Order-preserving unique Hahn-Banach extensions

Abstract

Let $X$ be a real Banach lattice with a unit, let $Y \subseteq X$ be a closed subspace containing the unit. In this paper we study the order theoretic (also isometric) structure of $Y$ that it may inherit from $X$ under some additional conditions. One such condition is to assume that all continuous positive linear functionals in the unit sphere of $Y^\ast$ have unique positive norm preserving extensions in $X^\ast$. Our answers depend on the specific nature of the embedding of $Y$ in $X$. For a compact convex set $K$ with closed extreme boundary $\partial_e K$, for the restriction isometry of $A(K)$ (which is also order-preserving) into $C(\partial_e K)$, uniqueness of extensions of positive functionals leads to $K$ being a simplex and the restriction embedding being onto. On the other hand, for a Choquet simplex $K$, under the canonical embedding in the bidual $A(K)^{\ast\ast}$ (which is an abstract $M$-space) uniqueness of extensions implies that $K$ is a finite dimensional simplex. This gives an order theoretic analogue of a result of Contreras, Pay$\acute{a}$ and Werner, proved in the context of unital $C^\ast$-algebras.