David Hilbert discovered in 1895 an important metric that is canonically associated to any convex domain $Ω$ in the Euclidean (or projective) space. This metric is known to be Finslerian, and the usual proof assumes a certain degree of smoothness of the boundary of $Ω$ and refers to a theorem by Busemann and Mayer that produces the norm of a tangent vector from the distance function. In this paper, we develop a new approach for the study of the Hilbert metric where no differentiability is assumed. The approach exhibits the Hilbert metric on a domain as a symmetrization of a natural weak metric, known as the Funk metric. The Funk metric is described as a tautological weak Finsler metric, in which the unit ball at each tangent space is naturally identified with the domain $Ω$ itself. The Hilbert metric is then identified with the reversible tautological weak Finsler structure on $Ω$, and the unit ball at each point is described as the harmonic symmetrization of the unit ball of the Funk metric. Properties of the Hilbert metric then follow from general properties of harmonic symmetrizations of weak Finsler structures.
In the asymmetric setting, Hilbert's fourth problem asks to construct and study all (non-reversible) projective Finsler metrics: Finsler metrics defined on open, convex subsets of real projective $n$-space for which geodesics lie on projective lines. While asymmetric norms and Funk metrics provide many examples of essentially non-reversible projective metrics defined on proper convex subsets of projective $n$-space, it is shown that any projective Finsler metric defined on the whole projective $n$-space is the sum of a reversible projective metric and an exact 1-form.
It is shown that a possibly irreversible $C^2$ Finsler metric on the torus, or on any other compact Euclidean space form, whose geodesics are straight lines is the sum of a flat metric and a closed $1$-form. This is used to prove that if $(M,g)$ is a compact Riemannian symmetric space of rank greater than one and $F$ is a {\sl reversible} $C^2$ Finsler metric on $M$ whose unparametrized geodesics coincide with those of $g$, then $(M,F)$ is a Finsler symmetric space.
In this paper we study a class of Finsler metrics defined by a Riemannian metric and an 1-form. We classify those of projectively flat in dimension $n\geq3$ by a special class of deformations. The results show that the projective flatness of such kind of Finsler metrics always arises from that of some Riemannian metric.
A solution of Hilberts fourth problem lead to integral equation of the type generalized cosine transform. The present paper considers the solution that integral equation by integral geometry methods and propose an inversion formula for reconstruction of Crofton measures from projective smooth Finsler metrics in R3.
It is the Hilbert's Fourth Problem to characterize the (not-necessarily-reversible) distance functions on a bounded convex domain in R^n such that straight lines are shortest paths. Distance functions induced by a Finsler metric are regarded as smooth ones. Finsler metrics with straight geodesics said to be projective. It is known that the flag curvature of any projective Finsler metric is a scalar function of tangent vectors (the flag curvature must be a constant if it is Riemannian). Thus it is a natural problem to study those of constant curvature. In this paper, we study the Hilbert Fourth…
In Finsler geometry, there are infinitely many models of constant curvature. The Funk metrics, the Hilbert-Klein metrics and the Bryant metrics are projectively flat with non-zero constant curvature. A recent example constructed by the author is projectively flat with zero curvature. In this paper, we introduce a technique to construct non-projectively flat Finsler metrics with zero curvature in each dimension. The technique can be used to construct many non-projectively flat Finsler metrics of constant curvature.
A Riemannian metric is of constant curvature if and only if it is locally projectively flat. There are infinitely many locally projectively flat Finsler metrics of constant curvature, that are special solutions to the Hilbert's Fourth Problem. In this paper, we use the technique in the paper titled "Finsler metrics with K=0 and S=0" (math.DG/0109060) to construct infinitely many Finsler metrics on the 2-sphere with constant curvature K=1 and infinitely many Finsler metrics on the 2-disk with constant curvature K = -1. These metrics are not projectively flat. So far, the classification of Finsl…
A Finsler metric is geodesically reversible if geodesics remain geodesics after a change of orientation. Asymmetric norms on vector spaces and Funk metrics in the interior of convex bodies are examples of geodesically reversible metrics that are not necessarily sums of reversible metrics and closed 1-forms. However, there seem to be few such examples in closed manifolds. In this paper the theory of volumes and areas on Finsler spaces is applied to establish a number of rigidity theorems which partially explain this paucity of examples. These rigidity results settle some hitherto unsolved cases…
The well-known Funk metric F(x,y) is projectively flat with constant flag curvature K=-1/4 and the Hilbert metric H(x,y):=(F(x,y)+F(x,-y))/2 is projectively flat with constant curvature K=-1. These metrics are the special solutions to Hilbert's Fourth Problem. In this paper, we construct a non-trivial R-flat spray using the Funk metric. It is then an inverse problem in the calculus of variation to find a Finsler metric that induces the R-flat spray. We find an explicit solution to this inverse problem and obtain a non-trivial projectively flat Finsler metric with K=0.
We compare the regularity of the boundary of a convex set with the value of its Finslerian volume entropy. The main result states that the volume entropy of a two-dimensional domain whose associated curvature measure is Ahlfors $α$-regular is $\frac{2α}{α+1}$.
We survey some basic geometric properties of the Funk metric of a convex set in $\mathbb{R}^n$. In particular, we study its geodesics, its topology, its metric balls, its convexity properties, its perpendicularity theory and its isometries. The Hilbert metric is a symmetrization of the Funk metric, and we show some properties of the Hilbert metric that follow directly from the properties we prove for the Funk metric.
A timelike space is a Hausdorff topological space equipped with a partial order relation $<$ and a distance function $ρ$ satisfying a collection of axioms including a set of compatibility conditions between the partial order relation and the distance function. The distance function is defined only on a subset of the product of the space with itself that contains the diagonal, namely, $ρ(x,y)$ is defined if and only if $x<y$ or $x=y$. Distances between pairs of distinct points in a triple $x,y,z$, whenever these distances are defined, satisfy the so-called \emph{time inequality}, which is a rev…
The goal of this paper is to introduce and study analogues of the Euclidean Funk and Hilbert metrics on open convex subsets $Ω$ of hyperbolic or spherical spaces. At least at a formal level, there are striking similarities among the three cases: Euclidean, spherical and hyperbolic. We start by defining non-Euclidean analogues of the Euclidean Funk weak metric and we give three distinct representations of it in each of the non-Euclidean cases, which parallel the known situation for the Euclidean case. As a consequence, all of these metrics are shown to be Finslerian, and the associated norms of…
Hilbert's fourth problem asks for the construction and the study of metrics on subsets of projective space for which the projective line segments are geodesics. Several solutions of the problem were given so far, depending on more precise interpretations of this problem, with various additional conditions satisfied. The most interesting solutions are probably those inspired from an integral formula that was first introduced in this theory by Herbert Busemann. Besides that, Busemann and his school made a thorough investigation of metrics defined on subsets of projective space for which the proj…
The aim of this paper is to show the existence of a canonical distance $\mathsf d'$ defined on a locally Minkowski metric measure space $(\mathsf X,\mathsf d,\mathfrak m)$ such that: i) $\mathsf d'$ is equivalent to $\mathsf d$, ii) $(\mathsf X, \mathsf d', \mathfrak m)$ is infinitesimally Hilbertian. This new regularity assumption on $(\mathsf X, \mathsf d,\mathfrak m)$ essentially forces the structure to be locally similar to a Minkowski space and defines a class of metric measure structures which includes all the Finsler manifolds, and it is actually strictly larger. The required distance $…
