(1+)-complemented, (1+)-isomorphic copies of L₁ in dual Banach spaces

The present paper contributes to the ongoing programme of quantification of isomorphic Banach space theory focusing on Pe{\l}czy\'nski's classical work on dual Banach spaces containing $L_{1}$ ($=L_{1}[0,1]$) and the Hagler--Stegall characterisation of dual spaces containing complemented copies of $L_{1}$. We prove the following quantitative version of the Hagler--Stegall theorem asserting that for a Banach space $X$ the following statements are equivalent: $\bullet$ $X$ contains almost isometric copies of $(\bigoplus_{n=1}^{\infty} \ell_{\infty}^{n})_{\ell_1}$, $\bullet$ for all $\varepsilon>0$, $X^{*}$ contains a $(1+\varepsilon)$-complemented, $(1+\varepsilon)$-isomorphic copy of $L_{1}$, $\bullet$ for all $\varepsilon>0$, $X^{*}$ contains a $(1+\varepsilon)$-complemented, $(1+\varepsilon)$-isomorphic copy of $C[0,1]^{*}$. Moreover, if $X$ is separable, one may add the following assertion: $\bullet$ for all $\varepsilon>0$, there exists a $(1+\varepsilon)$-quotient map $T\colon X\rightarrow C(\Delta)$ so that $T^{*}[C(\Delta)^{*}]$ is $(1+\varepsilon)$-complemented in $X^{*}$, where $\Delta$ is the Cantor set.