A M\"obius Characterization of Metric Spheres

Abstract

In this paper we characterize compact extended Ptolemy metric spaces with many circles up to M\"obius equivalence. This characterization yields a M\"obius characterization of the $n$-dimensional spheres $S^n$ and hemispheres $S^n_+$ when endowed with their chordal metrics. In particular, we show that every compact extended Ptolemy metric space with the property that every three points are contained in a circle is M\"obius equivalent to $(S^n,d_0)$ for some $n\ge 1$, the $n$-dimensional sphere $S^n$ with its chordal metric.