Two-numbers and their applications -- a survey (Q668627): Difference between revisions

This is a nice review article about the notion of two-numbers, introduced by \textit{B.-Y. Chen} and \textit{T. Nagano} in [C. R. Acad. Sci., Paris, Sér. I 295, 389--391 (1982; Zbl 0531.53034)]. The primeval concept of two-numbers is the notion of antipodal points on a circle. For a Riemannian manifold the definition goes as follows: \par A point \(q\) in a closed geodesic is called an antipodal point of another point \(p\) on the same closed geodesic if the distance \(d(p, q)\) between \(p\) and \(q\) on the two arcs connecting \(p\) and \(q\) are equal. A closed geodesic in a Riemannian manifold is also called a circle. \par A subset \(S\) of a Riemannian manifold \(M\) is called an antipodal set if any two points in \(S\) are antipodal on some circle of \(M\) connecting them. An antipodal set \(A_2M\) in a connected Riemannian manifold \(M\) is called a maximal antipodal set if it does not lie in any antipodal set as a proper subset. The supremum of the cardinality of all maximal antipodal sets of \(M\) is called the two-number of \(M\), denoted by \(\#_2M\). So for the \(n\)-sphere it is \(\#_2\mathbb{S}^n=2\). The article surveys on two-numbers and their applications in geometry and topology, and gives some open problems and conjectures.