An unconditionally saturated Banach space with the scalar-plus-compact property (Q527377)

\textit{S. A. Argyros} and \textit{R. Haydon}, solving a famous long-standing open problem, constructed a Banach space \(X\) with the following properties: its dual is isomorphic to \(\ell_1\); it is HI (hereditary indecomposable: no infinite-dimensional closed subspace can be the direct sum of two infinite-dimensional closed subspaces); and every bounded operator \(T : X \to X\) has the form \(T = \lambda \operatorname{Id} + K\), where \(\lambda\) is a scalar and \(K\) is compact [Acta Math. 206, No. 1, 1--54 (2011; Zbl 1223.46007)]. Their construction was based on the Bourgain-Delbaen scheme [\textit{J. Bourgain} and \textit{F. Delbaen}, Acta Math. 145, 155--176 (1980; Zbl 0466.46024)] and on the method of \textit{W. T. Gowers} and \textit{B. Maurey} [J. Am. Math. Soc. 6, No. 4, 851--874 (1993; Zbl 0827.46008)]. On the other hand, \textit{S. A. Argyros} and \textit{A. Manoussakis} previously constructed a different kind of spaces: an indecomposable reflexive Banach space \(Y\) such that every infinite-dimensional closed subspace contains an unconditional basic sequence and such that every operator \(T : Y \to Y\) has the form \(T = \lambda \operatorname{Id} + S\), where \(\lambda\) is a scalar and \(S\) is strictly singular [Stud. Math. 159, No. 1, 1--32 (2003; Zbl 1062.46013)]. That \(Y\) is indecomposable means that \(Y\) is not the direct sum of two infinite-dimensional closed subspaces. They used a mixed Tsirelson space, a variation of the Gowers-Maurey ideas. In the paper under review, the authors mix the ideas of the two papers above, with additional tools, to construct a Banach space \(Z\) with the following properties: its dual is isomorphic to \(\ell_1\); every infinite-dimensional closed subspace contains an unconditional basic sequence; and every bounded operator \(T : Z \to Z\) has the form \(T = \lambda \operatorname{Id} + K\), where \(\lambda\) is a scalar and \(K\) is compact (hence \(Z\) is indecomposable, though not HI).