On a theorem of Abatzoglou for operators on abstract L and M-spaces

Let X be an abstract L-space and let Y be any Banach space. Motivated by a classical result of T. J. Abatzoglou that describes smooth points of the space of operators on a Hilbert space, we give a characterization of very smooth points in the space of operators from X to Y. We also show that a similar result can be proved when Y is an abstract M-space such that the set of extreme points of the dual unit ball is a weak⁎-compact set.