Polarization constant for the numerical radius (Q2199761)

Given a symmetric \(m\)-linear mapping \(A:X\times\dots\times X \to Y\) (\(X,Y\) are Banach spaces) and its associated \(m\)-homogeneous polynomial \(\widehat A: X\to Y\), the following polarization inequalities hold: \[\|\hat{A}\| \le \|A\| \le \frac{m^m}{m!} \|\hat{A}\|.\] For specific Banach spaces, the second inequality holds with constants \(C\) smaller than \(\frac{m^m}{m!}\). For example, for Hilbert spaces it holds with \(C=1\). The \(m\)th polarization constant of \(X\), denoted by \(N_m(X)\), is the infimum of the constants \(t\) for which \(\|A\| \le t \|\hat{A}\|\) for every \(m\)-linear operator \(A\) on \(X\times\dots\times X\) (this constant does not depend on the range \(Y\), as long as it is a nontrivial Banach space). In this interesting article, the authors introduce and investigate the \(m\)th polarization constant \(V_m(X)\) of a Banach space \(X\) for the numerical radius. In the same spirit as the \emph{classical} polarization constant, \(V_m(X)\) is the infimium of the constants \(t\) that bound the numerical radius of \(B:X\times\dots\times X \to X\) by \(t\) times the numerical radius of \(\hat B\). As important differences between the behaviour of the introduced polarization constant for the numerical radius and that of the norm, the authors show that \(V_m(X)\) is minimal if and only if \(X\) is strictly convex and that a Banach space with maximal \(V_2(X)\) does not necessarily contain almost isometric copies of \(\ell_1^2\). They also answer in the negative a question from [\textit{Y. S. Choi} and \textit{S. G. Kim}, J. Lond. Math. Soc., II. Ser. 54, No. 1, 135--147 (1996; Zbl 0858.47005)] on the upper bound of the polarization constant. Finally, they extend some results from [\textit{D. García} et al., Linear Algebra Appl. 532, 406--431 (2017; Zbl 1387.46014)] about the numerical index of a complex lush space.