Weak similarities of metric and semimetric spaces

Abstract

Let (X,dX) and (Y,dY) be semimetric spaces with distance sets D(X) and, respectively, D(Y). A mapping F : X \to Y is a weak similarity if it is surjective and there exists a strictly increasing f : D(Y) \to D(X) such that dX = f \circ dY \circ F. It is shown that the weak similarities between geodesic spaces are usual similarities and every weak similarity F : X \to Y is an isometry if X and Y are ultrametric and compact with D(X) = D(Y). Some conditions under which the weak similarities are homeomorphisms or uniform equivalences are also found.