Almost isometric embeddings of metric spaces

Abstract

We investigate a relations of almost isometric embedding and almost isometry between metric spaces and prove that with respect to these relations: (1) There is a countable universal metric space. (2) There may exist fewer than continuum separable metric spaces on aleph_1 so that every separable metric space is almost isometrically embedded into one of them when the continuum hypothesis fails. (3) There is no collection of fewer than continuum metric spaces of cardinality aleph_2 so that every ultra-metric space of cardinality aleph_2 is almost isometrically embedded into one of them if aleph_2<2^{aleph_0}. We also prove that various spaces X satisfy that if a space X is almost isometric to X than Y is isometric to X.