For a metric space, $(X,d)$, define the following:
- for every $x \in X$, the local similitude group, $Sim(X, x)$, is the set of all surjective similitudes $X \to X$ which fix $x$.
- for every $x \in X$, the local isometry group, $Iso(X, x)$, is the set of all surjective isometries $X \to X$ which fix $x$.
- the (global) isometry group, $Iso(X)$, is the group of all surjective isometries $X \to X$.
- an ang is a triple of points $(r_1, v, r_2)$. (The notation is meant to be suggestive, $r_1$ stands for "ray № 1", $v$ stands for "vertex", $r_2$ stands for "ray № 2", and the word has three letters because it denotes a triple of points).
- A point $b \in X$ is said to be between points $a,c \in X$ if and only if $$d(a,c) = d(a,b) + d(b,c) $$ i.e. if the triangle inequality becomes an equality.
An angle is an equivalence class of angs under the following equivalence relation: $(r_1^*, v, r_2^*) \sim (\tilde{r_1}, v, \tilde{r_2})$ if and only if (1) [ $r_1^*$ is between $v$ and $\tilde{r_1}$, or $\tilde{r_1}$ is between $r_1^*$ and $v$]; and (2) [$r_2^*$ is between $v$ and $\tilde{r_2}$, or $\tilde{r_2}$ is between $r_2^*$ and $v$].
an angle measure is a function from the set of all angles in $(X,d)$ to $\mathbb{R}$, which is (1) invariant under the action of the global isometry group, i.e. if two angles (have representatives which) are related by an isometry then they must have the same angle measure, (2) for angles with a given vertex $v$, the angle measure must be invariant under the action of $Sim(X,v)$.
two angles are congruent if and only if they have the same angle measure.
In particular, note that two congruent angles need not be related by a surjective isometry, and two congruent angles need not be related by a surjective vertex-fixing similitude, even though the converses of these statements are automatically true by the definition of angle measure.
isotropic metric space - two angs with the same vertex $v$ are congruent if and only if they are related by the action of the local similitude group, $Sim(X,x)$.
This is an attempt to say, for general metric spaces, that "the notion of angle is rotationally invariant, i.e. does not depend on direction", even though we don't have a notion of rotation in general metric spaces. Basically, that the local isometry group at each point is "rich enough" (has enough "rotations") so as to be compatible with the angle measure.
<Examples> Riemannian manifolds, since (unlike for general Finslerian manifolds), the metric tensor tensor depends only on position, not position and direction. (See also.)
Finite-dimensional Banach spaces with norm induced by an inner product. <Examples>
We say that, given two angs $(r_1^*, v^*, r_2^*)$ and $(\tilde{r_1}, \tilde{v}, \tilde{r_2})$, they satisfy the SAS (Side-Angle-Side) criterion if and only if (1) they are congruent, i.e. they have the same angle measure $(r_1^*, v^*, r_2^*) \sim (\tilde{r_1}, \tilde{v}, \tilde{r_2})$, (2) $d(r_1^*, v^*) = d(\tilde{r_1}, \tilde{v})$, and (3) $d(r_2^*, v^*) = d(\tilde{r_2}, \tilde{v})$.
We say that a metric space $(X,d)$ satisfies the SAS (Side-Angle-Side) Postulate if and only if, given two angs satisfying the SAS criterion, they are related by the global isometry group.
Lemma: A metric space which satisfies the SAS Postulate is isotropic.
Proof: Still working on it -- the lemma might not be true with the given definitions, which would suggest that the definitions need to be changed/fixed.
Notes:
On definition 6:
Is this definition of angle compatible with already existing generalizations, e.g. (1)(2) ?
Also this definition of angle only seems to make sense when the notions of (1) betweenness and of (2) homothetic transformations/scaling/$Sim(X,x)$ coincide with each other. (I want to say this occurs when the metric space is an externally convex M-space.) However, that only occurs in really special spaces. Also it seems like this definition tries to make the notion of angle symmetric in $r_1$ and $r_2$, which we shouldn't necessarily expect to be the case (see page 4 here).
$\tilde{6}$ (alternate). An angle is an equivalence class of angs, with two angs equivalent if and only if they have the same vertex $v$ and are related by the local similitude group, i.e. if $d(v, r_1^*) = \lambda d(v, \tilde{r_1})$ and $d(v, r_2^*) = \lambda d(v, \tilde{r_2})$ for some $\lambda > 0$. Note: This definition would also make isotropic metric space below much easier to understand, allowing one to replace angs with angles.
On definition 7:
For really degenerate, "non-homogeneous", metric spaces, would it make more sense to create a separate angle measure function for each point, the same way there is a separate local isometry or similitude group for each point, and concomitantly drop the requirement that the angle measures have to be invariant under the global isometry group $Iso(X)$? The idea is that "angle measure" should be the "infinitesimal" and "scale-invariant" analog of "distance" for a metric space, so it's really only invariance under $Sim(X,v)$ at each $v$ which is most crucial for describing that.
Also, although it's necessary to define congruence of angles, the same way the metric is necessary to define congruence of pairs of points, there doesn't seem to be any "natural" choice of angle measure except in special cases where "circles" and their "circumferences" make sense.
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