arXiv subjects

Colin Petitjean

Publications and source records attributed to Colin Petitjean.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Invariant subspaces for free linearizations of Lipschitz maps

We consider the invariant subspace problem for operators induced by Lipschitz self-maps on Lipschitz-free spaces. Besides the usual free linearizations $\widehat f$ of basepoint-preserving Lipschitz self-maps, we consider a wider class of operators $T_{f,e}$ which are naturally defined for arbitrary Lipschitz self-maps. We show, among other results, that every $\widehat f$ admits a non-trivial invariant subspace whenever the underlying metric space contains a compact ball, or has at least two connected components one of which has non-empty interior. We also obtain corresponding positive results for $T_{f,e}$ under isolated-point, compact-ball and disconnectedness assumptions, and discuss some consequences for linear dynamics.

math.FA↗

arXiv2026

Affine Approximation in Finite Nagata Dimension and Applications to Lipschitz-free spaces

We show that if $M$ is a metric space of Nagata dimension at most $d$, then there exists an atlas on $M$ modeled on $\mathbb R^d$ such that every Lipschitz map $f:M\to Y$ (with values in an arbitrary Banach space $Y$) can be uniformly approximated by maps that are affine, and thus $\mathcal{C}^1$-smooth, with respect to this atlas. The construction relies on random metric partitions and stochastic retractions inside Lipschitz-free spaces. As an application, we introduce approximate continuous upper gradient $X$-structures (ACUG $X$-structures) on metric spaces and prove that every space of finite Nagata dimension carries an ACUG structure modeled on a superreflexive Banach space. Finally, adapting a proof due to Bourgain, we show that if $M$ has an ACUG superreflexive-structure, then the Lipschitz-free space $\mathcal{F}(M)$ has Pelczy\'nski's property (V*). In particular, at least in the compact case, our result recovers all previously known examples of metric spaces $M$ for which $\mathcal{F}(M)$ has property (V*).

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arXiv2025

On Weak Compactness and Uniform Regularity in Lipschitz free Spaces

We analyze the properties of weakly compact sets in Lipschitz free spaces. Prior research has established that, for a complete metric space $M$, weakly precompact sets in the Lipschitz free space $\mathcal F(M)$ are tight. In this paper, we prove that these sets actually exhibit a stronger property, which we call uniform regularity. However, this condition alone is not sufficient to characterize weakly compact sets, except in the case of scattered metric spaces. On the other hand, if $T$ is an $\mathbb R$-tree, we leverage Godard's isometry between $\mathcal F(T)$ and $L^1(\lambda_T)$ to obtain an intrinsic characterization of weakly compact sets in $\mathcal F(T)$. This approach allows us to identify conditions that may describe weak compactness across a wider range of spaces. In particular, we provide a characterization of norm-compactness in terms of sums of "large molecules'', while we show that sums of "small molecules'' contain an $\ell_1$-basis.

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arXiv2025

On curve-flat Lipschitz functions and their linearizations

We show that several operator ideals coincide when intersected with the class of linearizations of Lipschitz maps. In particular, we show that the linearization $\widehat{f}$ of a Lipschitz map $f:M\to N$ is Dunford-Pettis if and only if it is Radon-Nikodým if and only if it does not fix any copy of $L_1$. We also identify and study the corresponding metric property of $f$, which is a natural extension of the curve-flatness.

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arXiv2024

The set of elementary tensors is weakly closed in projective tensor products

In this short note, we prove that the set of elementary tensors is weakly closed in the projective tensor product of two Banach spaces. As a result, we are able to answer a question from the literature proving that if $(x_n) \subset X$ and $(y_n) \subset Y$ are two weakly null sequences such that $(x_n \otimes y_n)$ converges weakly in $X \widehat{\otimes}_πY$, then $(x_n \otimes y_n)$ is also weakly null.

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arXiv2023

A note on the spectrum of Lipschitz operators and composition operators on Lipschitz spaces

Fix a metric space $M$ and let $\mathrm{Lip}_0(M)$ be the Banach space of complex-valued Lipschitz functions defined on $M$. A weighted composition operator on $\mathrm{Lip}_0(M)$ is an operator of the kind $wC_f : g \mapsto w \cdot g \circ f$, where $w : M \to \mathbb C$ and $f: M \to M$ are any map. When such an operator is bounded, it is actually the adjoint operator of a so-called weighted Lipschitz operator $w\widehat{f}$ acting on the Lipschitz-free space $\mathcal F(M)$. In this note, we study the spectrum of such operators, with a special emphasize when they are compact. Notably, we obtain a precise description in the non-weighted $w \equiv 1$ case: the spectrum is finite and made of roots of unity.

math.FA↗

arXiv2023

A pre-adjoint approach on weighted composition operators between spaces of Lipschitz functions

We consider weighted composition operators, that is operators of the type $g \mapsto w \cdot g \circ f$, acting on spaces of Lipschitz functions. Bounded weighted composition operators, as well as some compact weighted composition operators, have been characterized quite recently. In this paper, we provide a different approach involving their pre-adjoint operators, namely the weighted Lipschitz operators acting on Lipschitz free spaces. This angle allows us to improve some results from the literature. Notably, we obtain a distinct characterization of boundedness with a precise estimate of the norm. We also characterise injectivity, surjectivity, compactness and weak compactness in full generality.

math.FA↗

arXiv2022

Injectivity of Lipschitz operators

Any Lipschitz map $f\colon M \to N$ between metric spaces can be "linearised" in such a way that it becomes a bounded linear operator $\widehat{f}\colon \mathcal F(M) \to \mathcal F(N)$ between the Lipschitz-free spaces over $M$ and $N$. The purpose of this note is to explore the connections between the injectivity of $f$ and the injectivity of $\widehat{f}$. While it is obvious that if $\widehat{f}$ is injective then so is $f$, the converse is less clear. Indeed, we pin down some cases where this implication does not hold but we also prove that, for some classes of metric spaces $M$, any injective Lipschitz map $f\colon M \to N$ (for any $N$) admits an injective linearisation. Along our way, we study how Lipschitz maps carry the support of elements in free spaces and also we provide stronger conditions on $f$ which ensure that $\widehat{f}$ is injective.

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arXiv2021

Purely 1-unrectifiable metric spaces and locally flat Lipschitz functions

We characterize compact metric spaces whose locally flat Lipschitz functions separate points uniformly as exactly those that are purely 1-unrectifiable, resolving a problem of Weaver. We subsequently use this geometric characterization to answer several questions in Lipschitz analysis. Notably, it follows that the Lipschitz-free space $\mathcal{F}(M)$ over a compact metric space $M$ is a dual space if and only if $M$ is purely 1-unrectifiable. Furthermore, we establish a compact determinacy principle for the Radon-Nikodým property (RNP) and deduce that, for any complete metric space $M$, pure 1-unrectifiability is actually equivalent to some well-known Banach space properties of $\mathcal{F}(M)$ such as the RNP and the Schur property. A direct consequence is that any complete, purely 1-unrectifiable metric space isometrically embeds into a Banach space with the RNP. Finally, we provide a possible solution to a problem of Whitney by finding a rectifiability-based description of 1-critical compact metric spaces, and we use this description to prove the following: a bounded turning tree fails to be 1-critical if and only if each of its subarcs has $σ$-finite Hausdorff 1-measure.

math.MG↗

arXiv2021

Compact and weakly compact Lipschitz operators

Any Lipschitz map $f : M \to N$ between two pointed metric spaces may be extended in a unique way to a bounded linear operator $\widehat{f} : \mathcal F(M) \to \mathcal F(N)$ between their corresponding Lipschitz-free spaces. In this paper, we give a necessary and sufficient condition for $\widehat{f}$ to be compact in terms of metric conditions on $f$. This extends a result by A. Jiménez-Vargas and M. Villegas-Vallecillos in the case of non-separable and unbounded metric spaces. After studying the behavior of weakly convergent sequences made of finitely supported elements in Lipschitz-free spaces, we also deduce that $\widehat{f}$ is compact if and only if it is weakly compact.

math.FA↗

arXiv2021

On the Weak Maximizing Properties

Quite recently, a new property related to norm-attaining operators has been introduced: the weak maximizing property (WMP). In this note, we define a generalised version of it considering other topologies than the weak one (mainly the weak$^*$ topology). We provide new sufficient conditions, based on the moduli of asymptotic uniform smoothness and convexity, which imply that a pair $(X,Y)$ enjoys a certain maximizing property. This approach not only allows us to (re)obtain as a direct consequence that the pair $(\ell_p,\ell_q)$ has the WMP, but also provides many more natural examples of pairs having a given maximizing property.

math.FA↗

arXiv2021

On Kalton's interlaced graphs and nonlinear embeddings into dual Banach spaces

We study the nonlinear embeddability of Banach spaces and the equi-embeddability of the family of Kalton's interlaced graphs $([\mathbb N]^k,d_{\mathbb K})_k$ into dual spaces. Notably, we define and study a modification of Kalton's property $\mathcal Q$ that we call property $\mathcal{Q}_p$ (with $p \in (1,+\infty]$). We show that if $([\mathbb N]^k,d_{\mathbb K})_k$ equi-coarse Lipschitzly embeds into $X^*$, then the Szlenk index of $X$ is greater than $ω$, and that this is optimal, i.e., there exists a separable dual space $Y^*$ that contains $([\mathbb N]^k,d_{\mathbb K})_k$ equi-Lipschitzly and so that $Y$ has Szlenk index $ω^2$. We prove that $c_0$ does not coarse Lipschitzly embed into a separable dual space by a map with distortion strictly smaller than $\frac{3}{2}$. We also show that neither $c_0$ nor $L_1$ coarsely embeds into a separable dual by a weak-to-weak$^*$ sequentially continuous map.

math.FA↗

arXiv2020

Compact reduction in Lipschitz free spaces

We prove a general principle satisfied by weakly precompact sets of Lipschitz-free spaces. By this principle, certain infinite dimensional phenomena in Lipschitz-free spaces over general metric spaces may be reduced to the same phenomena in free spaces over their compact subsets. As easy consequences we derive several new and some known results. The main new results are: $\mathcal F(X)$ is weakly sequentially complete for every superreflexive Banach space $X$, and $\mathcal F(M)$ has the Schur property and the approximation property for every scattered complete metric space $M$.

math.FA↗

arXiv2020

On the dynamics of Lipschitz operators

By the linearization property of Lipschitz-free spaces, any Lipschitz map $f : M \to N$ between two pointed metric spaces may be extended uniquely to a bounded linear operator $\widehat{f} : \mathcal F(M) \to \mathcal F(N)$ between their corresponding Lipschitz-free spaces. In this note, we explore the connections between the dynamics of Lipschitz self-maps $f : M \to M$ and the linear dynamics of their extensions $\widehat{f} : \mathcal F(M) \to \mathcal F(M)$. This not only allows us to relate topological dynamical systems to linear dynamical systems but also provide a new class of hypercyclic operators acting on Lipschitz-free spaces.

math.FA↗

arXiv2020

Supports in Lipschitz-free spaces and applications to extremal structure

We show that the class of Lipschitz-free spaces over closed subsets of any complete metric space $M$ is closed under arbitrary intersections, improving upon the previously known finite-diameter case. This allows us to formulate a general and natural definition of supports for elements in a Lipschitz-free space $\mathcal F(M)$. We then use this concept to study the extremal structure of $\mathcal F(M)$. We prove in particular that $(δ(x) - δ(y))/d(x,y)$ is an exposed point of the unit ball of $\mathcal F(M)$ whenever the metric segment $[x,y]$ is trivial, and that any extreme point which can be expressed as a finitely supported perturbation of a positive element must be finitely supported itself. We also characterise the extreme points of the positive unit ball: they are precisely the normalized evaluation functionals on points of $M$.

math.FA↗

arXiv2019

Embeddings of Lipschitz-free spaces into $\ell_1$

We show that, for a separable and complete metric space $M$, the Lipschitz-free space $\mathcal F(M)$ embeds linearly and almost-isometrically into $\ell_1$ if and only if $M$ is a subset of an $\mathbb R$-tree with length measure 0. Moreover, it embeds isometrically if and only if the length measure of the closure of the set of branching points of $M$ (taken in any minimal $\mathbb R$-tree that contains $M$) is negligible. We also prove that, for any subset $M$ of an $\mathbb R$-tree, every extreme point of the unit ball of $\mathcal F(M)$ is an element of the form $(δ(x)-δ(y))/d(x,y)$ for $x\neq y\in M$.

math.FA↗

arXiv2018

On the coarse geometry of James spaces

In this note we prove that the Kalton interlaced graphs do not equi-coarsely embed into the James space $\mathcal J$ nor into its dual $\mathcal J^*$. It is a particular case of a more general result on the non equi-coarse embeddability of the Kalton graphs into quasi-reflexive spaces with a special asymptotic stucture. This allows us to exhibit a coarse invariant for Banach spaces, namely the non equi-coarse embeddability of this family of graphs, which is very close to but different from the celebrated property $\mathcal Q$ of Kalton. We conclude with a remark on the coarse geometry of the James tree space $\mathcal J \mathcal T$ and of its predual.

math.FA↗

arXiv2018

On exposed points of Lipschitz free spaces

In this note we prove that a molecule $d(x,y)^{-1}(δ(x)-δ(y))$ is an exposed point of the unit ball of a Lispchitz free space $\mathcal F(M)$ if and only if the metric segment $[x,y]=\{z \in M \; : \; d(x,y)=d(z,x)+d(z,y) \}$ is reduced to $\{x,y\}$. This is based on a recent result due to Aliaga and Pernecká which states that the class of Lipschitz free spaces over closed subsets of M is closed under arbitrary intersections when M has finite diameter.

math.FA↗