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Questions tagged [metric-spaces]

A metric space is a pair $(X,d)$, where $X$ is a set and $d:X \times X \to \mathbb{R}$ satisfies the following conditions for all $x,y,z \in X$. (Symmetry) $d(x,y)=d(y,x)$. (Identity of Indiscernibles) $d(x,y)=0$ if and only if $x=y$. (Triangle Inequality) $d(x,y)+d(y,z) \geq d(x,z)$.

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3 votes
0 answers
27 views

Given a metric space $X$, is there a natural way to view the quasi-isometry group $QI(X)$ as a topological group?

Given a metric space $(X,d)$, we define $QI(X)$ as the set of quasi-isometries $f : X \to X$, modulo the equivalence relation $$ f \sim g \ \ \ \ \text{ if and only if } \ \ \ \sup_{x \in X} \ d(f(x)...
14 votes
1 answer
500 views

Is there an 'unnatural' topological construction of an algebraically closed field of positive characteristic?

It's well known that while there is a natural topological construction of a nearly algebraically closed field of characteristic $0$, algebraically closed fields of positive characteristic seemingly ...
3 votes
1 answer
136 views

For $\mathbb R^n \times Q \cong \mathbb R^m \times Q $ must $n = m$? ($Q$ is the Hilbert cube)

There are several theorems describing the topology on hyperspaces of convex subsets of $\mathbb R^n$ under the Hausdorff metric. For example Antonyan and Jonard-Pérez prove the space of compact convex ...
0 votes
1 answer
98 views

Is every subgroup closed in this complete, nondiscrete topological group?

Another question on Mathoverflow (here: Complete topological groups in which all subgroups are closed) asks if there exists a complete, nondiscrete topological group $G$ such that all subgroups of $G$...
0 votes
1 answer
67 views

Metric for measuring linearity of finite set of points in $R^2$

Suppose one has $n > 2$ points in $R^2$, and one wants to measure "how linear" they are. I want a metric such that (a) if all the points are in fact on the same line, the metric gives 1, (...
4 votes
1 answer
97 views

Inner regularity property of covering number of metric spaces

Let $(X,d)$ be a complete metric space and $n\in\mathbb N$. Suppose that every finite subset $F\subset X$ can be covered by $n$ closed balls of $X$ (that is, $N(Y,d,1)\le n$, in terms of covering ...
3 votes
1 answer
269 views

Does complete and separable Wasserstein space imply a complete base space?

Also asked on math.SE. Let $(Z,d)$ be a metric space, and for $p\geq 1$, consider a metric space $(W_p,d_{W_p})$ defined by The Wasserstein Space $\begin{align}W_p = \{\mu|\mu\textrm{ is a Borel ...
1 vote
1 answer
124 views

$d(x,y) = \min\{|x_1−y_1|+|x_2−y_2|, 1−|x_1−y_1|+|x_2−(1−y_2)|\}$ defines a metric on $[0,1)\times[0,1]$? [closed]

For $x,y \in [0,1)\times[0,1]$, let $d(x,y)$ be the minimum of $|x_1−y_1|+|x_2−y_2|$ and $1−|x_1−y_1|+|x_2−(1−y_2)|$. Prove or disprove that $d$ is a metric. I was unable to find a counterexample to ...
49 votes
3 answers
3k views

What happens if you strip everything but the “between” relation in metric spaces

Given a metric space $(X,d)$ and three points $x,y,z$ in $X$, say that $y$ is between $x$ and $z$ if $d(x,z) = d(x,y) + d(y,z)$, and write $[x,z]$ for the set of points between $x$ and $z$. Obviously,...
0 votes
1 answer
100 views

Embeddings of pseudo metric spaces into seminormed Spaces

There is a theorem stating that every metric space embeds isometrically into $\ell _{\infty}$. My question: is there a generalized result for pseudo metric spaces embedding isometrically into semi-...
0 votes
1 answer
410 views

Properties of doubling metric spaces

At present I work with tools that involves doubling metric space, my definition of DME is: A metric space $X$ is called doubling with constant $N$, where $N \geq 1$ is an integer, if, for each ball $...
3 votes
0 answers
89 views

Loop space, parametrization equivalence and the issue of giving a topology

This question has been motivated by p.165 of this book. As in the cited link above, we consider the following space of paraemtrized piecewise $C^1$ loops \begin{equation} X:= \Bigl\{ x : [0,1] \to \...
1 vote
0 answers
33 views

Obtaining the geodesic extension property by embedding in a larger space

Suppose $(X,d)$ is a Hadamard space. By considering basic examples like a compact interval in $\mathbb{R}$ or a closed unit ball in Hilbert space, $X$ need not have the geodesic extension property (...
2 votes
2 answers
142 views

Is completion of measures equivalent to completion of sigma algebras as metric spaces with respect to measures?

An alternative way to get the Lebesgue $\sigma $-algebra $\mathcal{L} $ from the Borel algebra $B$ is to set $E\sim J$ iff $d(E,J):=\lambda(E\mathbin\Delta J)=0$ for $E,J\in B$. Then the completion of ...
2 votes
1 answer
89 views

Upper bound on the Levy-Prokhorov distance between the distributions of continuous Gaussian processes in terms of their covariances

Denote by $d$ the supremum metric on the space $C[0,T]$ of continuous real-valued functions on $[0,T]$: $$ d(f,g) = \sup_{t \in [0,T]} |f(t)-g(t)|. $$ Let $\rho$ be the Levy-Prokhorov metric on the ...
9 votes
1 answer
557 views

Is it possible to prove that any two points of a convex complete metric space are connected by some metric segment without the axiom of choice?

We say that a point $m$ is between points $p$ and $q$ of a metric space $(M, d)$ if $d(p, q) = d(p, m) + d(m, q)$ and $p ≠ m ≠ q$. A metric space $M$ is said to be metrically convex if given any two ...
2 votes
1 answer
49 views

Is any submetrizable linear topology linearly submetrizable?

Let $E$ be a vector space. A topology $\tau$ on $E$ is called (linearly) submetrizable if there is a (linear) metrizable topology $\pi$ on $E$ which is weaker than $\tau$, i.e. $\pi\subset\tau$. Is ...
6 votes
1 answer
217 views

Is the statement that every convex complete metric space has midpoints equivalent to the axiom of dependent choice (DC)?

We say that a point $m$ is between points $p$ and $q$ of a metric space $(M, d)$ if $d(p, q) = d(p, m) + d(m, q)$ and $p ≠ m ≠ q$. Furthermore, if the equality $d(p, m) = d(m, q)$ holds for $m$, we ...
4 votes
1 answer
143 views

radius-diameter relationship of balls in metric spaces

What necessary and sufficient conditions must a metric $d$ of a metric space $(X,d)$ fulfill so that the open balls of radius $r$ have diameter $2r$?
5 votes
1 answer
373 views

Points of differentiability of squared distance from a point in metric spaces

I posted this same question on MSE with no answer. Let $I:=(0, + \infty)$ and let $(X,d)$ be a complete and separable metric space. In this setting we say that $u : I \to X$ is absolutely continuous ...
0 votes
0 answers
37 views

Does smallness of Gromov-Hausdorff distance on scale 2 imply smallness on GH distance on scale 1?

Let $(M,g)$ be a Riemannian manifold and $C(Y)$ be a metric cone over $Y$. Let $B_r$ denote the geodesic ball of radius $r$ centered at a fixed point $x$ in $M$ and $C_r$ denote the metric ball of ...
8 votes
0 answers
149 views

Do the $\ell^{\infty}$ and $\ell^1$ norms yield minimal doubling constants amongst all norms on $\mathbb{R}^n$?

Setting: Let $X:=\mathbb{R}^n$ for some positive integer $n$. For each $1\le p\le \infty$ let $d_p$ denote the metric induced by the $\ell^p_n$ norm thereon. Note that, the doubling constant of a ...
0 votes
0 answers
65 views

Random covering on rectangles

Let $\mathrm{Rect}$ denote the class of axis-parallel rectangles $r: \mathbb{R}^2 \to \{0,1\}$, assigning $1$ if the point is inside the rectangle and $0$ otherwise. Let $\mathcal{D}$ be a ...
2 votes
1 answer
236 views

A sensible topology on the space of continuous linear maps between Fréchet spaces

Let $V_1$ and $V_2$ be Fréchet spaces. Let $\{ \lVert \cdot \rVert_{1,n} \}_{n \in \mathbb{N}}$ be a family of seminorms for $V_1$ and similarly $\{ \lVert \cdot \rVert_{2,n} \}_{n \in \mathbb{N}}$ ...
2 votes
1 answer
92 views

Skorokhod-like construction for sequences of random probability measures

Let $(X_i)$ be a sequence of i.i.d. random vectors with distribution $P$ on $[0,1]^d$. Let $D \equiv D([0,1]^d)$ be the multivariate Skorokhod space, equiped with a metric $d$ that makes it Polish. ...
13 votes
1 answer
329 views

Is there a metric compactification that doesn't create new paths?

Every separable metric space $A$ has a metrizable compactification, i.e. a compact metrizable space $X$ for which $A$ embeds topologically as a dense subspace of $X$. There are many approaches to ...
5 votes
1 answer
483 views

Can you always extend an isometry of a subset of a Hilbert Space to the whole space?

I remember that I read somewhere that the following theorem is true: Let $A\subseteq H$ be a subset of a real Hilbert space $H$ and let $f : A \to A$ be a distance-preserving bijection, i.e. a ...
3 votes
1 answer
100 views

Which posets arise from closed, transitive relations?

This a follow up question of Chain components and posets. Let $X$ be a compact metric space and $R\subset X^2$ a closed, transitive relation. Denote by $|R|=\{x\in X: xR x\}$ the diagonal of $R$. The ...
4 votes
1 answer
1k views

Length spaces with continuous length functional: is this set Gromov-Hausdorff closed?

As far as I can tell, a major motivation for the study of length spaces is that they arise as Gromov-Hausdorff limits of Riemannian manifolds. Specifically, A complete connected Riemannian manifold ...
4 votes
1 answer
224 views

More than one recurrence point (Birkhoff)

Birkhoff's recurrence theorem states that for a compact metric space $X$ and a continuous function $T: X\rightarrow X$, there is a recurrence point $x\in X$; the latter means that for any ...
1 vote
1 answer
170 views

Billingsley convergence of probability measures - inequality used in Theorem 2

On Page 8, Billingsley defines $f(x)=(1-\rho(x,F)/\epsilon)^{+}$ where $\rho(x,F)$ is the metric distance from the set $F$. He then states $|f(x)-f(y)|\leq \rho(x,y)/\epsilon$ and goes on to use this ...
12 votes
1 answer
879 views

Partition of unity without AC

Several existence theorems for partition of unity are known. For example (source), Proposition 3.1. If $(X,\tau)$ is a paracompact topological space, then for every open cover $\{U_i \subset X\}_{i \...
2 votes
1 answer
162 views

A topological characterization of trees?

Motivated by this complex dynamics question: Let $X$ be a compact, path-connected metric space. Suppose there exist an integer $N\geq 2$ and distinct points $p_1,\dots,p_N\in X$ such that no proper ...
2 votes
2 answers
293 views

Optimal transport: the existence of an optimal pair of $c$-conjugate functions

$\newcommand{\diff}{ \, \mathrm d}$ Let $X,Y$ be Polish spaces, $\mathcal C_b(X)$ the space of all real-valued bounded continuous functions on $X$, $\mathcal P(X)$ the space of Borel probability ...
1 vote
0 answers
42 views

Genaralizing the metric expression present in the quadrilateral inequality

Let $(X, d)$ be a metric space. In Sato - An alternative proof of Berg and Nikolaev’s characterization of CAT(0)-spaces via quadrilateral inequality it is stated that if $X$ is a geodesic space, then ...
0 votes
0 answers
38 views

Definition of semi-metric for empirical process theory

In the following lecture notes on empirical processes (https://www.stat.columbia.edu/~bodhi/Talks/Emp-Proc-Lecture-Notes.pdf) a semi-metric space $(\Theta, d)$ is defined in the following way: for any ...
0 votes
0 answers
55 views

Any useful bases for the topology induced by the $t$-Wasserstein distance?

I am working on $\mathbb R ^d$ equipped with the usual Euclidean metric. I know of one nice base for $\mathcal W _t$, namely: $$\left\{ B_p (r) : r>0, p=\sum_{i=1} ^n \alpha_i \delta_{x_i},\text{ ...
0 votes
0 answers
77 views

Wasserstein space isomorphic to original space?

Is there a complete measurable metric space $(X,d)$ for which its $p$-Wasserstein space $W(X)$ is isometrically isomorphic to $(X,d)$ for some $p \in [1,\infty]$? Note that there is a canonical non-...
2 votes
1 answer
79 views

Hausdorff-Lipschitz continuity of cone correspondence

Let $\mathbb{R}_+$ denote the strictly positive real numbers, let $\mathcal{X} \subset \mathbb{R}^n$ and $\mathcal{P} \subset \mathbb{R}^m$ be compact and convex subsets, let \begin{equation} f: \...
-3 votes
1 answer
211 views

Can a Polish space have two different topologies?

Let $X$ be a Polish space with the compatible metric being $d_1$. So $(X,d_1)$ is a separable complete metric space, and the topology is generated by $d_1$. Can there be a metric $d_2$ such that $(X,...
2 votes
0 answers
116 views

For Polish $X,Y$, $L^p(X,Y)$ is separable

Let $X$ and $Y$ be Polish spaces. Equip $X$ with a Borel probability measure $\mu_X$ and $Y$ with a metric $d_Y$. We can define the $L^p$ space as follows: Definition. Define $\begin{align}L^p(X,Y) = \...
1 vote
1 answer
82 views

Lipschitz approximation of a probability measure with finite $1$-st moment by the ones with finite $p$-th moment

For $p \in [1, \infty)$, let $\mathcal P_p (\mathbb{R^d})$ be the space of Borel probability measures on $\mathbb R^d$ with finite $p$-th moment. We endow $\mathcal P_p (\mathbb{R^d})$ with the ...
1 vote
1 answer
132 views

Variants of Dirichlet-type function as a pointwise limit of continuous functions

Problem Suppose $f$ is a function from a complete metric space $X$ to a metric space $Y$, and suppose $Y$ has points $y_{0}$, $y_{1}$ such that the subsets $f^{-1}(y_{0})$ and $f^{-1}(y_{1})$ are both ...
3 votes
0 answers
132 views

Is the Schwartz space a tame Frechet space?

I ran into the following definition of tame Frechet spaces and Nash-Moser therem. It says that the space of smooth functions on a compact manifold is tame Frechet. However, I wonder if The Schwartz ...
-2 votes
1 answer
141 views

Interpretation and validity of modified Heisenberg uncertainty principle in a metric context? [closed]

Considering the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, which states $\Delta x \cdot \Delta p \geq h$, I've explored a modified version by computing $(\Delta x + 1)(\Delta p + 1) \geq \Delta x \cdot \Delta ...
6 votes
0 answers
184 views

When is a distance space dominated by a metric space?

A distance space is a pair $(X,d)$ where $X$ is a set and $d:X \times X \rightarrow \mathbb{R}$ is a symmetric, non-negative map such that $d(x,x)=0$ for all $x \in X$. These are sometimes called semi-...
0 votes
0 answers
618 views

The set of continuous bounded functions $f:X\to Y$ is dense in $L^p(X,Y)$ where $X,Y$ are Polish

It is well known that the set of real-valued continuous functions with compact support is dense in $L^p(\mu)$ where $\mu$ is a Radon measure (see e.g. [Folland, Proposition 7.9]) Clearly, the set of ...
1 vote
2 answers
484 views

Is there good evidence that topological spaces are the correct way to study the general theory of continuity? [closed]

My reason for asking is that the theory of metric spaces is so clean and so many significant theorems can be proved for an arbitrary metric space (which makes it plausible to me that metric spaces are ...
2 votes
0 answers
187 views

Statistical invariants of Riemannian manifolds

$\DeclareMathOperator\diam{diam}\DeclareMathOperator\rad{rad}\DeclareMathOperator\iso{iso}\DeclareMathOperator\com{com}\DeclareMathOperator\con{con}$A cheap way of defining invariants of Riemannian ...
2 votes
0 answers
95 views

Can we control the Wasserstein metric between $\mu$ and $\nu$ by their moment difference?

Fix $p \in [1, \infty)$. Let $(\mathcal P_p(\mathbb R^d), W_p)$ be the Wasserstein space of all Borel probability measures on $\mathbb R^d$ with finite $p$-th moment. Let $D_p$ be the collection of ...

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