A quantitative version of the Bishop-Phelps theorem for operators in Hilbert spaces (Q1928137)

The well-known Bishop-Phelps theorem asserts that the norm-attaining linear functionals on a Banach space \(X\) are dense in the dual space \(X^*\); see [\textit{E. Bishop} and \textit{R. R. Phelps}, Bull. Am. Math. Soc. 67, 97--98 (1961; Zbl 0098.07905)]. This result has been generalized in several different directions, some of which are briefly discussed in the introduction to the article under review. We mention the deep result of Lindenstrauss which tells us that, if \(X\) is reflexive and \(Y\) is an arbitrary Banach space, then the set \(NA(X,Y)\) of norm attaining operators from \(X\) to \(Y\) is dense in the space \(B(X,Y)\) of bounded operators. The search for a quantitative version of the Bishop-Phelps theorem was obtained by \textit{B. Bollobás} [Bull. Lond. Math. Soc. 2, 181--182 (1970; Zbl 0217.45104)], which inspired \textit{M. D. Acosta}, \textit{R. M. Aron}, \textit{D. García} and \textit{M. Maestre} to introduce the Bishop-Phelps-Bollobás property (BPBP) [J. Funct. Anal. 254, No. 11, 2780--2799 (2008; Zbl 1152.46006)]. For two Banach spaces \(X,Y\), the pair \((X,Y)\) has the BPBP provided that, for each \(\epsilon > 0\), there exist \(\beta(\epsilon) > 0\) and \(\gamma(\epsilon)>0\) with \(\lim_{\epsilon\to 0^+} \beta(\epsilon) = 0\) such that, for every operator \(T \in B(X,Y)\) of norm one and every unit vector \(x_0 \in X\) with \(\| T(x_0)\| > 1 - \gamma(\epsilon)\), there exist a unit vector \(x_{\epsilon} \in X\) and an operator \(S \in B(X,Y)\) of norm one such that \(\| Sx_{\epsilon}\| = 1\), \(\| x_{\epsilon} - x\| < \beta(\epsilon)\), and \(\|T - S\| < \epsilon\). The main result of the present article is a demonstration that the pair \((H,H)\) has the BPBP for any complex Hilbert space \(H\). To be more specific, the authors show that, if \(0 < \epsilon < \frac{1}{2}\), then for every \(T \in B(H)\) and \(x_0 \in H\) with \(\|T\|=1 = \|x_0\|\) such that \(\|Tx_0\| > 1 - \epsilon\), there exist \(x_{\epsilon} \in H\) and \(S \in B(H)\) with \(\|S\| = 1 = \|x_{\epsilon}\|\) such that \(\|Sx_{\epsilon}\|=1\), \[ \| x_{\epsilon} - x\| \leq \sqrt{2\epsilon} + \sqrt[4]{2 \epsilon}, \] and \(\|S - T\| \leq \sqrt{2 \epsilon}\). The proof relies upon the polar decomposition to reduce the discussion to the case of normal operators, which are dealt with using spectral integrals.