Metric geometry of infinite dimensional Lie groups and their homogeneous spaces

Abstract

We study the geometry of Lie groups G with a continuous Finsler metric, in presence of a subgroup K such that the metric is right-invariant for the action of K. We present a systematic study of the metric and geodesic structure of homogeneous spaces M obtained by the quotient M≃G/K. Of particular interest are left-invariant metrics of G which are then bi-invariant for the action of K. We then focus on the geodesic structure of groups K that admit bi-invariant metrics, proving that one-parameter groups are short paths for those metrics, and characterizing all other short paths. We provide applications of the results obtained, in two settings: manifolds of Banach space linear operators, and groups of maps from compact manifolds.