On quantum symmetries of compact metric spaces

TL;DR

This paper explores quantum symmetries of compact metric spaces, showing that isometric actions preserve Lipschitz constants and proposing a hierarchy of quantum isometry notions based on Wasserstein distances, conjecturing their equivalence.

Contribution

It introduces new definitions of quantum isometry using Wasserstein distances and demonstrates their relation to existing notions, partially answering a longstanding question.

Findings

Isometric quantum actions contract Lipschitz constants.

Multiple notions of quantum isometry form a hierarchy.

Conjecture that all proposed definitions are equivalent.

Abstract

An action of a compact quantum group on a compact metric space $(X,d)$ is (D)-isometric if the distance function is preserved by a diagonal action on $X\times X$. We show that an isometric action in this sense has the following additional property: The corresponding action on the algebra of continuous functions on $X$ by the convolution semigroup of probability measures on the quantum group contracts Lipschitz constants. It is, in other words, isometric in another sense due to H. Li, J. Quaegebeur and M. Sabbe; this partially answers a question of D. Goswami. We also introduce other possible notions of isometric quantum action, in terms of the Wasserstein $p$-distances between probability measures on $X$ for $p\ge 1$, used extensively in optimal transportation. It turns out all of these definitions of quantum isometry fit in a tower of implications, with the two above at the extreme ends of the tower. We conjecture that they are all equivalent.