Convexity of sets in metric Abelian groups

Abstract

In the present paper, we introduce a new concept of convexity which is generated by a family of endomorphisms of an Abelian group. In Abelian groups equipped with a translation invariant metric, we define the boundedness, the norm, the measure of injectivity and the spectral radius of endomorphisms. Beyond the investigation of their properties, our first main goal is an extension of the celebrated Rådström Cancellation Theorem. Another result generalizes the Neumann Invertibility Theorem. Next we define the convexity of sets with respect to a family of endomorphisms and we describe the set-theoretical and algebraic structure of the class of such sets. Given a subset, we also consider the family of endomorphisms that make this subset convex and we establish the basic properties of this family. Our first main result establishes conditions which imply midpoint convexity. The next main result, using our extension of the Rådström Cancellation Theorem, presents further structural properties of the family of endomorphisms that make a subset convex.