Peller's problem concerning Koplienko-Neidhardt trace formulae: the unitary case

Abstract: We prove the existence of a complex valued $C^2$-function on the unit circle, a unitary operator U and a self-adjoint operator Z in the Hilbert-Schmidt class $S^2$, such that the perturbated operator $$ f(e^{iZ}U)-f(U) -\frac{d}{dt}\bigl(f(e^{itZ}U)\bigr)_{\vert t=0} $$ does not belong to the space $S^1$ of trace class operators. This resolves a problem of Peller concerning the validity of the Koplienko-Neidhardt trace formula for unitaries.