Conditions for a plane projective metric to be a norm

Abstract

Let R be a metrization with distance xy of an open convex set D in the 2-dimensional real affine plane such that xy + yz = xz whenever x, y, z lie on an affine line with y between x and z and such that all the balls px ≤ ρ are compact. The study of such metrics, called open plane projective metrics falls under the topic of Hilbert's Problem IV of his famous mathematical problems. In this paper it is proved that if in R the sets of points equidistant from lines lie again on lines then D must be the entire affine plane and the distance must in fact be a norm. The paper contributes to and gives extensions of similar results proved earlier. The novel features of the present result are that in the space collinearity of points x, y, z is taken only as a sufficient condition for the equality xy + yz = xz. Consequently the solution encompasses all normed linear planes, that is, norms whose unit circles are not necessarily strictly convex are also admitted.