We use the Maurey-Rosenthal factorization theorem to obtain a new characterization of multiple 2-summing operators on a product of $l_p$ spaces. This characterization is used to show that multiple s-summing operators on a product of $l_p$ spaces with values in a Hilbert space are characterized by the boundedness of a natural multilinear functional (1 ≤ s ≤ 2). We use these results to show that there exist many natural multiple s-summing operators $T:l_{4/3}\times l_{4/3}\to l₂$ such that none of the associated linear operators is s-summing...

A classification of weakly compact multiplication operators on $L\left(L_p\right),$1<p<$,isgiven.ThisanswersaquestionraisedbySaksmanandTylliin1992.Theclassificationinvolvestheconceptof$p$-strictlysingularoperators,andwealsoinvestigatethestructureofgeneral$p$-strictlysingularoperatorson$Lp$.Themainresultisthatifanoperator$T$on$Lp$,$1<p<2$,is$p$-strictlysingularand$T|X$isanisomorphismforsomesubspace$X$of$Lp$,then$X$embedsinto$Lr$forall$r<2$,but$X$neednotbeisomorphictoaHilbertspace.$It is also shown that if $T$ is convolution by a biased coin on $L_p$ of the Cantor group, $1\le p<2$, and $T_{|X}$ is an isomorphism for some reflexive subspace $X$ of $L_p$, then $X$ is isomorphic to a Hilbert space. The case $p=1$ answers a question asked by Rosenthal in 1976.