Factoring compact sets of operators (Q5934251)

The main result is the following theorem. Let \({\mathcal U}\) be a closed operator ideal which is injective and surjective [\textit{A. Pietsch}, ``Operators ideals'' (1978; Zbl 0399.47039)]. Let \(X\) and \(Y\) be Banach spaces and let \(H\) be a relatively compact subset of \({\mathcal U}(X,Y)\). Then there are a Banach space \(Z\), operators \(u\in{\mathcal U}(X,Z)\), \(v\in{\mathcal U}(Z,Y)\) and a relatively compact subset \(\overline H\) of \({\mathcal U}(Z,Z)\) such that every operator \(T\in H\) admits a decomposition \(T= v\overline Tu\) with \(\overline T\in\overline H\). One of the ingredients of the proof is a refinement, due to the first-named author [Ann. Acad. Sci. Fenn. Ser. A1, Math. AI 18, No. 1, 3-11 (1993; Zbl 0795.46013)], of the classical \textit{W. J. T. Davis}, \textit{T. Figiel}, \textit{W. B. Johnson} and \textit{A. Pełczyński} factorization scheme [J. Funct. Anal. 17, 311-327 (1974; Zbl 0306.46020)].