For a compact circle set with normalized Lebesgue measure at most , where and , the displayed bounds can be realized by a trigonometric polynomial with spectrum in a positive-frequency interval arbitrarily far from zero. Take the logarithm of a positive-real-part Schwarz integral on the unit disk of a small-mean cutoff, truncate after radial dilation, and modulate its bounded imaginary part. A prefix isolates one analytic half and thus reveals the large real part. The separation between small function norm and large Fourier partial sums drives the Kahane-Katznelson divergence theorem.
Write for the symmetric Fourier partial sum, with normalized Fourier coefficients on . We will prove the stronger conclusion
If is empty, take . Otherwise the proof of the Kahane-Katznelson divergence theorem has three steps: a bounded trigonometric polynomial whose partial sum is large on short arcs, a finite-arc batching of an arbitrary null set, and a uniformly convergent sequence of separated frequency blocks. In particular, no assumption that is closed or compact is needed.
First consider a nonempty finite family of arcs with centers , half-lengths , and . On the closed unit disk define
Each summand has positive real part there, and . Thus the principal complex logarithm is holomorphic on a neighborhood of the closed disk, , and . To bound its real part on an arc, put with and . Then
After multiplication by the weight , this contribution is at least ; all the other contributions have positive real part. Throughout the arc union we therefore have
This is the positive-real logarithmic amplifier for short arcs. Since is holomorphic beyond the closed unit disk, its Taylor series converges uniformly there. Choose a polynomial with . There is no constant term because . Set and
where the integer may be chosen arbitrarily large. We have , and its frequencies lie in . At the cut , the positive-frequency half of is excluded and the negative-frequency half is included. Hence
on the arc union. In particular, for any , a total half-length gives there. This proves the needed compact-set Fourier amplification lemma, with the additional freedom to place its entire frequency block above any prescribed frequency.
Next we construct the null-set limsup cover by finite arc families. Set
Since has Lebesgue measure zero, for every row choose a countable arc cover of with positive half-lengths and . We can take closed arcs by slightly enlarging an open cover; their half-lengths are less than one. The whole two-index array has total half-length less than . Absolute convergence of this sum lets us choose strictly increasing integers such that the sum outside the finite square is less than . Put and let contain those arcs for which
Each family is finite. Its total half-length is less than : for use the total sum, and for use the tail outside the preceding square. Moreover, every belongs to arcs with unbounded row index, so belongs to the unions of infinitely many of the families . This batching is essential: a dense null set need not have a finite cover of small total length, whereas the infinitely-often finite covers above suffice.
Apply the amplification construction to with height , obtaining with and on that family's union. Choose the modulation integers successively so that the frequency intervals are positive and each lies strictly above the preceding one. Empty families may be represented by and an unused frequency interval. Define the frequency-separated Fourier block series
The bound gives absolute uniform convergence, so is continuous. Uniform convergence also justifies computing every Fourier coefficient term by term. At frequency , all earlier blocks have been included in full and all later blocks are absent:
For in the union of , the reverse triangle inequality gives
Every lies in infinitely many such unions, and . Therefore the boxed unboundedness holds at every point of , completing the proof for arbitrary null sets.
We prove the Kahane-Katznelson divergence theorem through an explicit small-norm block construction. Let be normalized Lebesgue measure on the circle.
First establish the compact-set Fourier amplification lemma. If a compact set satisfies
we can make a trigonometric polynomial with , supported in any sufficiently high interval of positive frequencies, whose partial prefix has magnitude greater than on .
To construct it, choose a smooth nonnegative function equal to one near , with values at most one and mean
Outer regularity and a smooth cutoff give this choice; the stipulated bound on leaves room between the two exponentials. The Schwarz integral on the unit disk
has positive real part in the disk, , and boundary real part . Its holomorphic logarithm
satisfies and . On , the boundary value has . Smoothness of makes continuous at the boundary, and its positive boundary real part near makes continuous there.
Choose a radius just below one, then truncate the Taylor series of at that radius. This gives an analytic polynomial with zero constant term, degree , and
The radial function is analytic beyond the closed unit disk, so the Taylor truncation is uniform on the whole circle. For , put
Its frequencies lie between and , all positive. Its prefix through frequency includes exactly the negative-frequency half of shifted into this interval:
Consequently on , whereas . Increasing places the entire block above any previously used frequency.
We next use compact batching of a small open set to handle an arbitrary null set, without assuming that it is compact or a countable union of compact null sets. Set
For each , choose an open with . Decompose into countably many closed subarcs with pairwise disjoint interiors: subdivide each open component into closed pieces accumulating only at its excluded endpoints. Group these subarcs into finite successive batches . After batch , include enough pieces that the remaining total length is less than . Require each batch endpoint in the enumeration to increase. Then
Each batch is compact; endpoints shared by pieces have zero measure and do not affect the estimates.
Enumerate the pairs in diagonal order. Apply the block lemma with target to each , and shift its spectrum above all preceding blocks. Denote the resulting polynomial by and set
Since , this series is uniformly convergent and defines a continuous complex-valued function.
Fix . For every there is a with . The difference between the Fourier partial sum just before that block and the sum at its midpoint has magnitude greater than : previous blocks cancel in the difference, and future blocks have not yet entered. As , these cutoffs tend to infinity. At least one of the two partial sums therefore has magnitude greater than . The Fourier partial sums are unbounded, hence not Cauchy, at . We have proved
This establishes divergence on every prescribed null set, including dense nonclosed null sets; it does not assert that the divergence set is exactly .