On the global shape of continuous convex functions on Banach spaces (Q777162)

A continuous convex function \(f:Z\to\mathbb{R}\) defined on a real Banach space \(Z\) is called coercive if \(\lim_{\|z\|\to\infty}f(z)=\infty\) and essentially coercive if this holds for some linear perturbation \(f-\ell\) of \(f\). The function \(f\) is called directionally coercive if \(\lim_{t\to\infty}f(z+tv)=\infty\) for all \(z\in Z\) and \(v\in Z\setminus\{0\}\) and, as above, essentially directionally coercive if this holds for some linear perturbation \(f-\ell\) of \(f\). The author [Proc. Lond. Math. Soc. (3) 107, No. 4, 799--824 (2013; Zbl 1282.41008)] has shown that any convex function \(f:\mathbb{R}^n\to \mathbb{R}\) admits a representation of the form \(f=g\circ P+\ell,\) where \(P\) is the orthogonal projection onto some subspace \(X\) of \(\mathbb{R}^n\), \(g:X\to\mathbb{R}\) is convex and coercive, and \(\ell\) is linear. In the present paper, he examines the possibility to extend this result to infinite dimensions. The first step is to show that, in the case of separable Hilbert spaces, the result holds with \(g\) an essentially directionally coercive continuous convex functions. It is also shown that some weaker versions hold in general Banach spaces and in separable ones, with the orthogonal projection \(P\) replaced by the natural projection \(\pi:Z\to Z/X\). Reviewer's remark: The extension of some results from the present paper to locally convex spaces was done by \textit{C. Zălinescu} [J. Math. Anal. Appl. 488, No. 2, Article ID 124109, 11 p. (2020; Zbl 1451.46063)].