Quotient volumique et espaces de Banach de type 2 faible. (Volume quotient and weak type 2 Banach spaces) (Q1105145)

In [Isr. Math. 54, 139-158 (1986; Zbl 0611.46022)] \textit{V. Milman} and \textit{G. Pisier} have introduced weak cotype 2 Banach spaces. These are Banach spaces X for which certain inequalities concerning the approximation numbers of operators from finite dimensional Hilbert spaces to X hold uniformly. They can be characterized by the fact that the volume ratio vr(E) is uniformly bounded for the finite dimensional subspaces E of X; here vr(E) means, for n-dimensional spaces E, the nth root of \(vol(B_ E)/vol(V)\), where \(vol(B_ E)\) and vol(V) are the volume of the unit ball \(B_ E\) and the maximal ellipsoid contained in \(B_ E\), respectively. Banach spaces X of weak type 2 are defined in a way which is in a sense dual: this time the operators from X to finite dimensional Hilbert spaces are of interest. The main result of the paper under review is a characterization by volume quotients: a space X has weak type 2 if the volume ratios of finite dimensional quotients of \(X^*\) are uniformly bounded. It is also shown how this theorem can be used to derive new characterizations of weak cotype 2 Banach spaces, this time by growth conditions for the entropy numbers of operators into finite dimensional Hilbert spaces. The interested reader should also consult \textit{G. Pisier}'s recent paper in [Proc. Lond. Math. Soc., III. Ser. 56, No.3, 547-579 (1988)].