For given Boolean algebras $\mathbb {A}$ and $\mathbb {B}$ we endow the space $\mathcal {H}(\mathbb {A},\mathbb {B})$ of all Boolean homomorphisms from $\mathbb {A}$ to $\mathbb {B}$ with various topologies and study convergence properties of sequences in $\mathcal {H}(\mathbb {A},\mathbb {B})$ . We are in particular interested in the situation when $\mathbb {B}$ is a measure algebra as in this case we obtain a natural tool for studying topological convergence properties of sequences of ultrafilters on $\mathbb {A}$ in random extensions of the set-theoretical universe. This appears to have strong connections with Dow and Fremlin’s result stating that there are Efimov spaces in the random model. We also investigate relations between topologies on $\mathcal {H}(\mathbb {A},\mathbb {B})$ for a Boolean algebra $\mathbb {B}$ carrying a strictly positive measure and convergence properties of sequences of measures on $\mathbb {A}$ .

We provide complete characterisations for the compactness of weighted composition operators between two distinct $L^{p}$-spaces, where $1\leq p\leq \infty$. As a corollary, when the underlying measure space is nonatomic, the only compact weighted composition map between $L^{p}$-spaces is the zero operator.

We study sets on which measurable real-valued functions on a measurable space with negligibles are determined by their range.

We study the question of nonexistence of extremal functions for perturbations of some sharp inequalities such as those of Moser-Trudinger (1971) and Chang- Marshall (1985). We shall show that for each critically sharp (in a sense that will be precisely defined) inequality of the form

where is a collection of measurable functions on a finite measure space (I, μ) and O a nonnegative continuous function on [0, ∞), we have a continuous Ψ on [0, ∞) with 0 ≤ Ψ ≤ Φ, but with

not being attained even if the supremum in (1) is attained. We then apply our results to the Moser-Trudinger and Chang-Marshall inequalities. Our result is to be contrasted with the fact shown by Matheson and Pruss (1994) that if Ψ(t) = o(Φ(t) as t —> ∞ then the supremum in (2) is attained. In the present paper, we also give a converse to that fact.

A new construction of the Gaussian distribution is introduced and proven. The procedure consists of using fractal interpolating functions, with graphs having increasing fractal dimensions, to transform arbitrary continuous probability measures defined over a closed interval. Specifically, let X be any probability measure on the closed interval I with a continuous cumulative distribution. And let fΘ,D:I → R be a deterministic continuous fractal interpolating function, as introduced by Barnsley (1986), with parameters Θ and fractal dimension for its graph D. Then, the derived measure Y = fΘ,D(X) tends to a Gaussian for all parameters Θ such that D → 2, for all X. This result illustrates that plane-filling fractal interpolating functions are ‘intrinsically Gaussian'. It explains that close approximations to the Gaussian may be obtained transforming any continuous probability measure via a single nearly-plane filling fractal interpolator.

Some theorems on the existence of continuous real-valued functions on a topological space (for example, insertion, extension, and separation theorems) can be proved without involving uncountable unions of open sets. In particular, it is shown that well-known characterizations of normality (for example the Katětov-Tong insertion theorem, the Tietze extension theorem, Urysohn's lemma) are characterizations of normal σ-rings. Likewise, similar theorems about extremally disconnected spaces are true for σ-rings of a certain type. This σ-ring approach leads to general results on the existence of functions of class α.

Given a bivariate function defined on some subset of the Cartesian product of two sets, it is natural to ask when that function can be decomposed as the sum of two univariate functions. In particular, is a pointwise limit of such functions itself decomposable? At first glance this might seem obviously true but, as we show, the possibilities are quite subtle. We consider the question of existence and uniqueness of such decompositions for this case and for many generalizations to multivariate functions and to cases where the sets and functions have topological or measure theoretic structure.

Using Komlos' Theorem, a sequence decomposition result due to Gaposhkin, and two results due to Artstein, we prove a result concerning the properties of Komlos limits. We then show that a stronger version of Fatou's Lemma in several dimensions can be deduced from Artstein's version of the Lemma. The version of Fatou's Lemma proved here subsumes the most recent version of the Lemma in several dimensions given by Balder.

Recently, Balder proved a version of FatoiTs lemma in several dimensions which, inter alia, generalizes a version of this lemma due to Artstein. Here we show how the latter result can be used to derive the former, by using Chacon's biting lemma.