Background
In the book Problems in Modern Mathematics, S. Ulam asks the following question:
Suppose $A$ and $B$ are metric spaces, such that $A^2$ and $B^2$ equipped with the 2-metric $d((x_1, y_1),(x_2, y_2)) = \sqrt{d(x_1, x_2)^2 + d(y_1, y_2)^2}$ are isometric. Does it follow that $A$ and $B$ must also be isometric themselves?
The answer to this general question is negative. Take for example the space of the rational numbers $\mathbb{Q}$ and the space $\mathbb{Q} \sqrt{2}$ of rational multiples of $\sqrt{2}$. These two spaces are obviously not isometric, but their squares are, isometry being just the rotation by $\frac{\pi}{4}$. See http://www.ams.org/journals/proc/1971-029-03/S0002-9939-1971-0278262-5/S0002-9939-1971-0278262-5.pdf for the proof.
Question
What is the status of this problem for slightly less general metric spaces? I am especially interested in the following cases:
- What is known about this problem for complete metric spaces?
- What is known for finite metric spaces?
A good survey if it exists would be more than welcome.