On the Hahn--Banach theorem for groups (Q2499313)

In this article, the author introduces the class \({\mathcal G}\) as formed by those groups \(G\) such that for any subbaditive real functional \(p\) defined on \(G\), there exists an additive functional \(a\) with \(a(x) \leq p(x)\) for every \(x\in G\). It is proved (Theorem 2) that every group in \({\mathcal G}\) satisfies Hyers' theorem on the stability of the Cauchy functional equation, which had been shown to be true for amenable and weakly commutative groups by \textit{L.~Székelyhidi} [Remark 17, Report of Meeting, the 22nd Int.\ Symposium on Functional Equations, Aequationes Math. 29, 95--96 (1985; doi:10.1007/BF02189816)], \textit{J.~Tabor} [Remark 18, ibid., 62--111 (1985; doi:10.1007/BF02189816)], respectively. In fact, as the author proves, both classes of not necessarily Abelian groups are subclasses of \({\mathcal G}\) (the latter as a consequence of \textit{Z.~Gajda} and \textit{Z.~Kominek}'s ``sandwich theorem'' [Stud.\ Math.\ 100, 25--38 (1991; Zbl 0739.39014)]). The main result in this paper (Theorem 3) asserts that the groups in \({\mathcal G}\) actually satisfy a Hahn--Banach type extension theorem: given any subgroup \(G_0\) of any such a group \(G\), an additive functional \(a_0\) on \(G_0\) and a subadditive functional \(p\) on \(G\) such that \(a_0\leq p| _{G_0},\) \(a_0\) can be extended to the whole group in such a way that the extension still lies under \(p\), provided that \(\sup\{p(g^{-1}xg)-p(x):g\in G_0 \}\) is a real number \(m(x)\), and \(\liminf_{n\to \infty} {{1}\over{n}}m(x^n)=0\) for every \(x \in G\). These technical conditions can be dispensed with if the functional \(p\) is 2-homogeneous as well.