Geometry of manifolds with area metric

We construct the differential geometry of smooth manifolds equipped with an algebraic curvature map acting as an area measure. Area metric geometry provides a spacetime structure suitable for the discussion of gauge theories and strings, and is considerably more general than Lorentzian geometry. Our construction of geometrically relevant objects, such as an area metric compatible connection and derived tensors, makes essential use of a decomposition theorem due to Gilkey, showing that a general area metric is generated by a finite collection of metrics rather than by a single one. Employing curvature invariants for area metric manifolds we devise an entirely new class of gravity theories with inherently stringy character, and discuss gauge matter actions