Questions tagged [isometries]

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Conformal harmonic maps in high dimensions are scaled isometries

This is a cross-post from MSE (where I got no answer). It is well-known that conformal maps between $2$-dimensional Riemannian manifolds are harmonic. I discovered lately that in dimension $d>2$, ...
Asaf Shachar's user avatar
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14 votes
2 answers
500 views

Do curvature differences obstruct a.e orientation-preserving isometries?

Is there an example of a pair $M,N$ of connected, oriented equidimensional Riemannian manifolds with the following properties: $M$ is everywhere non-flat, $N$ is flat. There exist a map $f:M \to N$ ...
Asaf Shachar's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
333 views

What is general expression for the moment map of a Kaehler Hamiltonian G-manifold

A Kaehler Hamiltonian G-manifold is a Kaehler manifold with a Hamiltonian G-action, i.e., a G-action generated by a moment map. In particular, the Killing vector fields which generate the G-action are ...
Mtheorist's user avatar
  • 1,135
6 votes
2 answers
370 views

Norms on $\mathbb{R}^d$ whose linear isometries are the hypercube group

It is a known fact that for any $2\neq p\in[1,\infty]$, the linear isometries for the corresponding norm $\|\cdot\|_p$ on $\mathbb{R}^d$ is the set of all square-matrices with entries in $\{-1,1,0\}$, ...
Ayman Moussa's user avatar
  • 2,710
14 votes
2 answers
887 views

Tweetable way to see Riemannian isometries are harmonic?

$\newcommand{\al}{\alpha}$ $\newcommand{\euc}{\mathcal{e}}$ $\newcommand{\Cof}{\operatorname{Cof}}$ $\newcommand{\Det}{\operatorname{Det}}$ Smooth Riemannian isometries are harmonic. Can one conclude ...
Asaf Shachar's user avatar
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21 votes
1 answer
1k views

A differentiable isometry is smooth?

I posted this question in MSE but got no response (even after giving a bounty), so I am trying here. Let $M,N$ be smooth $d$-dimensional Riemannian manifolds. Suppose $f:M \to N$ is a differentiable ...
Asaf Shachar's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
171 views

Homogeneous subsets of the sphere

Let $S$ be a (unit) sphere in a Hilbert Space $H$ with $\dim H \ge 3$. Let $A \subset S$ have the following properties: $A$ is connected; The affine hull of $A$ is the whole space; For every $x,y\in ...
erz's user avatar
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9 votes
2 answers
484 views

There is no arcwise isometry from a high dimensional manifold into a low dimensional manifold

$\newcommand{\al}{\alpha}$ $\newcommand{\ga}{\gamma}$ $\newcommand{\e}{\epsilon}$ Let $X,Y$ be Riemannian manifolds, such that $\dim(X) > \dim(Y)$. I am trying to prove the following statement (...
Asaf Shachar's user avatar
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7 votes
1 answer
367 views

Are metric isometries smooth at the boundary?

Let $M,N$ be smooth Riemannian manifolds with boundary (In particular, we assume the boundaries are smooth). Suppose we have a map $\phi:M \to N$ which satisfies the following properties: $$(1) \, \,...
Asaf Shachar's user avatar
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8 votes
1 answer
319 views

Does nonexpanding map between manifolds decrease volume?

(This question is a special case of a question I asked at SE, which got no answer there) Let $M,N$ be diffeomorphic connected compact Riemannian manifolds, and let $f:M \to N$ be a surjective ...
Asaf Shachar's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
557 views

Bending Beltrami Pseudosphere

The Beltrami Pseudosphere $$[x = a \sin p \cos t , y= - a ( \cos p + \log \tan p/2 ) , z= b+ a \sin p \sin t \; ], (.1 <p<\pi/2), (0< t< 2 \pi), \; (b>a) $$ is bent to a non-...
Narasimham's user avatar
17 votes
2 answers
1k views

Are there some intrinsic invariants of surfaces other than Gaussian curvature?

The principal curvatures of a surface is denoted by $\kappa_{1}, \kappa_{2}$. Let $P(x,y)$ be a polynomial with real coefficients. Assume that $P(\kappa_{1}, \kappa_{2})$ is an intrinsically ...
Ali Taghavi's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
184 views

How isometric action on Riemannian manifold acts on cut locus

Assume that $M$ is a simply connected closed Riemannian manifold with no boundary and nonnegative sectional curvaure Assume that ${\bf Z}_n=(g),\ n\geq 3$ acts on $M$ isometrically. Then if $gx=x$, i....
Hee Kwon Lee's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
247 views

isometric action on the $n$-sphere

Let $S^n$ be the $n$-sphere. If $n=2k+1$ is odd, then we can identify $S^n$ as a subset of $\mathbb{C}^{k+1}$. We define the $S^1$ action on $S^n$ by multiplication, namely $$ \Psi \colon S^1 \times ...
Olorin's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
82 views

Finding the infimum using a piecewise isometry

Given a finite set of unit circles in the plane such that the area of their union $U$ is $S$, what is the largest possible bound $kS$ for some constant $k$ such that there exists a subset of mutually ...
user19405892's user avatar
13 votes
3 answers
1k views

Isometry group of a compact hyperbolic surface

Consider a compact surface $M$ of genus $g \geq 2$ with a metric of constant negative curvature. My question is, is it known under what sorts of sufficient conditions such a metric will have non-...
user82102's user avatar
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6 votes
1 answer
697 views

Are the Sasaki metrics on tangent and cotangent bundle isomorphic?

Let $(M,g)$ be a Riemannian manifold. Then there is the well-known Sasaki metric that makes $(TM,\hat{g})$ a Riemannian manifold. In a similar way, one can construct a Sasaki metric $\bar{g}$ on the ...
Jaap Eldering's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
107 views

Commutator subgroup of rotational symmetries of the hypercube

I would like to know which is the commutator subgroup of the group of rotational isometries of the $n$-dimensional cube. The group i am talking about is the subgroup of $\{ \pm 1 \} \wr S_n$ ...
quelramodellago's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
448 views

Products of elliptic isometries

A well-known property on groups acting on trees is: Theorem: Let $T$ be a tree and $g,h \in \mathrm{Isom}(T)$ two elliptic isometries. If $\mathrm{Fix}(g) \cap \mathrm{Fix}(h) = \emptyset$ then the ...
Seirios's user avatar
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9 votes
1 answer
1k views

Under what conditions a linear automorphism is an isometry of some norm?

Assume $V$ is a finite-dimensional vector space over $\mathbb{R}$, and $T: V \to V$ is a (linear) isomorphism. When is it possible to construct a norm on $V$ making $T$ an isometry? (Hopefully,...
Asaf Shachar's user avatar
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13 votes
3 answers
2k views

Is there a global obstruction for a diffeomorphism to be an isometry?

Let $V$ be a finite dimensional vector space. Let us call an automorphism $T:V\rightarrow V$ admissible if there exists an inner product $\langle , \rangle$ on $V$ making $T$ an isometry. We know $T$...
Asaf Shachar's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
170 views

Discrete subgroup of centralizer of transvections in isometries acts properly discontinuously

My question will rely on a clarification of a proof, which I simply don't understand. Let us denote by $X$ a pseudo-riemannian symmetric space and define $$ Z_{\mathrm{Iso}\left(X\right)}G(X) = \{\, ...
varsop's user avatar
  • 123
12 votes
1 answer
853 views

Isometries of some simple Cayley graphs

Consider a Cayley graph of a group $G$ with respect to a symmetric finite generating set $S$. There are some obvious candidates to isometries of this graph - for example, translation by elements of $G$...
Miel Sharf's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
271 views

Obstruction to the existence of global isometries on a constant-curvature Riemannian manifold

Let $M$ be an $m$-dimensional simply connected Riemannian manifold that is not geodesically complete. Suppose $M$ has constant sectional curvature. Because the curvature is constant, locally $M$ ...
Josh Burby's user avatar
22 votes
6 answers
1k views

Under what conditions $\|x-y\|=n\iff\|f(x)-f(y)\|=n.$ for $n\in\mathbf{N}$ implies isometry?

Let $X, Y$ be normed space and $f:X\to Y$ be a mapping. Assume that for all $n\in\mathbf{N}$, $$\|x-y\|=n\iff\|f(x)-f(y)\|=n.$$ Under what conditions this map will be an isometry? Thanks
user62498's user avatar
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5 votes
0 answers
621 views

Isometries of Compact Semisimple Lie Groups

In this delightful question, the poster mentioned that the isometry group of a compact Lie group $G$, equipped with the metric from the Killing form, is $G\times G/Z(G)$, where $Z(G)$ is the center of ...
Robin Goodfellow's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
147 views

Symmetries higher dimensional cube fixing subcubes

Which is the group of rotational isometries of an $n$ dimensional hypercube fixing an $m$ dimensional element (an $m$ dimensional subcube)? I know for example that it is $A_n$ for $m=0$ (symmetries ...
Giovanni_M's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
833 views

Gromov-Hausdorff convergence for non-compact metric spaces

Let $(X_i,p_i)$, $(X,p)$ be pointed connected proper metric spaces (i.e. the closures of balls are compact). Are the following two statements equivalent? $\forall r > 0: \bar{B}_r(p_i) \stackrel{...
dg.jan's user avatar
  • 571
16 votes
1 answer
589 views

If all balls around two points are isometric... -- manifold version

This question is a natural follow-up of this other question, asked earlier today by wspin. Let's say that a metric space $(X,d)$ has two poles if: there are two distinct points $x$, $y$ such that ...
Marco Golla's user avatar
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20 votes
2 answers
1k views

If all balls at $x$ and $y$ are isometric is there an isometry sending $x$ to $y$?

Let $(X,d)$ be a metric space and $x,y \in X$. Assume that for all $r > 0$ the balls $B_r(x)$ and $B_r(y)$ are isometric. Is it true that there exists an isometry of $X$ sending $x$ to $y$?
Wolfgang Spindeler's user avatar
9 votes
1 answer
311 views

When is a continous $\epsilon$-isometry of the sphere surjective?

Equip $\mathbb S^n$ with the standard round metric. Let $f : \mathbb S^n \to \mathbb S^n$ be a continous map satisfying $\vert d(f(x),f(y)) - d(x,y)\vert \leq \epsilon$. Is $f$ is surjective for all ...
Wolfgang Spindeler's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
1k views

The surjectivity of the exponential map for the isometry group

Little is known on general conditions guaranteeing that the exponential map between a Lie algebra and an associated Lie group is surjective. Let $M$ be a noncompact connected Riemann manifold, and $G$...
Alex M.'s user avatar
  • 5,282
25 votes
6 answers
3k views

Isometric embedding of SO(3) into an euclidean space

Consider $SO(3)$ with its bi-invariant metric and $R^n$ the euclidean space of dimension $n$. What is the minimal value of $n$ such that there exists an isometric embedding $f: SO(3) \to R^n$?
Mauro Patrão's user avatar
5 votes
2 answers
1k views

Isometric embeddings of metric spaces in Hilbert spaces

There are plenty of isometric embeddings of metric spaces in Banach spaces. Nevertheless, I have been unable to find any significant result on isometric embeddings into Hilbert spaces. My question is: ...
Alex M.'s user avatar
  • 5,282
11 votes
1 answer
474 views

About Palais' remark that an isometry of Riemannian manifolds does not induce an isometry of the Hilbert manifolds of curves

In the paper ``Morse theory on Hilbert manifolds'' (1963), on page 326, Richard Palais makes a remark that if $\phi\colon V \to W$ is an isometry (of submanifolds of $\mathbb{R}^n$), then this does ...
Jaap Eldering's user avatar
12 votes
1 answer
2k views

Isometry group of pseudo Riemannian manifold always a Lie group? (Myers-Steenrod)

Myers-Steenrod states that the isometry group of a Riemannian manifold is a Lie group. Is that also true for pseudo Riemannian manifolds? I didn't find anything related to that. Cheers
Stephan Meier's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
176 views

Embedding of Two Objects Into Higher Dimensions With Their Sum

Given two vector sets, $\vec x_i$ and $\vec y_i$ (for $i$=1,2,...N, but the dimensionality of each vector can be more than N), let their sum set be $\vec z_i = \vec x_i + \vec y_i$. It's easy to ...
bobuhito's user avatar
  • 1,537
19 votes
2 answers
565 views

Repeated random two-steps in $\mathbb{R}^3$: unbounded?

I created a random isometry $T$ of $\mathbb{R}^3$ by generating a random orthogonal matrix $M$, uniformly distributed among all such, and a random displacement $v$, whose coordinates are drawn from a ...
Joseph O'Rourke's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
202 views

Riemann isometry vs Euclidean bi-Lipschitz mapping

Assume that $\gamma$ is a rectifiable Jordan curve in the complex plane of length $2\pi$. Then there exists a Riemann isometry $f$ between $\gamma$ and the unit circle $T$. My question is, does this ...
djoke's user avatar
  • 293
0 votes
0 answers
1k views

Surface locally isometric to a sphere.

If for any two points p,q in a regular, compact surface $S\subseteq R^3$, there exists an isometry $f:S\rightarrow S$ s.t. f(p)=q. How to prove that $S$ is locally isometric to the sphere?
diego0's user avatar
  • 1
7 votes
0 answers
176 views

Can a closed disc in the plane be partitioned into three disjoint sets which are pair-wise isometric?

Any progress on the following: Can a closed disc in the plane be partitioned into three disjoint sets which are pair-wise isometric, i.e. each set is an image of the others under an isometry?
James Currie's user avatar
16 votes
5 answers
879 views

Which metric spaces have this superposition property?

Let $A \subset X$ and $B \subset X$ be two isometric subsets of a metric space $X$. So there is an isometry $f: A \to B$. Say that a metric space $X$ has the superposition property (my terminology) ...
Joseph O'Rourke's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
483 views

Open problems about CMC hypersurfaces with symmetries?

Recently, Andrews and Li announced a complete classification of CMC ($H=const.$) tori in $S^3$, confirming a conjecture of Pinkall and Sterling. Their main result is that any such torus is ...
Renato G. Bettiol's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
184 views

Partial isometries making families of linearly independent vectors orthogonal

Suppose I have a family of $n$ linearly-independent elements $v_i$ of the Hilbert space $\mathbb{C}^m$, which are not necessarily orthogonal. Can I always find a partial isometry $f: \mathbb{C} ^m \to ...
Jamie Vicary's user avatar
  • 2,433
18 votes
1 answer
943 views

Possible isometries of a positively curved $S^2\times S^2$

Just to put things in perspective, recall that the Hopf Conjecture asks whether $S^2\times S^2$ admits a metric of positive sectional curvature. By the work of Hsiang-Kleiner, it is known that, if $S^...
Renato G. Bettiol's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
414 views

All the isometries of $\mathbb{C}^n$ into itself are made like these

This is again a request for references. I'd appreciate a pointer to any published proof of the following: Proposition. Given $n \in \mathbb{N}^+$, let $\Phi$ be a function $\mathbb{C}^n > \to \...
Salvo Tringali's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
1k views

Isometry groups of Riemannian submersions with totally geodesic fibers

Suppose $F\to M\stackrel{\pi}{\to} B$ is a Riemannian submersion with totally geodesic fibers, all manifolds compact. In general, unless $M=B\times F$ is a Riemannian product, the isometry groups of ...
Renato G. Bettiol's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
392 views

Surjectively isometric normed spaces: Hamel vs (extended) Schauder dimension

Bonjour/bonsoir à toutes et à tous. This may really be a very basic question, but... Let $\mathbf{X} \equiv (X, \|\cdot\|_X)$ and $\mathbf{Y} \equiv (Y, \|\cdot\|_Y)$ be surjectively isometric (1) ...
Salvo Tringali's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
532 views

"Measuring" how far is one Banach space from being surjectively isometric to another

Bonjour/bonsoir à toutes et à tous. Assume that $\mathbf{V} \equiv (V, \|\cdot\|_V)$ and $\mathbf{W} \equiv (W, \|\cdot\|_W)$ are Banach spaces (over the real or complex field). Question 1. What ...
Salvo Tringali's user avatar
7 votes
0 answers
645 views

Homometric $\Rightarrow$ isometric?

Suppose you know that there is a mapping between two Riemmanian manifolds $M_1$ and $M_2$ such that, for each $x_1 \in M_1$, the (codimension-1) measure of the set of points at distance $d$ from $x_1$ ...
Joseph O'Rourke's user avatar