Single basepoint subdivision schemes for manifold-valued data: time-symmetry without space-symmetry (Q385446)

A geometric interpretation of the tensor \(P_f\) is considered. Associated to the retraction map \(f\) is a torsion-free affine connection, which in turn defines an exponential map. The condition \(P_f = 0\) is shown to be equivalent to the condition that \(f\) coincides with the exponential map of the connection up to the third order. In particular, when \(f\) is the exponential map of a connection, one recovers the original connection and \(P_f\) vanishes. It then follows that the condition \(P_f = 0\) is satisfied by a wider class of manifolds than was previously known. Under the additional assumption that the subdivision rule satisfies a time-symmetry, it is shown that the vanishing of \(P_f\) implies that the \(C^4\) proximity conditions hold, thus guaranteeing \(C^4\) equivalence. Finally, the analysis in the paper shows that for \(k\geq 5,\) the \(C^k\) proximity conditions imply vanishing curvature. This suggests that vanishing curvature of the connection associated to \(f\) is likely to be a necessary condition for \(C^k\) equivalence for \(k \geq 5.\)