Local geometry of nonregular weighted quasimetric Carnot-Carathéodory spaces (Q1760970)

The increasing interest in sub-Riemannian geometry and its applications in the last three decades has led to considering more general spaces. In the paper under review, the author defines the weighted Carnot-Carathéodory structure on a finite-dimensional manifold \(\mathbb{M}\), which is a generalization of the classical sub-Riemannian structure and more general structures such as that studied in [\textit{M. Christ} et al., Ann. Math. (2) 150, No. 2, 489--577 (1999; Zbl 0960.44001)]. The referred definition is done on open subsets \(U\) of \(\mathbb{M}\). On the Cartesian product \(U\times U\) is also defined a measure function \(\rho(u,v)\), which has the properties of a quasimetric and was introduced in [\textit{A. Nagel} et al., Acta Math. 155, 103--147 (1985; Zbl 0578.32044)]. In the proofs of the main results in this paper, a local approximation of vector fields by homogeneous vector fields is used. Such an approximation of vector fields can be found in [\textit{M. Karmanova} and \textit{S. Vodop'yanov}, in: Analysis and mathematical physics. Lectures delivered at the international conference ``New trends in harmonic and complex analysis'', Voss, Norway, May 7--12, 2007. Basel: Birkhäuser. 233--335 (2009; Zbl 1297.53029)], and it allows to define a second measure function \(\rho^{u}:U\times U\to[0,\infty)\), where \(u\in U\). The function \(\rho^{u}\) also has the properties of a quasimetric. With those two quasimetrics in hand the author estimates the divergence of integral lines of the vector fields that appear in the definition of Carnot-Carathéodory structure and their homogeneous approximation. The author also estimates the closeness of the quasimetrics \(\rho\) and \(\rho^{u}\). These results in association with the theory of convergence of quasimetric spaces constructed by the author in [the author, Sib. Math. J. 51, No. 2, 313--324 (2010); translation from Sib. Mat. Zh. 51, No. 2, 388--403 (2010; Zbl 1202.53047)] imply the following assertion: the quasimetric space \((U,\rho^{u})\) is the local tangent cone at the point \(u\) to the quasimetric space \((U,\rho)\). Moreover, the tangent cone has the algebraic structure of the homogeneous space.