Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 November 2018
In this note we consider the possibility of unisolvence of a family of real continuous functions on a compact subset X of m-dimensional Euclidean space. Such a study is of interest for two reasons. First, an elegant theory of Chebyshev approximation has been constructed for the case where the approximating family is unisolvent of degree n on an interval [α, β]. We study what sort of theory results from unisolvence of degree n on a more general space. Secondly, uniqueness of best Chebyshev approximation on a general compact space to any continuous function on X can be shown if the approximating family is unisolvent of degree n and satisfies certain convexity conditions. It is therefore of importance to Chebyshev approximation to consider the domains X on which unisolvence can occur. We will also study a more general condition on involving a variable degree.