An improvement of Montel’s criterion

Let F be a family of holomorphic functions in a domain D, and let a(z), b(z) be two holomorphic functions in D such that a(z) ≡ b(z), and a(z) ≡ a (z) or b(z) ≡ b (z). In this paper, we prove that: if, for each f ∈ F, f (z) − a(z) and f (z) − b(z) have no common zeros, f (z) = a(z) whenever f (z) = a(z), and f (z) = b(z) whenever f (z) = b(z) in D, then F is normal in D. This result improves and generalizes the classical Montel’s normality criterion, and the related results of Pang, Fang and the first author. Some examples are given to show the sharpness of our result. © 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved