On uniform Bishop-Phelps-Bollobás type approximations of linear operators and preservation of geometric properties (Q2226350)

Suppose \(X\) and \(Y\) are Banach spaces. Let \(S_X\) be the unit sphere of \(X\), and \(M_T = \{x \in S_X: \Vert Tx\Vert = \Vert T\Vert \}\) be the norm attainment set of the bounded operator \(T \in \mathcal L(X,Y)\). Let \(T \in S_{\mathcal L(X,Y)}\) and \(\varepsilon > 0\) be given. The normalised operator \(A \in S_{\mathcal L(X,Y)}\) is a uniform \(\varepsilon\)-BPB approximation of \(T\) if there is \(\delta(\varepsilon) >0\) such that if \(x_0 \in S_X\) and \(\Vert Tx_0\Vert > 1 - \delta(\varepsilon)\), then there exists \(u_0 \in M_A\) for which \[ \Vert u_0 - x_0\Vert < \varepsilon \textrm{ and } \Vert T - A\Vert < \varepsilon. \] This property was suggested by \textit{D. Sain} [Oper. Matrices 13, No. 2, 433--445 (2019; Zbl 1440.46010)] as a localized version of the Bishop-Phelps-Bollobás property for operators which was introduced by \textit{M. D. Acosta} et al. [J. Funct. Anal. 254, No. 11, 2780--2799 (2008; Zbl 1152.46006)]. This paper contains a wide-ranging study of the uniform \(\varepsilon\)-BPB approximation of operators, as well as further variants of this concept, which concentrates on the interplay with various geometric properties such as smoothness, convexity and Birkhoff-James orthogonality. Attention is paid to the cases where \(X\) and \(Y\) are particular finite-dimensional spaces, or Hilbert spaces. Sample result: suppose that \(X\) is a reflexive space having the Kadets-Klee property, \(Y\) is an arbitrary Banach space, and assume that \(T \in S_{\mathcal K(X,Y)}\) is a normalised compact operator, which is not an extreme point of the closed unit ball \(B_{\mathcal L(X,Y)}\). Then for any \(\varepsilon > 0\) there is a uniform \(\varepsilon\)-BPB approximation \(A_{\varepsilon}\) of \(T\) such that \(A_{\varepsilon} \neq T\) and \(M_T = M_{A_{\varepsilon}}\).