We develop a general deformation geometry in which the primitive datum is an invertible deformation field \ (A\) relative to a selected reference geometry. Instead of prescribing only a metric, the deformation field determines both the induced metric g (U, V) = g (AU, AV) and the transported connection form =A^-1 A+A^-1 dA. Thus the induced metric and the transported connection are determined by one deformation field A, through the reference relation V=AV. For an admissible factorization A=OP, the dilation-shear factor P changes the metric, while the g-orthogonal rotation-twist factor O leaves the metric unchanged but changes the connection. The connection formula gives the coupling term P^-1O^-1 dO\, P, showing that rotation-twist and dilation-shear do not simply add as independent effects. The theory also distinguishes metric realization from deformation-field realization: a full isometric realization selects the Levi-Civita connection of the realized metric, whereas a general deformation field may produce a residual distortion relative to that Levi-Civita connection. In this way the framework extends Riemannian and pseudo-Riemannian metric geometry to a deformation-induced metric-connection geometry, while differing from metric-affine geometry by tying the metric and connection to the same deformation field and reference connection.
Gordon Liu (Sat,) studied this question.