A note on commutative and noncommutative Gurariĭ spaces (Q2071776)

Let \(\mathbb{G}\) and \(\mathbb{N}\mathbb{G}\) be the Gurariy space and the non-commutative Gurariy space, respectively. In Section~2 it is shown that if a Banach space is almost isometric to some Gurariy space, then it is a Gurariy space itself (Thm.~2.2). Thus, since \(\mathbb{G}\) is unique up to isometry, if \(X\) is almost isometric to \(\mathbb{G}\), \(X\) is isometric to \(\mathbb{G}\) (Cor.~2.3). In Section~3 a corresponding result to Cor.~2.3 is found: If an operator space is at completely bounded Banach-Mazur distance~$1$ from \(\mathbb{N}\mathbb{G}\), then it is completely isometrically isomorphic to \(\mathbb{N}\mathbb{G}\) (Thm.~3.2). It is known from [\textit{T.~A. Abrahamsen} et al., Glasg. Math. J. 56, No.~2, 395--407 (2014; Zbl 1303.46012)] that a Banach space \(X\) is a Gurariy space if and only if it sits as an almost isometric ideal in every superspace \(Z\). The main result in Section~4 is that we may assume \(X\) has co-dimension 1 in \(Z\) in the ``if part'' above (Prop.~4.2). Section~5 contains some considerations concerning M-structure and Gurariy spaces culminating with the following problem: Must a non-separable M-ideal in a Gurariy space be Gurariy (as it is for separable M-ideals)?