On a Topological Property of certain Calkin Algebras

Let X = 1^p, 1 p < , or X = c₀, B(X) be the algebra of allbounded linear operators on X, H(X) be the ideal of compactoperators in B(X), and C(X) = B(X)/H(X) be the Calkin algebraon X. For TB(X), let ||T||_c = dist(T, H(X)) be the essentialnorm of T that is the norm of T+H(X) in C(X). It is shown thatfor any operator TB(X) and any number 0 < t < 1, thereexists a closed infinite dimensional subspace Z Z X such that ||Tx|| t||T||_c, for all x Z. As a consequence, it is shown that every (not necessarily complete)submultiplicative norm on the Calkin algebra C(X) is equivalentto the quotient norm || ||_c on C(X).