Completeness of the space of separable measures in the Kantorovich-Rubinshte\u{i}n metric

Abstract

We consider the space $M(X)$ of separable measures on the Borel $\sigma$-algebra ${\cal B}(X)$ of a metric space $X$. The space $M(X)$ is furnished with the Kantorovich-Rubinshte\u{i}n metric known also as the ``Hutchinson distance''. We prove that $M(X)$ is complete if and only if $X$ is complete. We consider applications of this theorem in the theory of self-similar fractals.