Zeros of Polynomials on Banach spaces: The Real Story

Let E be a real Banach space. We show that either E admits a positive definite 2-homogeneous polynomial or every 2-homogeneous polynomial on E has an infinite dimensional subspace on which it is identically zero. Under addition assumptions, we show that such subspaces are non-separable. We examine analogous results for nuclear and absolutely (1, 2)-summing 2-homogeneous polynomials and give necessary and sufficient conditions on a compact set K so that C(K) admits a positive definite 2-homogeneous polynomial or a positive definite nuclear 2-homogeneous polynomial.