Menger curvature and rectifiability in metric spaces (Q952426)

Let \(X\) be a metric space. The Menger curvature \(c(z_1,z_2,z_3)\) of a triple of distinct points \(z_1,z_2,z_3\) in \(X\) is the reciprocal of the radius of the circle passing through a triple of points in \(\mathbb{R}^2\) which is isometric to the triple \(z_1,z_2,z_3\). The metric space \(X\) is said to be rectifiable if there exists a subset \(E\subset \mathbb{R}\) and a Lipschitz function \(f:E\to X\) such that \(\mathcal{H}^1(X\setminus f(E))=0\), where \(\mathcal{H}^1\) is the 1-dimensional Hausdorff measure on \(X\). The main result of the paper under review is that \(X\) is rectifiable if the following condition is satisfied: \[ \int_X\int_X\int_X c(z_1,z_2,z_3)^2 \;d\mathcal{H}^1z_1\;d\mathcal{H}^1z_2\;d\mathcal{H}^1z_3 <\infty. \]