On Lipschitz retraction of finite subsets of normed spaces (Q2279954)

Given a metric space \(X\), let \(X(n)\) denote the collection of nonempty finite subsets of \(X\) of cardinality at most \(n\), viewed as a metric space with respect to the Hausdorff distance \(d_H\). Then we have a nested sequence under natural isometric embeddings \(X=X(1)\subset X(2)\subset\cdots\). If \(X, Z\) are metric spaces, a map \(f:X\to Z\) is Lipschitz if there is \(\lambda\geq 0\) such that \(d(f(x), f(y))\leq\lambda d(x, y)\) for all \(x, y\in X\). If \(Z\subseteq X\), a map \(r: X\to Z\) is a retraction if its restriction to \(Z\) is the identity map. It was proved by \textit{L. V. Kovalev} [Bull. Aust. Math. Soc. 93, No. 1, 146--151 (2016; Zbl 1356.54034)] that for a Hilbert space \(H\), Lipschitz retractions \(r:H(n)\to H(n-1)\) exist for all \(n\geq 2\). This result was generalized by \textit{M. Bačák} and \textit{L. V. Kovalev} [Can. Math. Bull. 59, No. 4, 673--681 (2016; Zbl 1357.53045)] to the case where \(X\) is a CAT(0) space. It is an open question whether Lipschitz retractions \(r:X(n)\to X(n-1)\) exist for all \(n\geq 2\) when \(X\) is a Banach space. In this paper, the author proves that when \(X\) is a normed space, the aforementioned sequence admits Lipschitz retractions \(X(n)\to X\), \(X(n)\to X(2)\), as well as concrete retractions \(X(n)\to X(n-1)\) that are Lipschitz if \(n=2,3\) and Hölder-continuous on bounded sets if \(n>3\). The results provide tools of investigation towards answering the above question.