Weighted composition operators as Daugavet centers (Q984700)

Conditions for a weighted composition operator defined on a \(C(K)\) space (and also on other spaces) to be a Daugavet center are studied. An operator \(G\) on a Banach space \(X\) is called a Daugavet center if \(\|G + T\|=\|G\| +\|T\|\) for every rank-one operator \(T:X\to X\). This concept has been recently introduced by \textit{T.~Bosenko} and \textit{V.~Kadets} [Zh.\ Mat.\ Fiz.\ Anal.\ Geom.\ 6, No.~1, 3--20 (2010; Zbl 1208.46010)], extending the property of the identity operator in a Banach space with the Daugavet property. Let \(S\) be a compact Hausdorff space without isolated points. Given continuous maps \(\varphi:S\to S\) and \(u:S\to {\mathbb C}\), the weighted composition operator \(uC_\varphi:C(S)\to C(S)\) is defined by \(uC_\varphi(f)=u\cdot (f\circ \varphi)\) for all \(f\in C(S)\). It is shown in this paper that \(uC_\varphi\) is a Daugavet center if and only if \(\varphi^{-1}(\{t\})\) is nowhere dense in \(S\) for every \(t\in S\) and \(|u|\) is constant on \(S\). This extends a result given in the above cited paper. Finally, weighted composition operators on the disk algebra \(A({\mathbb D})\) which are Daugavet centers are also characterized.