Some remarks on the weak maximizing property (Q2050897)

A pair \((E,F)\) of Banach spaces is said to have the {\em weak maximizing property} (wmp) if for every bounded linear operator \(T:E \to F\), \(T\) attains its norm whenever there is a non-weakly null sequence \((x_n)\) of norm one vectors such that \(\| T(x_n)\| \to \|T\|\). The idea for this property comes from a paper by \textit{D.~Pellegrino} and \textit{E.~V. Teixeira} [Bull. Braz. Math. Soc. (N.S.) 40, No.~3, 417--431 (2009; Zbl 1205.47012)], and it was recently adapted by \textit{R.~M. Aron} et al. [Proc. Am. Math. Soc. 148, No.~2, 741--750 (2020; Zbl 1442.46007)]. The latter paper contained several open questions, a number of which are addressed here. For instance, although it was known that the pair \((\ell_p,\ell_q)\) has the wmp (\(1 < p < \infty$, $1 \leq q < \infty\)), it was unknown whether a similar property holds for \((L_p[0,1],L_q[0,1])\). The authors show that, in fact, wmp fails for \(p > 2\) or \(q < 2\). Among others, this result is a consequence of the authors' main result. Theorem. Let \(E, F, X\), and \(Y\) be non-trivial Banach spaces such that not every bounded linear operator \(E \to F\) attains its norm. Then (i) whenever \(1 \leq q < p < \infty\), the pair \((E \oplus_p X, F \oplus_q Y)\) fails the wmp, and (ii) \((E \oplus_\infty X, F)\) fails the wmp. On the other hand, \((\ell_s \oplus_p \ell_p, \ell_s \oplus_q \ell_q)\) has the wmp if and only if \(1 < p \leq s \leq q < \infty\). A number of interesting questions remain, such as: If \(E\) is a reflexive Banach space such that \((E,F)\) has the wmp for every \(F\), does it follow that \(E\) is finite dimensional? Also, the following is known: if the pair \((E, F)\) has the wmp, then an operator \(T +K\) attains its norm whenever a bounded linear operator \(T:E \to F\) and a compact operator \(K:E \to F\) satisfy \(\|T\| < \|T + K\|\). On the other hand, the authors note that the following converse is open: Let \(E\) and \(F\) be reflexive. Suppose that whenever \(T:E \to F\) (resp., \(K:E \to F\)) is a bounded (resp., compact) linear operator such that if \(\|T\| < \|T + K\|\), then necessarily \(T + K\) attains its norm. Does it follow that the pair \((E,F)\) has the wmp?