The Whitney problem of existence of a linear extension operator (Q1298367)

Let \(X\) be a closed subset of \(\mathbb{R}^n\). This article investigates the existence of a continuous right inverse for the restriction map \(f\mapsto f|_X\) acting on various spaces of functions in \(\mathbb{R}^n\), namely spaces \(C^k_u(\mathbb{R}^n)\) of \(C^k\) functions with bounded and uniformly continuous derivatives of order \(k\), spaces \(C^{k,\omega} (\mathbb{R}^n)\) of \(C^k\) functions whose derivatives of order \(k\) have a given modulus of continuity \(\omega\), and spaces \(\Lambda^k_\omega (\mathbb{R}^n)\) defined by a suitable growth condition on \(k\)-differences \(\Delta^k_hf\). In the framework of \(C^{k,\omega}\) spaces, and in the special case \(n=1\), a slight modification of a classical result of \textit{H. Whitney} [Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 36, 369-387 (1934; Zbl 0009.20803] shows that such an operator always exists; moreover, it does not depend on \(\omega\). As a corollary, there is a linear continuous extension operator \({\mathcal C}^k_u (\mathbb{R}) |_X\to {\mathcal C}_u^k (\mathbb{R})\). In the present paper, the authors study the higher-dimensional case, which is much more complicated. They construct an example of closed set \(X\subset \mathbb{R}^2\) for which there is no linear continuous extension operator \({\mathcal C}^1_u (\mathbb{R}^2)|_X \to {\mathcal C}^1_u (\mathbb{R}^2)\). Thus, there is no extension operator acting an all spaces \({\mathcal C}^{1, \omega}\) independently of \(\omega\). Nevertheless, the main theorem of the article states that for every given \(\omega\), one can find a linear continuous extension operator \({\mathcal C}^{1, \omega} (\mathbb{R}^n)|_X \to{\mathcal C}^{1, \omega}(\mathbb{R}^n)\), depending on \(\omega\). A similar result holds for \(\Lambda^2_\omega\). The proof reduces the extension problem to the choice of a Lipschitz selection of certain set-valued maps between a suitable metric space and the set of convex subsets of \(\mathbb{R}^n\). The results have been announced in [Dokl. Akad. Nauk SSSR 280, 268-272 (1985; Zbl 0597.46027) and Int. Math. Res. Not. 1994, 129-139 (1994; Zbl 0845.57022)].