A geometric function determined by extreme points of the unit ball of a normed space (Q1113423)

Let X be a normed space and B(X) be its unit ball. X is said to have the \(\lambda\)-property if for \(x\in B(X)\) there are \(e\in ext B(X)\), \(y\in B(X)\) and \(0<\lambda \leq 1\) such that \(x=\lambda e+(1-\lambda)y\). \(\lambda\) (x) is the supremum of all such \(\lambda\) for \(x\in B(X)\). Under some conditions on X it is shown that \(C_ X(T)\), \(C_ X[0,1]\), \(\ell_ 1(X)\) and \(\ell_{\infty}(X)\) have the \(\lambda\)-property and \(\lambda\) (x) is calculated in these cases. Some spaces, e.g., C[0,1] and its dual, fail to have the \(\lambda\)-property. Continuity properties of \(\lambda\) (x) are discussed and some applications are given. The paper concludes with several open problems concerning the \(\lambda\)-property and the related function \(\lambda\) (x).