Alternating Chebyshev approximation

Abstract

An approximating family is called alternating if a best Chebyshev approximation is characterized by its error curve having a certain number of alternations. The convergence properties of such families are studied. A sufficient condition for the limit of best approximation on subsets to converge uniformly to the best approximation is given: it is shown that this is often (but not always) a necessary condition. A sufficient condition for the Chebyshev operator to be continuous is given: it is shown that this is often (but not always) a necessary condition.