Compact spaces of Szlenk index \(\omega\) (Q412457)

The Szlenk index \(Sz(X)\) of a given Banach space \(X\) is an ordinal number, defined by \textit{W. Szlenk} [Stud. Math. 30, 53--61 (1968; Zbl 0169.15303)] in order to show that there is no universal space for the class of separable reflexive Banach spaces, that has subsequently found application in several areas of the theory of Banach spaces. In this paper, the author extends this notion to a more general setting and studies the compact spaces of Szlenk index at most \(\omega\) with respect to an associated metric. Among others, the following main results are proved: (1) A compact space is of Szlenk index at most \(\omega\) with respect to some finer metric if and only if it is descriptive; and (2) let \(X\) be a locally convex vector space, where there is defined a certain norm, and let \(X^\ast\) denote its topological dual; if \(K\subset X^\ast\) is a weak\(^\ast\) compact subset of Szlenk index at most \(\omega\), then there exists \(B\subset X^\ast\), a weak\(^\ast\) compact convex symmetric subset with \(K\subset B\), such that for every \(\varepsilon >0\) there is \(\theta(\varepsilon)\in (0,1)\) such that \(\langle B_{X^\ast}\rangle'_\varepsilon\subset (1-\theta(\varepsilon))B\) (here, \(\langle B_{X^\ast}\rangle'_\varepsilon = \{x\in B : \forall U\;\text{neighborhood of}\;x, \text{ diam}(B\cap U)\geq \varepsilon \}\)); moreover, \(\theta(\varepsilon)\) can be taken of the form \(a\varepsilon^pSz(K,b\varepsilon)^{-1}\) for any \(p>1\) and some constants \(a,b>0\). Several examples and applications to Banach spaces are also given that illustrate the techniques and results presented in the paper.