On the Ball Covering Property of $\mathbb{L}(\mathbb{X}, \mathbb{Y})$

Abstract

We investigate the Ball Covering Property (BCP) of Banach spaces through the lens of Birkhoff-James orthogonality, yielding a new geometric characterization of the property. Applying this framework, we characterize the BCP of the bounded linear operator space $\mathbb{L}(\mathbb{X}, \mathbb{Y})$ under specific conditions on $\mathbb{X}$ and $\mathbb{Y}$, proving that an earlier necessary condition is sufficient. As an application, we provide a complete affirmative answer to an open question concerning the BCP of $\mathbb{L}(L^p[0,1])$. We also establish the stability of the BCP under $p$-norm direct sums. In finite dimensions, we provide a sufficient condition for an $n$-dimensional Banach space to have a minimal covering by $n+1$ balls. Furthermore, we find an upper bound for the minimal ball covering number of $\mathbb{L}(\mathbb{X}, \mathbb{Y})$ in the finite-dimensional setting and prove that this number is exactly $mn+1$ when $\mathbb{X}$ is an $m$-dimensional strictly convex space and $\mathbb{Y}$ is an $n$-dimensional smooth space.