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A character of an algebra is a nonzero multiplicative complex-linear functional $\phi :A\to \mathbb{C}$, and the character space of an algebra is the set ${\Phi }_A$ of all such characters. Since $A$ is unital, $\phi (1)=1$. Moreover $\phi (a)\in {\sigma }_A(a)$: otherwise $a-\phi (a)1$ would be invertible, while applying $\phi$ to its inverse identity would give $0=1$. The spectral radius estimate therefore yieldsThus every character is continuous and has norm one.

Let $M$ be a maximal ideal. Its norm closure is again an ideal. It cannot equal $A$, because then some $m\in M$ would satisfy $\Vert 1-m\Vert <1$, making $m$ invertible by the Neumann series and forcing $M=A$. Hence $M$ is closed. The quotient $A/M$ is a complex unital Banach division algebra, so the Gelfand-Mazur theorem identifies it with $\mathbb{C}$. Composing the quotient map with this isomorphism gives a character with kernel $M$. Conversely, a character kernel is maximal because its quotient is $\mathbb{C}$.

Now $\lambda \in {\sigma }_A(x)$ exactly when $x-\lambda 1$ is not invertible, equivalently when it lies in some maximal ideal. The preceding result turns that ideal into $\ker \phi$, giving $\phi (x)=\lambda$. The reverse implication follows from the first paragraph, so

The Gelfand topology is the weak-star topology on ${\Phi }_A\subseteq A^{\ast }$. The Gelfand transform isIts values are continuous by the definition of the topology, and multiplicativity and linearity of characters show that it is a unital algebra homomorphism. Finallyso it is continuous.

Solved by gpt-5.6-sol high.

For a closed unital subalgebra $A\subseteq B$ containing $x$, invertibility in $A$ implies invertibility in $B$, so ${\sigma }_B(x)\subseteq {\sigma }_A(x)$. On a connected component of the resolvent set of $x$ in $B$, the set of $\lambda$ for which $(x-\lambda 1{)}^{-1}\in A$ is both open, by a local Neumann series, and closed, by closedness of $A$. It contains all sufficiently large $\lambda$, hence the entire unbounded component. Thus spectrum in a closed unital subalgebra says that ${\sigma }_A(x)$ is ${\sigma }_B(x)$ with some bounded complementary components filled in.

Now let $A$ be the Banach subalgebra generated by one element $x$ and put $K={\sigma }_A(x)$. If $D$ were a bounded component of $\mathbb{C}\setminus K$, choose $\lambda \in D$. Since $(x-\lambda 1{)}^{-1}\in A$, polynomials $p_n(x)$ converge to it. The polynomialssatisfy $q_n(\lambda )=0$ and $q_n(x)\to 1$. Applying the contractive Gelfand transform gives $q_n\to 1$ uniformly on $K$, hence on $\partial D$. But the maximum modulus principle applied to $1-q_n$ givesa contradiction. Therefore $\mathbb{C}\setminus K$ is connected.

The mapis continuous and surjective by part a. It is injective because characters agreeing on $x$ agree on every polynomial in $x$, hence by continuity on their norm closure $A$. The character space is compact by the Banach-Alaoglu theorem, while $K$ is Hausdorff, so this continuous bijection is a homeomorphism.

Under this identification, the Gelfand transform $\theta :A\to C(K)$ obeysby the calculation in part b. Since $f(x)\in A$, choose polynomials $p_n$ with $p_n(x)\to f(x)$. Contractivity of $\theta$ givesThus every function holomorphic near $K$ is uniformly approximable there by polynomials.

Solved by gpt-5.6-sol high.