Asymptotic geometry and Delta-points (Q2169903)

Let \(X\) be a Banach space. A point \(x\in S_X\) is said to be: \begin{itemize} \item[1.] a \textit{Daugavet point} if, for every slice \(S\) of \(B_X\) and every \(\varepsilon>0\), there exists \(y\in S\) such that \(\Vert x-y\Vert>2-\varepsilon\), \item[2.] a \textit{\(\Delta\)-point} if, for every slice \(S\) of \(B_X\) containing $x$ and every \(\varepsilon>0\), there exists \(y\in S\) such that \(\Vert x-y\Vert>2-\varepsilon\). \end{itemize} The above notions were introduced in [\textit{T. A. Abrahamsen} et al., Proc. Edinb. Math. Soc., II. Ser. 63, No. 2, 475--496 (2020; Zbl 1445.46009)], as a localization of the Daugavet property and the diametral local diameter two property, which are in the extreme opposite to other well-known properties of Banach spaces like reflexivity or, more generally, the Radon-Nikodym property. In this sense, a natural question is how close to being finite-dimensional a Banach space can be if it contains Daugavet points or \(\Delta\)-points, and this is the main aim of this nice paper under review. The main results of the paper state that asymptotically smooth Banach spaces and reflexive and asymptotically uniformly convex Banach spaces cannot contain any \(\Delta\)-points. Moreover, the authors prove that the James tree space \(JT\) as well as its predual fail to contain \(\Delta\)-points. Probably the main question derived from the paper is whether or not there are superreflexive Banach spaces containing \(\Delta\)-points. The paper ends with interesting comments on it.