Similarities of subspace lattices in Banach spaces

Abstract

A collineation of a subspace lattice $\fL$ in a complex Banach space $\eX$ is an invertible operator $S$ on $\eX$ with the property that the image $S\eM$ of a subspace $\eM$ belongs to $\fL$ if and and only if $\eM$ belongs to it. Hence, $S$ is a collineation of $\fL$ if and only if it implements an order automorphism of $\fL$. We study the group $\Col(\fL)$ of all collineations of $\fL$ and its subgroup $\Grp(\Alg(\fL))$ of all invertible operators that fix every subspace in $\fL$. We show that $\Grp(\Alg(\fL))$ is a normal subgroup of $\Col(\fL)$; moreover, if $\fL$ is a reflexive subspace lattice, then $\Col(\fL)$ is the normalizer of $\Grp(\Alg(\fL))$ in the group of all invertible operators on $\eX$. One of the main questions that we consider is whether $\Grp(\Alg(\fL))$ is a complemented subgroup in $\Col(\fL)$. For certain subspace lattices $\fL$, such as some realizations of the diamond or the double triangle, some nests in the space of continuous functions on $[0,1]$, and the classical Volterra nest in $L^1[0,1]$, we characterize the complement of $\Grp(\Alg(\fL))$ in $\Col(\fL)$. On the other hand, for the Volterra nests in $L^p[0,1]$, where $1<p<\infty$, a further study is needed, and we prove only some partial results.