English

Zolotarev's fifth and sixth problems

Classical Analysis and ODEs 2020-11-24 v1 Numerical Analysis Complex Variables Numerical Analysis

Abstract

In an influential 1877 paper, Zolotarev asked and answered four questions about polynomial and rational approximation. We ask and answer two questions: what are the best rational approximants rr and ss to z\sqrt{z} and \mboxsign(z)\mbox{sign}(z) on the unit circle (excluding certain arcs near the discontinuities), with the property that r(z)=s(z)=1|r(z)|=|s(z)|=1 for z=1|z|=1? We show that the solutions to these problems are related to Zolotarev's third and fourth problems in a nontrivial manner.

Cite

@article{arxiv.2011.10877,
  title  = {Zolotarev's fifth and sixth problems},
  author = {Evan S. Gawlik and Yuji Nakatsukasa},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2011.10877},
  year   = {2020}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-23T20:25:02.056Z