Proximality and Chebyshev sets (Q2458901)

For a subset \(A\) of a real Banach space \(X\), let \(P_A(x):= \text{argmin}_{a\in A}\| x-a\|\) be the metric projection on \(A\). The set \(A\) is called proximinal if \(P_A\) is everywhere defined. If \(P_A\) is everywhere defined and even single-valued, then \(A\) is called Chebyshev. The author summarizes results about these notions, especially concerning the convexity of Chebyshev sets. So it is known that -- every Chebyshev set is closed, -- the space \(X\) is reflexive iff every-closed convex set is proximal, -- every closed convex set in Hilbert space is Chebyshev, -- the closed set \(A\) of Hilbert space is convex iff \(P_A\) is nonexpansive. As a crucial fact it is pointed out that in finite-dimensional spaces, every Chebyshev set is convex. The author provides four different proofs for this result (via Brouwer's fixed point theorem, via Ekeland's variational principle, via Fenchel conjugation and via inversive geometry) and gives helpful suggestions for the extension to more general spaces. So it is shown that every weakly closed Chebyshev set in Hilbert space is convex. Whether even each (norm-closed) Chebyshev set is convex remains an open problem. In the last part of the paper, it is shown that a closed set \(A\) (of a Banach space) is densely proximinal iff the norm is Kadec--Klee and the space is reflexive.