Some approximation properties of Banach spaces and Banach lattices (Q636030): Difference between revisions

This is a deep and inspiring paper on rather classical topics which isolates new important concepts and uses them to establish a number of most significant results. Let \(X\) be a Banach space and let \(Y\) be a closed subspace of \(X\). In Section 1, the authors introduce and study the notions of the bounded approximation property (BAP) and of the uniform approximation property (UAP) of the pair \((X,Y)\). Let \(\lambda\geq 1\). The pair \((X,Y)\) is said to have the \(\lambda\)-BAP if, for each \(\lambda'>\lambda\) and each subspace \(F\) of \(X\) with \(\dim F<\infty\), there is a finite-rank operator \(S:X\to X\) such that \(\|S\|<\lambda'\), \(Sx=x\) for all \(x\in F\) and \(S(Y)\subset Y\). If, moreover, for each \(\lambda'>\lambda\) there is a function \(n\mapsto\phi_{\lambda'}(n)\) for \(n\in{\mathbb{N}}\) such that, in addition, \(S\) can be chosen so that \(\dim S(X)<\phi_{\lambda'}(\dim F)\), then the pair \((X,Y)\) is said to have the \(\lambda\)-UAP. Clearly, \(X\) has the \(\lambda\)-BAP or the \(\lambda\)-UAP if and only if the pair \((X,X)\) has. A simple but important consequence of the definitions is that if \((X,Y)\) has the \(\lambda\)-BAP (resp., \(\lambda\)-UAP), then \(X,Y\) and the quotient space \(X/Y\) have the \(\lambda\)-BAP (resp., \(\lambda\)-UAP). It is proved that the dual space \(X^*\) has the \(\lambda\)-BAP if and only if, for every finite-codimensional subspace \(Y\) of \(X\), the pair \((X,Y)\) has the \(\lambda\)-BAP. Using this, the following lifting result is established: \(X^*\) has the 3\(\lambda\)-BAP whenever every finite-codimensional subspace \(Y\) of \(X\) has the \(\lambda\)-BAP. This, among others things, yields a new proof of the classical result of the first two authors [Proc. Am. Math. Soc. 41, 197--200 (1973; Zbl 0289.46015)] that the approximation property (AP) does not imply the BAP. This is also used to construct closed subspaces of the spaces \(c_0\) and \(\ell_1\) which have the AP but fail the BAP. Recall that for \(c_0\) the question was posed in [\textit{G. Godefroy}, Extr. Math. 16, No. 1, 1--25 (2001; Zbl 0986.46009)]. The main result of Section 2, whose proof relies on the results of Section 1, asserts that if \(X\) is an \({\mathcal{L}}_\infty\)-space and \(Y\) has the BAP (resp., \(Y\) has the UAP), then \(X/Y\) has the BAP (resp., \(X/Y\) has the UAP). By duality, the corresponding result for \(Y\) is deduced if \(X\) is an \({\mathcal{L}}_1\)-space. As a consequence of these results, it is proved that if \(X\) is an \({\mathcal{L}}_\infty\)-space (resp., \(X\) is an \({\mathcal{L}}_1\)-space) and \(Y\) is an \({\mathcal{L}}_p\)-space (resp., \(X/Y\) is an \({\mathcal{L}}_p\)-space), where \(1\leq p\leq\infty\), then \(X/Y\) has the UAP (resp., \(Y\) has the UAP). Section 3 deals with the separable complementation property (SCP) of Banach spaces and complemented subspaces of Banach lattices. Recall that a Banach space \(X\) has the SCP if every separable subspace \(Y\) of \(X\) is contained in a separable complemented subspace \(Z\) of \(X\). Here the main result is that a weakly sequentially complete Banach space which is isomorphic to a complemented subspace of a Banach lattice has the SCP. This improves the result of [\textit{N. Ghoussoub} and \textit{E. Saab}, Proc. Am. Math. Soc. 81, 81--84 (1981; Zbl 0475.46017)] that weakly sequentially complete Banach lattices have the SCP. Section 4 contains a thorough study of property \((k)\) with applications to the SCP. A Banach space \(X\) is said to have property \((k)\) provided that, for every sequence \((x^*_n)\subset X^*\) which weak* converges to 0, there exists a sequence \((y^*_m)\) of consecutive convex combinations of \((x^*_n)\) such that, for each bounded linear operator \(T:L_1[0,1]\to X\), \[ \lim_my^*_m(Tf_m)=0 \] for every sequence \((f_m)\) in \(L_1[0,1]\) which weakly converges to 0 such that \(\sup_m\| f_m\|_\infty<\infty\). One of the main results asserts that a separable subspace of a weakly sequentially complete Banach lattice has property \((k)\). This result relies on a lattice variant of the Davis--Figiel--Johnson--Pełczyński factorization theorem for weakly compact operators, also established in Section 4. Property \((k)\) is used in the study of those subspaces of weakly sequentially complete Banach lattices which are uncomplemented in their biduals, and to construct an example showing that the SCP may fail when passing to subspaces; this answers a question posed in [\textit{A. M. Plichko} and \textit{D. Yost}, J. Funct. Anal. 180, No. 2, 481--487 (2001; Zbl 0992.46014)]. In Section 5, results of Sections 2--4 are applied to study the space of Borel measures on a compact Abelian group orthogonal to an infinite Sidon set, and the Sobolev space of functions of bounded variation on an open subset of \({\mathbb{R}}^n\). Among other things, it is proved that both of these spaces fail the SCP, providing more examples of spaces with the SCP containing subspaces without the SCP. The final Section 6 presents a series of challenging open problems. For instance, does every complemented subspace of a Banach space with the SCP have the SCP?