EN
Given 𝕊 ⊂ ℕ, let 𝕊̂ be the set of all positive integers m for which $h^{m}$ is hermitian whenever h is an element of a complex unital Banach algebra A with hⁿ hermitian for each n ∈ 𝕊. We attempt to characterize when (i) 𝕊̂ = ℕ, or (ii) 𝕊̂ = 𝕊. A key tool is a Müntz-type theorem which gives remarkable conclusions when 1 ∈ 𝕊 and ∑ {1/n: n ∈ 𝕊} diverges. The set 𝕊̂ is determined by a single extremal Banach algebra Ea(𝕊). We describe this extremal algebra for various 𝕊.