I already asked this question at stackexchange three days ago. Since I got no answer, I want to try mathoverflow now. I hope that you can help.


I'm looking for a proof of an equivalence that can e.g. be found in a paper by Shubin 'Spectral theory of elliptic operators on non-compact manifolds' (Appendix A.1.1 below Def. 1.1).


It's about manifolds of bounded geometry, where bounded geometry means here: positive injectivity radius and the curvature tensor and all its covariant derivatives are bounded.


In the paper of Shubin it is written that there are the following equivalent characterizations: (Let $(M,g)$ always have positive injectivity radius.)


(i) $(M,g)$ is of bounded geometry.


(ii) Let $r>0$ be smaller than the injectivity radius. For any $x,x′\in M$ let $y$ (resp. $y′$) be geodesic normal coordinates around $x$ (resp. $x′$) with an r-ball as domain. If the balls of radius $r$ around $x$ and $x′$ have a nonempty intersection, then the transition function $y^{−1}\circ y$ and all its derivatives are uniformly bounded (where uniformly means here independent of $x$ and $x′$).


I know that (i) is equivalent to the following: (iii) Let $g^\alpha\_{ij}$ be the representation of the metric coefficienst on a ball of radius $r$ around $x\_\alpha$ with respect to geodesic normal coordinates. Then $g^\alpha\_{ij}$ and all its derivatives are uniformly bounded (where uniformly means independent on $\alpha$).


I can see that (iii) implies (ii) (by looking at the geodesic flow and using Gronwall's inequality). But I have no idea how to get the converse. Is there any reference for the proof? I'm grateful for any idea for the proof as well.


Thank you in advance.



Characterization of bounded geometry - Reference-request
I assume that by "all derivatives" you mean derivatives of every order.


Suppose that all transitions between normal coordinates have uniformly bounded derivatives within some radius $r$. For every point $p$ we have a unit radial vector field $V=V(p)$ whose derivatives are uniformly bounded at distances between, say $r/10$ and $r$ from $p$. (This holds in normal coordinates centered at $p$ and hence in normal coordinates centered at any nearby point.)


Now fix a point $q\in M$ and arrange points $p\_k$, $k=1,\dots,\frac{n(n+1)}2$, where $n=\dim M$, so that the distances from $q$ to $p\_k$ equal $r/2$ and the corresponding vector fields $V\_k=V(p\_k)$ at $q$ are generic in the sense that the symmetric tensors $V\_k\otimes V\_k$ are linearly independent. Then the same holds at every point in a neighborhood of $q$. Actually the points $p\_k$ should have some prescribed coordinates in normal coordinate system centered at $q$, then all subsequent estimates are uniform.


We have a system of equations $g(V\_k,V\_k)=1$, $k=1,\dots,\frac{n(n+1)}2$. At every point near $q$ this is a nondegenerate linear system on the components of the metric tensor $g$. Hence it uniquely determines $g$ via some explicit formulae in terms of $V\_k$. Since the derivatives of $V\_k$ are uniformly bounded, so are the derivatives of the metric tensor.


