Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 November 2018
Let $K$ denote a compact real symmetric subset of $\mathbb{C}$ and let ${{A}_{\mathbb{R}}}\left( K \right)$ denote the real Banach algebra of all real symmetric continuous functions on $K$ that are analytic in the interior ${{K}^{\circ }}$ of $K$, endowed with the supremum norm. We characterize all unimodular pairs $\left( f,\,g \right)$ in ${{A}_{\mathbb{R}}}{{\left( K \right)}^{2}}$ which are reducible. In addition, for an arbitrary compact $K$ in $\mathbb{C}$, we give a new proof (not relying on Banach algebra theory or elementary stable rank techniques) of the fact that the Bass stable rank of $A\left( K \right)$ is 1. Finally, we also characterize all compact real symmetric sets $K$ such that ${{A}_{\mathbb{R}}}\left( K \right)$, respectively ${{C}_{\mathbb{R}}}\left( K \right)$, has Bass stable rank 1.