Let $\mathscr{ H}^2$ denote the Hilbert space of Dirichlet series with square-summable coefficients. We study composition operators $\mathscr{ C}_\varphi$ on $\mathscr{ H}^2$ which are generated by symbols of the form $\varphi(s) = c_0s + \sum_{ n\geq1} c_n n^{ -s}$, in the case that $c_0 \geq 1$. If only a subset $\mathbb{ P}$ of prime numbers features in the Dirichlet series of $\varphi$, then the operator $\mathscr{ C}_\varphi$ admits an associated orthogonal decomposition. Under sparseness assumptions on $\mathbb{ P}$ we use this to asymptotically estimate the approximation numbers of $\mathscr{ C}_\varphi$. Furthermore, in the case that $\varphi$ is supported on a single prime number, we affirmatively settle the problem of describing the compactness of $\mathscr{ C}_\varphi$ in terms of the ordinary Nevanlinna counting function. We give detailed applications of our results to affine symbols and to angle maps.
Categories: math.FA