Approximatively compact sets in asymmetric Efimov-Stechkin spaces and convexity of almost suns (Q2063686)

Let \((X,\|\cdot|)\) be an asymmetric normed space, i.e.,\(\|\cdot|\) satisfies all the axioms of a norm with positive homogeneity instead of absolute homogeneity (see [\textit{S. Cobzas}, Functional analysis in asymmetric normed spaces. Basel: Birkhauser (2013; Zbl 1266.46001)]). This means that it is possible that \(\|x|\ne\|-x|\) for some \(x\in X\). Then \(\|x|_{\mathrm{sym}}=\max\{\|x|,\|-x|\},\, x\in X\), is a norm on \(X\) called the symmetrization of \(\|\cdot|\). Throughout the paper one supposes that the asymmetric norm \(\|\cdot|\) is always symmetrizable (i.e., equivalent to \(\|\cdot|_{\mathrm{sym}}\)), so that the dual \(X^*\) is a linear subspace (in general it is merely a cone). The symmetrizable space \((X,\|\cdot|)\) is called reflexive if \((X,\|\cdot|_{\mathrm{sym}})\) is a reflexive Banach space. For a nonempty subset \(M\) of \(X\) and \(x\in X\) put \(\rho(x,M)=\inf\{\|y-x|: y\in M\}\) (the distance from \(x\) to \(M\)) and \(P_Mx= \{y\in M:\|y-x|=\rho(x,M)\}\) (the metric projection). If \(P_Mx\ne \emptyset,\) then \(x\) is called a point of existence. One says that \(x\) is a point of approximative compactness if every sequence \((y_n)\) in \(M\) s.t. \(\|y_n-x|\to\rho(x,M)\) contains a subsequence convergent to some point \(y\in M\). Obviously, a point of approximative compactness is a point of existence. The set of points \(x\in X\) of approximative compactness for \(M\) is denoted by \(AC(M)\). The set \(M\) is called approximatively compact if every \(x\in X\) is a point of approximative compactness, i.e., \(AC(M)=X\). A reflexive symmetrizable asymmetric normed space \((X,\|\cdot|)\) is called an asymmetric Efimov-Stechkin space if, for every \(x^*\in X^*\), the hyperplane \(\{x\in X: x^*(x)=c\}\) is approximatively compact. The main result of the paper (Theorem 1) asserts that a symmetrizable asymmetric normed space \((X,\|\cdot|)\) has the property that \(AC(M)\) is of second Baire category in \(X\) for every closed nonempty subset \(M\) of \(X\) if and only if \(X\) is an asymmetric Efimov-Stechkin space. This extends to the asymmetric setting some results of \textit{K.-S. Lau} [Indiana Univ. Math. J. 27, 791--795 (1978; Zbl 0398.41026)] and \textit{S. V. Konyagin} [Sov. Math., Dokl. 21, 418--422 (1980; Zbl 0458.41027); translation from Dokl. Akad. Nauk SSSR 251, 276--280 (1980)]. The last part of the paper contains a discussion on suns in asymmetric normed spaces (see [\textit{A. R. Alimov} and \textit{I. G. Tsar'kov}, Russ. Math. Surv. 71, No. 1, 1--77 (2016; Zbl 1350.41031); translation from Usp. Mat. Nauk 71, No. 1, 3--84 (2016)]). For instance, in a smooth asymmetric Efimov-Stechkin space every closed protosun is convex (Corollary 2).