Strong peak points and strongly norm attaining points with applications to denseness and polynomial numerical indices (Q2391264)

This paper deals with strong peak functions and strong peak points of closed subspaces of \(C_b(K)\) and with applications to the theory of polynomial numerical indices. Let \(K\) be a complete metric space, \(X\) a Banach space and let \(C_b(K:X)\) denote the Banach space of all bounded continuous functions from \(K\) to \(X\) endowed with the supremum norm. A nonzero function \(f\in C_b(K:X)\) is called a \textit{strong peak function} at \(t\in K\) if every sequence \(\{t_n\}\) in \(K\) with \(\lim_n \|f(t_n)\|=\|f\|\) converges to \(t\). Given a subspace \(A\) of \(C_b(K:X)\), a point \(t\in K\) is called a \textit{strong peak point} for \(A\) is there is a strong peak function \(f\) in \(A\) with \(\|f\|=\|f(t)\|\). A subset \(\Gamma\) of \(K\) is \textit{norming} for \(A\) if \(\|f\|=\sup\{\|f(t)\|\;: \;t\in \Gamma\}\) for every \(f\in A\). Write \({\mathcal P}(^k X:Y)\) for the space of \(k\)-homogeneous polynomials from \(X\) to \(Y\) and \({\mathcal P}(^k X)\) when \(Y\) is the scalar field. If \(A\) is a closed subalgebra of \(C_b(K:{\mathbb K})\), it is shown that the set of all strong peak functions in \(A\) is dense if and only if the set of all strong peak points for \(A\) is a norming subset of \(A\). From this result, it is deduced that if the set of uniformly strongly exposed points of a Banach space \(X\) is a norming subset for \({\mathcal P}(^k X)\), then the set of strongly norm attaining elements in \({\mathcal P}(^k X:Y)\) is dense for every Banach space \(Y\) (an element \(f\in {\mathcal P}(^k X:Y)\) strongly attains it norm at \(x\in B_X\) if for every sequence \(\{x_n\}\) in \(B_X\) with \(\lim_n\|f(x_n)\|=\|f\|\), there exist a scalar \(\lambda\) with \(|\lambda|=1\) and a subsequence of \(\{x_n\}\) converging to \(\lambda x\)). In particular, the set of all elements at which the norm of \({\mathcal P}(^k X)\) is Fréchet differentiable is a dense \(G_\delta\) subset. The authors use this machinery in the last section of the paper to prove that \(\ell_\infty^n\) is the unique \(n\)-dimensional complex space with absolute norm whose polynomial numerical indices are one. This gives a partial answer to a problem proposed in [\textit{V.\,Kadets, M.\,Martín, R.\,Payá}, RACSAM, Rev.\ R.\ Acad.\ Cienc.\ Exactas Fís.\ Nat., Ser.\,A Mat.\ 100, No.\,1--2, 155--182 (2006; Zbl 1111.46007)].