Multiplication operators on the Lipschitz space of a tree (Q607773)

The authors study the multiplication operators \(M_\psi\), \(f\mapsto \psi f\), on the Banach space \(\mathcal L\) of Lipschitz functions \((T,d) \to \mathbb C\), where \(T\) is an infinite rooted tree, \(d(u,v)\) is the number of edges linking the vertices \(u, v\) of \(T\) and \(\psi: T \to \mathbb C\) is a given map. The norm of \(f \in \mathcal L\) is \(\| f\| = | f(o)| + \| Df\|_\infty\), where \(o\) is the root of \(T\) and \(Df(v) = | f(v) - f(v^{-})|\) for \(v \neq o\), \(Df(o) = 0\). Above \(v^{-}\) is the parent of \(v \neq o\). Put \(| v| = d(v,o)\) for \(v \in T\). Sample results: (i) \(M_\psi\) is a bounded operator on \(\mathcal L\) if and only if \(\psi(T)\) is bounded and \(\sup_{v\neq o} | v | D\psi (v)\) is finite. (ii) The essential norm \(\| M_\psi\|_e\) of \(M_\psi\) on \(\mathcal L\) satisfies the sharp estimates \[ \max \{A(\psi),(1/2)B(\psi)\} \leq \| M_\psi\|_e \leq A(\psi) + B(\psi) \] whenever \(M_\psi\) is bounded on \(\mathcal L\). Here, \[ A(\psi) = \lim_{n\to\infty} \sup_{| v| \geq n} | \psi(v)| \quad\text{and}\quad B(\psi) = \lim_{n\to\infty} \sup_{| v| \geq n} | v| D\psi(v). \] In particular, \(M_\psi\) is a compact operator on \(\mathcal L\) if and only if \(\lim\limits_{| v| \to \infty} \psi(v) = 0\) and \(\lim\limits_{| v| \to \infty} | v| D\psi(v) = 0\). (iii) The only isometric multiplication operators \(M_\psi\) on \(\mathcal L\) are those for which \(\psi\) is a constant of modulus \(1\). The same results hold for multiplication operators \(M_\psi\) on the little Lipschitz space \(\mathcal L_0 = \{f \in \mathcal L: Df(v) \to 0 \text{ as } | v| \to \infty\}\).