Determination of a Riemannian manifold from the distance difference functions (Q2000879)

Let $(N,g)$ be a Riemannian manifold with the distance function $d(x, y)$ and $M\subset N$ an open subset. For $x\in M$ let $D_x$ be the distance difference function $D_x: F\times F\to \mathbb{R}$, given by $\mathcal{D}_x: (z_1, z_2) = d(x, z_1)-d(x, z_2)$, $z_1, z_2\in F=N\setminus M$. The authors consider the inverse problem of determining the topological and the differentiable structure of the manifold $M$ and the metric $g|_M$ on it for given the distance difference data, that is, the set $F$, the metric $g|_F$, and the collection $\mathcal{D}(M)=\{D_x: x\in M\}$. Moreover, they consider the embedded image $\mathcal{D}(M)$ of the manifold $M$, in the vector space $C(F\times F)$, as a representation of the manifold $M$. The problem has applications in hybrid inverse problems and in geophysical imaging. Hybrid inverse problems are based on coupling two physical models together. In a typical setting of these problems, the first physical system is such that by controlling the boundary values of its solution, one can produce high-amplitude waves, that create, e.g., due to energy absorption, a source for the second physical system. Typically, the second physical system corresponds to a hyperbolic equation.