Random and universal metric spaces

Abstract

We introduce a model of the set of all Polish (=separable complete metric) spaces: the cone $\cal R$ of distance matrices, and consider geometric and probabilistic problems connected with this object. The notion of the universal distance matrix is defined and we proved that the set of such matrices is everywhere dense $G_δ$ set in weak topology in the cone $\cal R$. Universality of distance matrix is the necessary and sufficient condition on the distance matrix of the countable everywhere dense set of so called universal Urysohn space which he had defined in 1924 in his last paper. This means that Urysohn space is generic in the set of all Polish spaces. Then we consider metric spaces with measures (metric triples) and define a complete invariant: its - matrix distribution. We give an intrinsic characterization of the set of matrix distributions, and using the ergodic theorem, give a new proof of Gromov's ``reconstruction theorem'. A natural construction of a wide class of measures on the cone $\cal R$ is given and for these we show that {\it with probability one a random Polish space is again the Urysohn space}. There is a close connection between these questions, metric classification of measurable functions of several arguments, and classification of the actions of the infinite symmetric group [V1,V2].