Norm-attaining tensors and nuclear operators (Q2071298)

A bounded linear operator from a Banach space \(X\) to a Banach space \(Y\), \(T \in L(X,Y)\), attains its norm if there is a norm one element \(x_0\) in \(X\) such that \(\|T(x_0)\| = \|T\|\). The operator norm is defined by a supremum and \(T\) is norm-attaining if this supremum is actually attained. For both elements \(z\) of the projective tensor product \(X \hat{\otimes}_\pi Y\) of \(X\) and \(Y\) and nuclear operators \(T \in N(X,Y)\), the norm is defined by an infimum. It is therefore natural to do as the authors and say that \(z\) or \(T\) is norm-attaining if the appropriate infimum is attained. The nuclear norm in \(N(X,Y)\) is related to the norm in the projective tensor product \(X^* \hat{\otimes}_\pi Y\), and \(X^* \hat{\otimes}_\pi Y = N(X,Y)\) if \(X^*\) or \(Y\) has the approximation property. More concretely, every \(z \in X \hat{\otimes}_\pi Y\) has a representation \(z = \sum_{n=1}^\infty x_n \otimes y_n\) where \((x_n,y_n)\) is a bounded sequence in \(X \times Y\) with \(\sum_{n=1}^\infty \|x_n\|\|y_n\| < \infty\). If there exists such a representation with \(\|z\|_\pi = \sum_{n=1}^\infty \|x_n\|\|y_n\|\), then \(z\) is norm-attaining. If we normalize and write \(\lambda_n = \|x_n\|\|y_n\|\), then this means that \(z\) has a representation \[ z = \sum_{n=1}^\infty \lambda_n x_n \otimes y_n \] with \(\|x_n\| = \|y_n\| = 1\), \(\lambda_n \ge 0\), and \(\|z\|_\pi = \sum_{n=1}^\infty \lambda_n\). The authors show that \(z\) is norm-attaining if and only if there exists \(G \in L(X,Y^*) = (X \hat{\otimes}_\pi Y)^*\) with \(\|G\| = 1\) such that \(G(x_n)(y_n) = 1\) for all \(n\) if and only if every norm one \(G \in L(X,Y^*)\) such that \(\langle G, z \rangle = \|z\|_\pi\) satisfies \(G(x_n)(y_n) = 1\) for every \(n\). Similar statements hold for \(T\) in \(N(X,Y)\). It is shown that if \(X\) and \(Y\) are finite dimensional, then every element of \(X \hat{\otimes}_\pi Y\) is norm-attaining. If \(Y\) is any Banach space, then every \(T \in N(c_0,Y)\) attains its nuclear norm (equivalently, every element in \(\ell_1 \hat{\otimes}_\pi Y\) attains its projective norm). If \(H\) is a complex Hilbert space, then every nuclear operator \(T \in N(H,H)\) attains its nuclear norm. The problem of whether or not the class of elements which attain their norms in \(N(X,Y)\) and in \(X \hat{\otimes}_\pi Y\) is dense is also studied and several interesting examples are given. For example, there exist Banach spaces \(X\) and \(Y\) (both failing the approximation property) such that the set of norm-attaining tensors in \(X \hat{\otimes}_\pi Y\) is not dense. Connections and applications to the classical theory of norm-attaining operators are given throughout the paper.