A characterization of Banach spaces containing $c_0$

Abstract

A subsequence principle is obtained, characterizing Banach spaces containing $c_0$, in the spirit of the author's 1974 characterization of Banach spaces containing $\ell^1$. Definition: A sequence $(b_j)$ in a Banach space is called {\it strongly summing\/} (s.s.) if $(b_j)$ is a weak-Cauchy basic sequence so that whenever scalars $(c_j)$ satisfy $\sup_n \|\sum_{j=1}^n c_j b_j\| <\infty$, then $\sum c_j$ converges. A simple permanence property: if $(b_j)$ is an (s.s.) basis for a Banach space $B$ and $(b_j^*)$ are its biorthogonal functionals in $B^*$, then $(\sum_{j=1}^n b_j^*)_{n=1}^ \infty$ is a non-trivial weak-Cauchy sequence in $B^*$; hence $B^*$ fails to be weakly sequentially complete. (A weak-Cauchy sequence is called {\it non-trivial\/} if it is {\it non-weakly convergent\/}.) Theorem. Every non-trivial weak-Cauchy sequence in a (real or complex) Banach space has either an {\rm (s.s.)} subsequence, or a convex block basis equivalent to the summing basis. Remark : The two alternatives of the Theorem are easily seen to be mutually exclusive. Corollary 1. A Banach space $B$ contains no isomorph of $c_0$ if and only if every non-trivial weak-Cauchy sequence in $B$ has an {\rm (s.s.)} subsequence. Combining the $c_0$ and $\ell^1$ Theorems, we obtain Corollary 2. If $B$ is a non-reflexive Banach space such that $X^*$ is weakly sequentially complete for all linear subspaces $X$ of $B$, then $c_0$ embeds in $X$; in fact, $B$ has property~$(u)$.