Coincidence of strict \(s\)-numbers of weighted Hardy operators (Q542836)

Let \(p \in (1,\infty)\) and suppose that \(I\) is the interval \((a,b)\), where \(-\infty < a < b < \infty\). Integral operators \(T : L_p (I) \rightarrow L_p (I)\) of the form \((T f)(x) = v(x) \int^x_a u(t) f (t)\,dt\), where \(u\) and \(v\) are prescribed functions satisfying some integrability conditions, are said to be of (weighted) Hardy type. The authors prove that, for a compact operator \(T\) of weighted Hardy type, all strict \(s\)-numbers coincide. Here, a scale \(s\) of \(s\)-numbers (in the sense of Pietsch) is called strict if \(s_n(\text{Id}: E \rightarrow E)=1\) for every Banach space \(E\) with \(\dim(E)\geq n\); recall that, for an arbitrary scale of \(s\)-numbers, this property only has to be satisfied for the special case \(E=\ell_2^n\). The isomorphism numbers and the approximation numbers constitute the smallest and the largest scale of strict \(s\)-numbers, respectively. Accordingly, the authors show that these two scales coincide for operators of weighted Hardy type, which then gives the full result for all strict \(s\)-numbers. To this end, the authors introduce a crucial function \({\mathcal A}(I)\) (also depending on the weights \(u\) and \(v\)) defined for subintervals \(I=(c,d) \subseteq (a,b)\), which then is investigated.