Finitely chainable and totally bounded metric spaces: equivalent characterizations (Q729832)

A metric space \((X,d)\) is called finitely chainable if for every \(\epsilon>0,\) there are finitely many points \(p_1,p_2,\ldots,p_r\) in \(X\) and a positive integer \(m\) such that every point of \(X\) can be joined with some \(p_j,\) \(1\leq j\leq r\) by an \(\epsilon\)-chain of length \(m\). In this largely expository research article, the authors discuss a list of twenty-five equivalent characterizations of finitely chainable metric spaces, most of which are taken from the literature, as which has developed over several decades. For instance in 1958 Atsuji proved that a metric space \((X,d)\) is finitely chainable if and only if every real-valued uniformly continuous function on \((X,d)\) is bounded. Other characterizations of finite chainability of metric spaces state that each sequence in \(X\) has a Bourbaki-Cauchy subsequence or that every star-finite open cover of \(X\) having a Lebesgue number has a finite subcover. Obviously, each totally bounded metric space is finitely chainable. Various theorems distinguishing these two properties are presented and relations to known results are pointed out. For instance it is stated that a metric space \((X,d)\) is totally bounded if and only if \((X,d)\) is finitely chainable and it has an Atsuji completion. Finally the question is studied of when on a metrizable space \(X\) there exists a compatible metric \(d\) such that \((X,d)\) is finitely chainable.