The de Rham decomposition theorem for metric spaces (Q2427037)

The authors generalize the classical de Rham decomposition theorem for complete Riemannian manifolds to the setting of geodesic metric spaces of finite affine rank. Firstly, we recall some basic definitions. A metric space \(X\) is said to be irreducible if for each pair of metric spaces \(Y,Z\) such that \(X=Y\times Z\), one of the factors \(Y\) or \(Z\) must be a point. The space \(X\) is called geodesic if each pair of its points is connected by a geodesic, namely by an isometric embedding of an interval into \(X\). The affine rank of \(X\) is the supremum over all topological dimensions of affine spaces that admit an isometric embedding into \(X\). The authors prove that a geodesic metric space of finite affine rank admits a decomposition as a direct product \(Y_0\times Y_1\times \cdots\times Y_n\), where \(Y_0\) is an Euclidean space and, for any \(i\in \{1,\dots,n\}\), \(Y_i\) is an irreducible metric space not isometric neither to the real line, nor to a point. The decomposition is unique up to the order of the irreducible factors. Finally, interesting consequences of this theorem are obtained.