Metric Lie Groups. Carnot-Carathéodory spaces from the homogeneous viewpoint

Abstract

This book explores geometries defined by left-invariant distance functions on Lie groups, with a particular focus on nilpotent groups and Carnot groups equipped with geodesic distances. Geodesic left-invariant metrics are either sub-Riemannian or their generalizations, known as sub-Finsler geometries or Carnot-Carathéodory metrics. The primary objective is to illustrate how these non-smooth geometries, together with a Lie group structure, manifest in various mathematical fields, including metric geometry and geometric group theory. Additionally, the book demonstrates the role of metric Lie groups, particularly Carnot groups, in the following contexts: (a) as asymptotic cones of nilpotent groups; (b) as parabolic boundaries of rank-one symmetric spaces and, more broadly, of homogeneous negatively curved Riemannian manifolds; (c) as limits of Riemannian manifolds and tangents of sub-Riemannian manifolds.