Banach's isometric subspace problem in dimension four (Q6113256)

Banach asked whether a normed space all of whose \(n\)-dimensional subspaces (for fixed \(n\geqslant 2\)) are isometric must be an inner-product space. The paper addresses this longstanding question of Banach in the case of \(n=3\) and \(4\)-dimensional spaces, which complements the old result of \textit{H. Auerbach} et al. [Monatsh. Math. Phys. 42, 45--48 (1935; Zbl 0011.22208)] for \(n=2\). More specifically, the authors show that a convex body in \(\mathbb R^4\) all of whose intersections with \(3\)-dimensional subspaces are linearly equivalent must be an ellipsoid centred at the origin. (Two sets in a vector space are linearly equivalent if there is an isomorphism between their linear spans that maps the former onto the latter.) The authors employ a differential geometric approach, diverging from the topological methods used in previous works, and their findings not only solve a specific case of Banach's conjecture but also open up potential new pathways for addressing similar problems in higher dimensions.