Kernel decompositions for Schur functions on the polydisk

Abstract

A certain kernel (sometimes called the Pick kernel) associated to Schur functions on the disk is always positive semi-definite. A generalization of this fact is well-known for Schur functions on the polydisk. In this article, we show that the Pick kernel on the polydisk has a great deal of structure beyond being positive semi-definite. It can always be split into two kernels possessing certain shift invariance properties.