Euler's ratio-sum formula in projective-metric spaces (Q1740711)

We recall that -- given a triangle \(ABC\) in the Euclidean plane -- the Euler's ratio-sum formula states that, if \(O\) is a point not belonging to any of the lines \(\overline{AB}\), \(\overline{AC}\) and \(\overline{BC}\) of the triangle, then \[\frac{d(A,O)}{d(O,X)}+ \frac{d(B,O)}{d(O,Y)}+\frac{d(C,O)}{d(O,Z)}+2=\frac{d(A,O)}{d(O,X)}\frac{d(B,O)}{d(O,Y)}\frac{d(C,O)}{d(O,Z)}\], where \(X:=\overline{AO}\cap \overline{BC}\), \(Y:=\overline{BO}\cap \overline{AC}\) and \(Z:=\overline{CO}\cap \overline{BA}\). In the paper under review, the authors give appropriate and unified generalizations of the above formula to planes of constant curvature (Theorem 2.2). Moreover, they look for further generalizations to projective-metric spaces, but eventually they conclude (Theorem 4.5) that among the projective-metric spaces, Euler's ratio-sum formula characterizes the elliptic geometry, the Minkowskian geometries and the hyperbolic geometry.