Lebesgue-Bochner spaces, decomposable sets and strong weakly compact generation (Q663740)

Let \((\Omega,\Sigma,\mu)\) be a probability space. As is well known [\textit{J.~Diestel}, Proc. Am. Math. Soc., 48, 508--510 (1975; Zbl 0299.46035)], the Lebesgue-Bochner space \(L^1(\mu, X)\) is weakly compactly generated (WCG) if the Banach space \(X\) is. A Banach space \(X\) is \textit{strongly} WCG if there is a weakly compact set \(G\subset X\) such that for every weakly compact set \(K\subset X\) and each \(\varepsilon>0\) there is \(n\) such that \(K\subset nG+\varepsilon B_X\), where \(B_X\) is the unit ball of \(X\). The space \(L^1(\mu)\) is strongly WCG. \textit{G.~Schlüchtermann} and \textit{R. F.~Wheeler} [Math. Z. 199, 387--392 (1988; Zbl 0637.46011)] asked if the space \(L^1(\mu, X)\) is strongly WCG whenever \(X\) is. The authors give a partial positive answer. They prove that \(X\) is strongly reflexive generated if and only if there exists a reflexive Banach space \(Z\) and a bounded linear operator \(S:Z\to L^1(\mu, X)\) such that for each weakly compact decomposable set \(K\subset L^1(\mu, X)\) and each \(\varepsilon>0\) there is \(n\) such that \(K\subset nS(B_Z)+\varepsilon B_{L^1(\mu,X)}\). Here a Banach space \(X\) is \textit{strongly reflexive generated} if there exists a bounded linear operator \(S:Y\to X\) from a reflexive space \(Y\) such that for every weakly compact set \(K\subset X\) and each \(\varepsilon>0\) there is \(n\) such that \(K\subset nT(B_Y)+\varepsilon B_X\). A subset \(K\subset L^1(\mu, X)\) is \textit{decomposable} if \(f\mathbf{1}_A+g\mathbf{1}_{\Omega\setminus A}\in K\) for all \(f,g\in K\) and all \(A\in \Sigma\).