Group-theoretic matching of the length and the equality principles in geometry (Q498503)

The authors show that a canonical deformed group of diffeomorphisms with given length scale (the group of Riemannian translations \(RT\)) allows to measure the lengths of geodesics. They prove that a group \(RT\) acting on a manifold \(X\) defines on \(X\) a structure of a Riemannian space and an arbitrary Riemannian structure on \(X\) can be given in such a way. Thus, the group \(RT\) realizes the length principle, but it does not preserve invariants on a set, therefore cannot be considered as the principal group of a Riemannian space. The authors give an extension of this group -- the group \(DP\) of parallel translations of vectors in a Riemannian space. The group \(DP\), acting in the tangent bundle of a manifold preserves the lengths of vectors and the angles between vectors, thus can be considered as the principal group of a Riemannian space and realizes the equality principle.