Can we run to infinity? The diameter of the diffeomorphism group with respect to right-invariant Sobolev metrics (Q1995239)

Let \(\text{Diff}(\mathcal{M})\) denote the group of diffeomorphisms of a closed manifold \(M\) equipped with various right-invariant Sobolev norms \(W^{s,p}\). Recent work initiated by \textit{P. W. Michor} and \textit{D. Mumford} [Doc. Math. 10, 217--245 (2005; Zbl 1083.58010)] and continued by \textit{R. L. Jerrard} and \textit{C. Maor} [Ann. Global Anal. Geom. 56, No. 2, 351--360 (2019; Zbl 1423.58005)] has revealed that for sufficiently weak norms, namely, when \(sp\le\text{dim}\hspace{.5mm}\mathcal{M}\) and \(s < 1\), then the geodesic distance collapses completely. In this paper, the authors study what kind of metric space is obtained when there is no collapse in the geodesic distance, and in particular the question, whether the metric spaces \(\text{Diff}(\mathcal{M})\) (with Sobolev norms \(W^{s,p}\)) have a finite or infinite diameter. In their main results, the authors show that the diameter is infinite for strong enough norms, when \((s-1)p\ge\text{dim}\hspace{.5mm}\mathcal{M}\), and that for spheres the diameter is finite when \((s-1)p < 1\). In particular, this gives a full characterization of the diameter of \(\text{Diff}(S^1)\). In addition, they show that if the diameter of \(\text{Diff}_c(\mathbb{R}^n)\) is not zero, then it is infinite.