers to the Wiener algebra.

Let $G$ be locally compact, Abelian and Hausdorff, and fix a Haar measure. Write $T_{x}f(y)=f(x^{-1}y)$ and use convolutionThe L1 group algebra is a commutative Banach algebra. Here a group character means a continuous homomorphism $\chi :G\to \mathbb{T}$, not the trace of an arbitrary group representation. A Gelfand character is a nonzero multiplicative complex-linear functional on the convolution algebra. We use the conventionWith the alternative standard Fourier convention involving $\overline{\chi }$, one simply conjugates every group character in this identification.

For such $\chi$, the functional is bounded by $\Vert f{\Vert }_1$, and Fubini's theorem, the substitution $y=xz$, and the homomorphism law giveIt is nonzero: if $u\ge 0$ is nonzero in $C_c(G)$, then $f=\overline{\chi }u$ has ${\Phi }_{\chi }(f)=\int u>0$.

Conversely let $\Phi$ be an algebra character. It is automatically bounded, with $|\Phi (f)|\le \Vert f{\Vert }_1$. Indeed, extend it to the unitization by $\tilde{\Phi }(f+\lambda 1)=\Phi (f)+\lambda$. If $|\Phi (f)|>\Vert f{\Vert }_1$, the Neumann series makes $f-\Phi (f)1$ invertible, whereas its character value is zero, contradicting multiplicativity of an invertible element and its inverse.

Choose $g$ with $\Phi (g)\ne 0$ and put $\chi (x)=\Phi (T_{x}g)/\Phi (g)$. Commutativity of the group gives $(T_{x}f)\ast g=f\ast (T_{x}g)$; applying $\Phi$ yieldsThus the ratio is independent of the chosen $g$. Applying the relation successively to $T_x{T}_{y}g=T_{xy}g$ gives $\chi (xy)=\chi (x)\chi (y)$, and $\chi (e)=1$. In particular it never vanishes.

The translation map $x\mapsto T_{x}g$ is continuous in $L^1$. For $g\in C_c(G)$, translated supports near a fixed $x$ lie in one compact set; continuity on that set and a finite cover give uniform convergence of the translated values, hence $L^1$ convergence because the compact set has finite Haar measure. For general $g$, approximate by $C_c(G)$ and use $\Vert T_{x}g{\Vert }_1=\Vert g{\Vert }_1$. Therefore $\chi$ is continuous. For all integers $n$,Positive powers exclude modulus greater than one; negative powers exclude modulus less than one. Hence $|\chi (x)|=1$.

Finally, the $L^1$-valued convolution formula $f\ast g=\int f(x)T_{x}gdx$ and boundedness of $\Phi$ giveCancel $\Phi (g)$ to obtain the displayed formula for every $f$. Different characters give different functionals: if their continuous difference is nonzero at a point, integration against a suitably phased compactly supported test function in a small neighbourhood detects that difference. Thus the correspondence is bijective.

It also identifies the character space of an Abelian L1 group algebra topologically with the Pontryagin dual group. For a net converging uniformly on compact subsets in $\hat{G}$, convergence of the functionals follows first for compactly supported $f$, then for all $L^1$ functions using the common norm bound one. Conversely suppose the functionals converge in the Gelfand topology. Choose $g$ whose limiting character value is nonzero; its values are eventually bounded away from zero. For compact $K\subset G$, the set $\{T_{x}g:x\in K\}$ is compact in $L^1$. Convergence of uniformly bounded linear functionals is uniform on this compact set: a finite norm-net reduces it to convergence at finitely many functions, with the common bound controlling the approximation error. The ratio formula then gives uniform convergence of the group characters on $K$. This proves equality with the compact-open topology, without assuming first countability of $G$.

For later use, these transforms form a self-adjoint subalgebra dense in $C_0(\hat{G})$. The set of algebra characters together with the zero functional is weak-star compact by Banach-Alaoglu theorem and the closed multiplicativity equations. Removing zero gives a locally compact Hausdorff character space; each evaluation $\Phi \mapsto \Phi (f)$ vanishes at infinity, since its modulus-at-least-$ϵ$ set is compact and avoids zero. Transforms separate characters, and none vanishes identically at a given character. They are closed under conjugation because $f^{\ast }(x)=\overline{f(x^{-1})}$ satisfies ${\Phi }_{\chi }(f^{\ast })=\overline{{\Phi }_{\chi }(f)}$. The locally compact Stone-Weierstrass theorem therefore gives the claimed density.

For the unheaded representation request, retain the question's standing unital hypothesis. Let $K$ be the character space of an algebra of $A$, with its weak-star or Gelfand topology. The standard commutative Banach-algebra results allowed here give a nonempty compact Hausdorff character space and ${\sigma }_A(a)=\{\phi (a):\phi \in K\}$. In particular, character compactness follows from the Banach-Alaoglu theorem: the equations $\phi (1)=1$ and $\phi (ab)=\phi (a)\phi (b)$ define a weak-star closed subset of the dual unit ball.

The Gelfand transform is the unital homomorphismEvery element of the commutative C-star algebra is normal. Part i and the character spectrum formula therefore giveThus $\Gamma$ is an isometry, hence injective, and its range is closed because $A$ is complete. Part ii gives $\Gamma (a^{\ast })=\overline{\Gamma (a)}$. The range contains constants and separates points of $K$, since two distinct characters differ on some element of $A$. The complex Stone-Weierstrass theorem states that a unital, conjugation-closed subalgebra of $C(K)$ separating points of a compact Hausdorff space is uniformly dense. Its application here, together with closedness of the range, yieldsThis proves the Commutative Gelfand--Naimark theorem from the preceding parts and the stated approximation theorem.

The word “every” in the printed deduction must be read under the initial unital hypothesis. If nonunital commutative C-star algebras are included, the compact-space statement is false: the nonzero algebra $c_0$ has no multiplicative identity, whereas $C(K)$ for nonempty compact $K$ does. The general nonunital version is $C_0(K)$ on a locally compact Hausdorff space, with vanishing at infinity. This qualification preserves the proved unital result.

For the final real spectrum criterion for a normal C-star element, the ambient algebra may be noncommutative. Let $B$ be the norm-closed unital subalgebra generated by $x$ and $x^{\ast }$. Normality makes these two generators commute. The involution preserves their polynomial algebra and is continuous, so $B$ is a commutative C-star subalgebra.

We first show that $x$ has the same spectrum in $B$ as in $A$, without assuming spectral permanence. Put $\Omega =\mathbb{C}\setminus {\sigma }_A(x)$. A compact subset of the real axis has connected complement: upper and lower half-plane paths join around either end of a bounded interval containing it, and each omitted real point can be joined locally to the upper half-plane. DefineThis set is nonempty because the Neumann series puts the inverse in $B$ for $|\lambda |>\Vert x\Vert$. It is relatively open: from an inverse in $B$, the local inverse formulastays in $B$ for small $h$. It is relatively closed by continuity of the ambient resolvent and norm-closedness of $B$. Connectedness gives $V=\Omega$. Conversely an inverse in $B$ is an inverse in $A$, soThis is the connected-resolvent case of spectrum in a closed unital subalgebra.

Apply the just-proved commutative C-star representation to $B$. For every character $\psi$ of $B$, $\psi (x)$ lies in this real spectrum. Part ii makes $\psi (x^{\ast })=\overline{\psi (x)}=\psi (x)$. The Gelfand transform of $B$ is injective by its isometry, soFor a nonunital ambient C-star algebra, perform the same argument in its standard C-star unitization, using the usual unitization spectrum.

Normality cannot be dropped. In $M_2(\mathbb{C})$, takeSince $N^2=0$, its spectrum is $\{0\}$: for $\lambda \ne 0$, $(\lambda I-N{)}^{-1}={\lambda }^{-1}I+{\lambda }^{-2}N$, while $N$ is not invertible. Yet $N\ne N^{\ast }$ andThus a real spectrum alone does not force self-adjointness; normality is essential.

The Gelfand-Mazur theorem says that a nonzero complex unital Banach algebra in which every nonzero element is invertible is the complex field itself: $a\mapsto \lambda$ where $a=\lambda 1$. This is an isometric isomorphism under the usual normalization $\Vert 1\Vert =1$; without that normalization its norm is simply $\Vert \lambda 1\Vert =|\lambda |\Vert 1\Vert$. We first prove the required spectral and resolvent facts rather than assume them.

For any element $a$ of a complex unital Banach algebra $A$, define its spectrum of an element byIf $\Vert b\Vert <1$, the partial sums of ${\sum }_{n\ge 0}{b}^n$ converge in the complete algebra. Multiplying a partial sum by $1-b$ on either side gives $1-b^{N+1}\to 1$, proving the Neumann series inverse. For $|\lambda |>\Vert a\Vert$ this givesThus the spectrum is bounded. Under $\Vert 1\Vert =1$, $\Vert R(\lambda ,a)\Vert \le (|\lambda |-\Vert a\Vert {)}^{-1}$; for an unnormalized identity the same estimate with numerator $\Vert 1\Vert$ suffices. Also $\lambda R(\lambda ,a)\to 1$ as $|\lambda |\to \infty$.

If ${\lambda }_0$ is outside the spectrum and $R_0=R({\lambda }_0,a)$, then for $|h|\Vert R_0\Vert <1$,This follows by factoring $({\lambda }_0+h)1-a=({\lambda }_{0}1-a)(1+h{R}_0)$ and applying the just-proved series. The series converges locally in norm, proving that the resolvent set is open, the spectrum is closed, and the resolvent of an element is holomorphic. Subtracting inverse equations also gives the resolvent identityconsistent with the derivative $R^{\prime }(\lambda ,a)=-R(\lambda ,a{)}^2$ from the local series.

The spectrum is nonempty. If it were empty, the resolvent would be an entire algebra-valued function tending to zero at infinity. Choose a bounded linear functional $\ell :A\to \mathbb{C}$ with $\ell (1)=1$, extending the functional on $\mathbb{C}1$ by the complex Hahn-Banach theorem. Then $\ell (R(\lambda ,a))$ is an entire function, bounded outside a disk by the Neumann estimate and bounded inside by continuity and compactness. The Liouville theorem makes it constant, and its decay makes that constant zero. But $\lambda \ell (R(\lambda ,a))\to \ell (1)=1$, a contradiction. We have proved that every spectrum is a nonempty compact subset of the disk $|\lambda |\le \Vert a\Vert$.

Now assume every nonzero element of $A$ is invertible. For any $a$, choose $\lambda \in {\sigma }_A(a)$. The noninvertible element $a-\lambda 1$ must be zero. Thus every element is a scalar multiple of the identity, uniquely because $1\ne 0$, andNo commutativity assumption was needed for this part; it is forced by the conclusion. Complex scalars are essential to the spectral argument.

For the maximal ideal space and its correspondence with characters of an algebra, now take $A$ to be a commutative complex unital Banach algebra. Every proper ideal lies in an algebraic maximal ideal by Zorn's lemma: a chain's union is an ideal not containing $1$. Every proper ideal also has proper closure. Otherwise it contains an element $m$ with $\Vert 1-m\Vert <1$, which is invertible by the Neumann series, forcing the ideal to contain $1$. A maximal ideal $I$ is therefore closed, since its closure is a proper ideal containing it.

The quotient $A/I$, with its quotient norm, is a complex Banach algebra. Completeness follows from closedness of $I$, and submultiplicativity follows by taking infima over representatives. It is a division algebra: if $a\notin I$, maximality gives $I+Aa=A$, so $ba+i=1$ for some $b\in A$, $i\in I$. Hence $a+I$ is invertible. By the proved Gelfand-Mazur theorem, $A/I\cong \mathbb{C}$, with the identity mapping to $1$. Composing this isomorphism with the quotient map produces a nonzero multiplicative complex linear functional ${\varphi }_I$ with kernel $I$.

Conversely let $\varphi :A\to \mathbb{C}$ be a nonzero multiplicative complex linear functional, without assuming continuity. Nonzeroness and multiplicativity give $\varphi (1)=1$, hence $\varphi (\lambda 1)=\lambda$ and surjectivity onto $\mathbb{C}$. Its kernel is a maximal ideal. If $a-\varphi (a)1$ were invertible, applying $\varphi$ to its product with an inverse would give $0=1$. Therefore $\varphi (a)\in {\sigma }_A(a)$, soThis proves automatic continuity of characters; with normalized identity their operator norm is one. Finally a kernel determines its character uniquely: for every $a$, its class in $A/I=\mathbb{C}1$ is a unique scalar multiple of the unit, and every character with kernel $I$ must take that scalar value. We have obtained the bijectionThe commutativity in this correspondence cannot be dropped: ${\mathrm{Mat}}_2(\mathbb{C})$ has the maximal two-sided ideal $0$, but has no scalar-valued character, since such a character would have zero kernel and give an impossible injective linear map into $\mathbb{C}$.

For use in the next question, the spectrum equals character values in a commutative Banach algebra. We have proved one inclusion. For the other, if $a-\lambda 1$ is noninvertible, its generated ideal is proper, hence lies in a maximal ideal. The corresponding character takes $a$ to $\lambda$. ThusGive ${\mathcal{M}}_A$ the Gelfand topology, namely the weak-star topology of pointwise convergence on $A$ through these characters. It is Hausdorff and compact: the characters lie in the dual unit ball and form a weak-star closed subset, described by the closed equations $\varphi (1)=1$ and $\varphi (ab)=\varphi (a)\varphi (b)$. Apply the Banach-Alaoglu theorem. The Gelfand transform $a\mapsto \hat{a}$, where $\hat{a}(\varphi )=\varphi (a)$, is consequently a contractive unital algebra homomorphism into $C({\mathcal{M}}_A)$; it separates distinct characters. This argument proves compactness and continuity, but does not assert injectivity or isometry for an arbitrary Banach algebra.

Use additive notation and fix Haar measure $m$ on $G$. A continuous unitary character is a continuous homomorphism $\chi :G\to \mathbb{T}$. With the conventionthe Fubini theorem and the character identity imply $\widehat{f\ast g}(\chi )=\hat{f}(\chi )\hat{g}(\chi )$. Also $|\hat{f}(\chi )|\le \Vert f{\Vert }_1$, and choosing $f=\chi a$ for a nonzero nonnegative $a\in C_c(G)$ shows that evaluation at $\chi$ is a nonzero functional. Thus each character gives a character of an algebra on the L1 convolution algebra. Here a multiplicative linear functional means a nonzero multiplicative linear functional; the zero functional must be excluded for the claimed bijection.

Conversely, let $\phi$ be such a functional. It is automatically bounded with $|\phi (f)|\le \Vert f{\Vert }_1$: extend it to the unitization of an algebra by $\tilde{\phi }(f+z1)=\phi (f)+z$. If $|z|>\Vert f{\Vert }_1$, the Neumann series makes $z1-f$ invertible, so its image under the unital homomorphism cannot be zero. Hence $\phi (f)$ cannot lie outside the norm disc.

Choose $a\in L^1(G)$ with $\phi (a)\ne 0$, and let $T_{x}a(t)=a(t-x)$. The Abelian translation identities $(T_{x}a)\ast b=a\ast (T_{x}b)$ giveTherefore, defining $c(x)=\phi (T_{x}a)/\phi (a)$, one has $\phi (T_{x}b)=c(x)\phi (b)$ for every $b$. Applying this to two successive translations gives $c(x+y)=c(x)c(y)$ and $c(0)=1$. By translation continuity in Lp on a locally compact group, $c$ is continuous. It is uniformly bounded by $\Vert a{\Vert }_1/|\phi (a)|$; applying this bound to $c(nx)=c(x{)}^n$ for positive and negative integers forces $|c(x)|=1$. Thus $\chi (x)=\overline{c(x)}$ is a continuous unitary character.

The Bochner integral identity $a\ast b={\int }_{G}b(y)T_{y}adm(y)$ holds in $L^1$, since $\Vert T_{y}a{\Vert }_1=\Vert a{\Vert }_1$. Applying the bounded functional yieldsCancel $\phi (a)\ne 0$ to obtain the required correspondenceThe recovery formula $\overline{\chi (x)}=\phi (T_{x}a)/\phi (a)$ proves uniqueness. These functionals have norm exactly one, since $b=\chi a$ with $a\ge 0$ and $\int a=1$ has $\Vert b{\Vert }_1=\phi (b)=1$.

For the topology, identify the Pontryagin dual group with these functionals and give it the Gelfand topology, namely pointwise convergence of $\hat{f}(\chi )$ for every $f\in L^1$. If a net ${\chi }_{\lambda }$ converges to $\gamma$ uniformly on every compact subset of $G$, then for $f\in C_c(G)$,Density of $C_c$ in $L^1$ and the uniform functional norm bound one extend this convergence to every $f\in L^1$.

Conversely, suppose convergence in the Gelfand topology and choose $a$ with $\hat{a}(\gamma )\ne 0$. For compact $K\subseteq G$, the set $\{T_{x}a:x\in K\}$ is compact in $L^1$ by translation continuity in Lp on a locally compact group. Evaluation convergence is uniform on this compact set: a finite $\delta$-net reduces its supremum to finitely many convergent evaluations plus $2\delta$, using the common functional norm one. ThusNow $\widehat{T_{x}a}(\chi )=\overline{\chi (x)}\hat{a}(\chi )$, and $\hat{a}({\chi }_{\lambda })\to \hat{a}(\gamma )\ne 0$. Dividing this identity proves ${\sup }_{x\in K}|{\chi }_{\lambda }(x)-\gamma (x)|\to 0$. Hence the Gelfand topology is exactly the compact-open topology, with the requested neighbourhood basisFor compact $K$, the continuous difference attains its maximum, so this strict pointwise inequality on $K$ is equivalent to a strict uniform bound. Finite intersections contain another such set by taking the union of the compact sets and the minimum of the tolerances.

Assume the finite-generator identity holds whenever there is no common zero. Let $\phi \in {\Phi }_A$. For every finite family $f_1,\dots ,f_n\in \ker \phi$, their zero sets must have nonempty intersection: otherwise an identity $\sum f_j{g}_j=1$ would give $0=\phi (1)=1$. These zero sets are closed in compact $K$. The finite intersection property therefore supplies $x\in K$ at which every member of $\ker \phi$ vanishes. For any $f\in A$, the element $f-\phi (f)1$ is in that kernel, so $f(x)=\phi (f)$. Thus $\phi ={\delta }_x$, proving

For $C(K)$, the identity is explicit. If the $f_j$ have no common zero, the continuous function $q={\sum }_j|f_j{|}^2$ is strictly positive on compact $K$. SetThen $\sum f_j{g}_j=1$. The equivalence just proved shows that $C(K)$ is natural.

Next consider the disc algebra $A(\overline{\mathbb{D}})$, the continuous functions on the closed unit disk that are holomorphic in its interior. We show directly that each algebra character is evaluation. Polynomials are uniformly dense in this algebra: for $0<r<1$, $f_r(z)=f(rz)$ tends uniformly to $f$ as $r\uparrow 1$, by uniform continuity. The function $f_r$ is holomorphic on $|z|<1/r$, so its Taylor polynomials converge uniformly on $|z|\le 1$.

Every algebra character of a unital Banach algebra is bounded, with $|\phi (f)|\le \Vert f\Vert$: if $f-\phi (f)1$ were invertible, applying $\phi$ would contradict invertibility, so $\phi (f)$ belongs to the spectrum of an element, which is contained in the disk of radius $\Vert f\Vert$ by the Neumann series. For the coordinate function $z$, put $\lambda =\phi (z)$; then $|\lambda |\le 1$. Multiplicativity gives $\phi (p)=p(\lambda )$ for every polynomial. By polynomial density and continuity, $\phi (f)=f(\lambda )$ for every member of the disc algebra. Hence

Finally consider the algebra $C$ in the last request. For each $f\in C$, its holomorphic extension $g$ from the boundary is unique by the maximum modulus principle. Define $T(f)=g\in A(\overline{\mathbb{D}})$. This is a surjective unital algebra homomorphism, since it restricts to the identity on the disc algebra. AlsoThe algebra $C$ is closed: if $f_n\to f$ uniformly, the associated $T(f_n)$ are uniformly Cauchy by this bound, so their limit belongs to the closed disc algebra and agrees with $f$ on the boundary. Constants and the coordinate function belong to $C$, so it is itself a uniform algebra on the disk. Its idealis contained in $C$, and $C/I$ is the disc algebra.

If a algebra character $\chi$ on $C$ vanishes on $I$, it factors through $T$ and the preceding result givesIf $\chi$ does not vanish on $I$, choose $h\in I$ with $\chi (h)\ne 0$. For $F\in C(\overline{\mathbb{D}})$, defineThe product $hF$ is in $I$, so this is well defined. It is unital and linear, andshows multiplicativity. Since $C(\overline{\mathbb{D}})$ is natural, $\tilde{\chi }$ is evaluation at a point $x$ of the closed disk. The equality $h(x)=\tilde{\chi }(h)=\chi (h)\ne 0$ places $x$ in the open disk. On $C$, $\tilde{\chi }(f)=\chi (f)$, so $\chi$ itself is evaluation at that interior point.

We therefore obtain two families: actual evaluations $f\mapsto f(x)$ on one closed disk, and analytic-extension evaluations $f\mapsto T(f)(\lambda )$ on a second closed disk. They agree on the boundary. They are distinct at interior points: functions in $I$ distinguish actual interior evaluations from every analytic-extension evaluation, and the coordinate function distinguishes points within each family. ThusThis is also a topological identification. Each disk family is continuous in the Gelfand topology, and they agree along their boundary, giving a continuous bijection from the glued disks to ${\Phi }_C$. The glued disks form a compact space, explicitly homeomorphic to the sphere by sending $(x,y)$ in the two copies to $(x,y,\pm \sqrt{1-x^2-y^2})$. Since the character space is Hausdorff, the continuous bijection is a homeomorphism. This boundary-analytic disk algebra with doubled character space has more algebra characters than evaluations on its original disk.

A uniform algebra on a compact Hausdorff space $K$ is a closed complex subalgebra $A\subseteq C(K)$ containing the constants and separating points of $K$, with the supremum norm. It is therefore a commutative unital Banach algebra. Its character space of an algebra ${\Phi }_A$, also called its carrier space, consists of nonzero multiplicative linear functionals, equipped with the Gelfand topology.

For $x\in K$, evaluation gives the character of an algebra ${\delta }_x(f)=f(x)$. The map $\delta :K\to {\Phi }_A$ is continuous: composing it with the coordinate $\phi \mapsto \phi (f)$ gives the continuous function $f$ for every $f\in A$. It is injective because $A$ separates points. The Gelfand topology is Hausdorff because distinct algebra characters differ on some element of $A$. A continuous injection from compact $K$ into a Hausdorff space is a homeomorphism onto its image: closed subsets of $K$ have compact, hence closed, images. Its image is also compact and closed. Thusis the asserted homeomorphism. A natural uniform algebra is one for which this image is all of ${\Phi }_A$.

A character of an algebra is a nonzero complex linear multiplicative map $\varphi :A\to \mathbb{C}$. It necessarily satisfies $\varphi (1)=1$. If $\lambda =\varphi (x)$, then $x-\lambda 1$ cannot be invertible, since applying $\varphi$ to an inverse identity would give $0=1$. Therefore $\varphi (x)\in \sigma (x)$. The Neumann series bound $\sigma (x)\subseteq \{z:|z|\le \Vert x\Vert \}$ givesproving automatic continuity of characters. In particular every algebra character belongs to the closed unit ball of $A^{\ast }$; no prior continuity was needed.

The character space of an algebra is ${\Phi }_A$, the set of all algebra characters. Its Gelfand topology is the weakest topology making every evaluation $\varphi \mapsto \varphi (x)$ continuous, equivalently the weak-star topology inherited from $A^{\ast }$. Within the weak-star compact ball $B_{A^{\ast }}$, it is the closed set specified byThese equations are closed conditions on finitely many evaluations at a time. By the Banach-Alaoglu theorem, ${\Phi }_A$ is compact, and it is Hausdorff because distinct characters differ on an evaluation.

To obtain every spectral value from a algebra character, take $\lambda \in \sigma (x)$. Commutativity makes the ideal $(x-\lambda 1)A$ proper, so it is contained in an algebraic maximal ideal $\mathfrak{m}$. Every such maximal ideal is norm closed: its closure is an ideal, and cannot be all of $A$, because an element of $\mathfrak{m}$ sufficiently close to $1$ would be invertible by the Neumann series. Maximality then makes its closure equal to itself.

The quotient $A/\mathfrak{m}$ is a complex Banach division algebra, hence is $\mathbb{C}$ by the Gelfand-Mazur theorem. Composing the quotient map with this scalar identification gives a algebra character with $\varphi (x)=\lambda$. Together with the first inclusion,The same maximal-ideal argument shows that the algebra character space of a nonzero algebra is nonempty.

Now suppose $A$ is a commutative C-star algebra. All its elements are normal. The C-star identity givessince the self-adjoint element $h=x^{\ast }x$ satisfies $\Vert h^2\Vert =\Vert h{\Vert }^2$. Iterating yields $\Vert x^{2^n}\Vert =\Vert x{\Vert }^{2^n}$. The spectral radius formula along this subsequence provesThis is spectral radius norm equality for normal elements, applied to the commutative case.

For a self-adjoint $h$, the element $v_t=\exp (ith)$ is unitary for every real $t$, so $\Vert v_t\Vert =1$. Algebra character continuity and multiplicativity giveIts modulus is $\exp (-t\mathrm{Im}\varphi (h))$, forcing $\varphi (h)\in \mathbb{R}$. Write $x=h+ik$ with $h,k$ self-adjoint. ThenThis proves that characters of a C-star algebra respect the involution. The conjugation bar is present in the original PDF and must be retained; the TeX aid omits it.

The Commutative Gelfand--Naimark theorem states that a complex commutative unital C-star algebra is isometrically star-isomorphic to $C(K)$ for a compact Hausdorff space, canonically $K={\Phi }_A$. Its Gelfand transform isIt is a unital algebra homomorphism; the conjugation identity just proved makes it preserve the involution. The algebra character description of the spectrum and the spectral-radius equality giveThus it is injective and isometric, and its range is closed because $A$ is complete. The range contains constants, is closed under complex conjugation, and separates points of ${\Phi }_A$: two distinct algebra characters differ on some element of $A$.

The complex Stone-Weierstrass theorem says that a self-adjoint unital subalgebra of $C(K)$ separating points is uniformly dense. For completeness, its familiar lattice argument explains the last step. The real part of its uniform closure is closed under absolute value, by polynomial approximation of $|t|$ on bounded real intervals, and hence under finite maxima and minima. Constants and point separation permit a real function matching any given real continuous $g$ at any chosen pair of points. Fixing the first point, take a maximum of finitely many such functions to obtain a function above $g-\epsilon$ everywhere and equal to $g$ at that first point. It is below $g+\epsilon$ in a neighborhood of that point. A finite cover by these neighborhoods and the minimum of their associated functions then lies between $g-\epsilon$ and $g+\epsilon$ everywhere. Real and imaginary parts give density for complex functions.

Apply this to $\mathcal{G}(A)$. Its range is both dense and closed, so it is all of $C({\Phi }_A)$. ThereforeThis proves the commutative theorem in the setting of the question. For the zero algebra the corresponding compact space is empty and the representation is $C(\varnothing )=\{0\}$.

Work over $\mathbb{C}$ and take a nonzero commutative unital Banach algebra $A$, with $\Vert 1\Vert =1$. A character of an algebra is a nonzero multiplicative complex linear functional $\chi :A\to \mathbb{C}$. It satisfies $\chi (1)=1$. Moreover $\chi (a)\in {\sigma }_A(a)$: otherwise $a-\chi (a)1$ would be invertible, although its image under $\chi$ is zero. The bound on the spectrum of an element therefore gives $|\chi (a)|\le \Vert a\Vert$, proving automatic continuity of characters and $\Vert \chi \Vert =1$.

Every proper maximal ideal $M$ of $A$ is closed. Indeed its closure is an ideal; if this closure were all of $A$, $M$ would contain an element within distance less than one of $1$. Such an element is invertible by the Neumann series, forcing $1\in M$. Thus the closure is proper and maximality makes it equal to $M$. The quotient Banach space $A/M$, with its quotient Banach algebra structure, is a complex normed division algebra. By the Gelfand-Mazur theorem, it is $\mathbb{C}$, so the quotient map gives a character of an algebra with kernel $M$. Conversely, the kernel of every character of an algebra is a maximal ideal, since the character is onto $\mathbb{C}$. The Zorn lemma supplies a maximal ideal containing every proper ideal, so the character space of an algebra $\Delta (A)$ is nonempty.

These facts give the exact relation between the character space and the spectrum of an element:One inclusion was proved above. For the other, if $a-\lambda 1$ is noninvertible, the principal ideal it generates is proper because $A$ is commutative. Contain it in a maximal ideal and use its corresponding character of an algebra to obtain $\chi (a)=\lambda$.

Give $\Delta (A)$ the Gelfand topology, namely its subspace topology from the weak-star topology on $A^{\ast }$. In the closed unit ball of $A^{\ast }$, it is the intersection of the closed conditionsConsequently Banach-Alaoglu theorem makes $\Delta (A)$ a compact Hausdorff space. For every $a\in A$, define the Gelfand transform $\hat{a}(\chi )=\chi (a)$. This is a continuous function on $\Delta (A)$ by definition of the Gelfand topology. The Gelfand representation theorem gives a contractive unital algebra homomorphism over a fieldMultiplicativity and linearity follow by evaluating at each character of an algebra; the supremum norm equality follows from the preceding spectrum of an element identity. Its kernel isthe Jacobson radical. Equivalently, its elements have spectrum of an element $\{0\}$. Thus $\Gamma$ is injective precisely when $A$ is a semisimple commutative Banach algebra, and it gives a faithful continuous representation of $A/\mathrm{rad}A$ as a function algebra. Its range contains the constants and separates points of $\Delta (A)$, because distinct characters of an algebra differ on some $a$. An arbitrary Banach algebra need not have an isometric or surjective Gelfand transform, nor a uniformly dense range: those conclusions require further hypotheses.

For the Banach algebra $C(K)$ on a nonempty compact Hausdorff space $K$, all characters of an algebra are evaluation characters. To see this, let $M$ be a maximal ideal. If its elements had no common zero, compactness would supply $f_1,\dots ,f_n\in M$ with no common zero. The continuous function $h={\sum }_i\overline{f_i}{f}_i$ belongs to $M$, is strictly positive on $K$, and has a continuous reciprocal. It is therefore invertible, a contradiction. Hence all elements of $M$ vanish at some $x\in K$, so $M\subseteq \ker {\delta }_x$ and maximality gives equality. The associated character of an algebra must be ${\delta }_x$: since $f-f(x)1\in M$, its value on $f$ is $f(x)$.

The map $x\mapsto {\delta }_x$ is a continuous bijection $K\to \Delta (C(K))$, using separation of points by continuous functions. Compactness and the Hausdorff property make it a homeomorphism. Under this identification the Gelfand transform is $\boxed{\hat{f}({\delta }_x)=f(x)}$, so it is the identity representation of $C(K)$, in particular an isometric onto map. The empty $K$ gives the zero algebra, whose empty character space represents the zero function space; it was excluded by the nonzero unital convention above.

Now let $A$ be a commutative unital C-star algebra. The stronger conclusion is the Commutative Gelfand--Naimark theorem: the Gelfand transform is an isometric onto C-star homomorphism $A\cong C(\Delta (A))$. We prove the additional assertions without assuming this conclusion.

First every character of an algebra respects the C-star algebra involution. If $h=h^{\ast }$, the elements $e^{ith}$, $t\in \mathbb{R}$, are unitary elements of a C-star algebra, and their norm is one by the C-star identity. Continuity and multiplicativity give $\chi (e^{ith})=e^{it\chi (h)}$. Thus $|e^{it\chi (h)}|\le 1$ for every real $t$, forcing $\chi (h)$ to be real. Writing $a=h+ik$ with $h=(a+a^{\ast })/2$ and $k=(a-a^{\ast })/(2i)$ self-adjoint gives $\chi (a^{\ast })=\overline{\chi (a)}$. Therefore the range of $\Gamma$ is closed under complex conjugation.

Every element of commutative $A$ is a Normal element of a C-star algebra. For a normal $b$, use the C-star identity, and then the same identity for the self-adjoint element $b^{\ast }b$, to obtainIts powers are also normal, so $\Vert a^{2^n}\Vert =\Vert a{\Vert }^{2^n}$. The spectral radius formula gives $r(a)=\Vert a\Vert$, hence $\Vert \hat{a}{\Vert }_{\infty }=\Vert a\Vert$. The Gelfand transform is therefore an isometry, and its range is complete and closed in the supremum norm. It contains constants, separates points and is closed under complex conjugation. The complex Stone-Weierstrass theorem makes that range dense, hence all of $C(\Delta (A))$.

The approximation step in Stone-Weierstrass theorem can also be seen directly here. For a unital conjugation-closed point-separating subalgebra $B\subseteq C(K)$, the real-valued part of its uniform closure is closed under absolute values, by polynomial approximation to $|t|$ on bounded intervals, hence under pointwise maxima and minima. Its real-valued functions separate points. Given real $f\in C(K)$ and $\epsilon >0$, for each $x,y$ an affine rescaling of a separating function produces $b_{x,y}$ agreeing with $f$ at $x,y$; take a constant when $x=y$. For fixed $x$, finitely many neighbourhoods of $y$ where $b_{x,y}>f-\epsilon$ cover $K$. Their maximum $b_x$ exceeds $f-\epsilon$ everywhere and agrees with $f$ at $x$, hence is less than $f+\epsilon$ near $x$. Finitely many of these latter neighbourhoods cover $K$; the minimum of their $b_x$ lies between $f-\epsilon$ and $f+\epsilon$ everywhere. Approximate real and imaginary parts separately. This proves the density used above and completes the C-star algebra conclusion.

A character of an algebra is a nonzero complex-linear multiplicative map $\phi :A\to \mathbb{C}$. The character space of an algebra ${\Phi }_A$ carries the Gelfand topology, namely pointwise convergence on $A$, equivalently the subspace weak-star topology in $A^{\ast }$.

For a unital complex Banach algebra, $\phi (1)=1$: multiplicativity and nonzeroness force this. If $a-\phi (a)1$ were invertible, applying $\phi$ to its product with its inverse would give $0=1$. Thus $\phi (a)\in {\sigma }_A(a)$. The Neumann series shows ${\sigma }_A(a)\subset \{|z|\le \Vert a\Vert \}$, so $|\phi (a)|\le \Vert a\Vert$ and the character of an algebra is automatically bounded. The same conclusion for a nonunital algebra follows by extending $\phi$ to its unitization of an algebra via $\tilde{\phi }(a,t)=\phi (a)+t$ and using the standard norm $\Vert (a,t)\Vert =\Vert a\Vert +|t|$.

In the algebra $R(K)$ let $u(z)=z$ and fix $\phi \in {\Phi }_{R(K)}$. Write $\lambda =\phi (u)$. If $\lambda \notin K$, the rational function $(u-\lambda {)}^{-1}$ belongs to $R(K)$, which is impossible because a character of an algebra cannot vanish on an invertible element. Thus $\lambda \in K$. For a rational function $r=p/q$ without poles in $K$, choose a reduced denominator having no zeros in $K$. Multiplicativity gives $\phi (r)=p(\lambda )/q(\lambda )=r(\lambda )$. Density of these rational functions and boundedness of $\phi$ then yield $\phi (h)=h(\lambda )$ for every $h\in R(K)$.

Conversely, evaluation at each $\lambda \in K$ is a character of an algebra. The map $\lambda \mapsto {\delta }_{\lambda }$ is continuous in the Gelfand topology because every $h\in R(K)$ is continuous; its inverse is $\phi \mapsto \phi (u)$, also continuous. Hence the character space of R(K) isThe identification includes the topology, not merely a bijection of sets.