The authors found extremals of arbitrary left-invariant sub-Finsler metric on the Engel group defined by a distribution of rank two. They use for this the Pontryagin Maximum Principle for the corresponding time-optimal problem in coordinates of the first kind. The obtained results are applied to the case of left-invariant sub-Riemannian metric with the same distribution.
Let E be the Engel group and D be a rank 2 bracket generating left invariant distribution with a Lorentzian metric, which is a nondegenerate metric of index 1. In this paper, we first prove that timelike normal extremals are locally maximizing. Second, we obtain a parametrization of timelike, spacelike, lightlike normal extremal trajectories by Jacobi functions. Third, a discrete symmetry group and its fixed points which are Maxwell points of of timelike and spacelike normal extremals, are described. An estimate for the cut time (the time of loss of optimality) on extremal trajectories is deri…
Using the Pontryagin Maximum Principle for the time-optimal problem in coordinates of the first kind, we find extremals of abitrary left-invariant sub-Finsler quasimetric on the Cartan group defined by a distribution of rank two.
We find three-dimensional subspaces of four-dimensional connected Lie algebras, generating these algebras, and abnormal extremals on connected Lie groups with these Lie algebras and with left-invariant sub-Finsler quasimetrics defined by seminorms on such subspaces. In terms of the structure constants of Lie algebras and dual seminorms, we establish a criterion for the strong abnormality of these extremals.
Abnormal extremals on four-dimensional connected Lie groups with left-invariant sub-Finsler quasimetric, defined by a seminorm on a two-dimensional subspace of the Lie algebra generating the algebra, are found. In terms of structure constant of Lie algebra and supporting Minkowski function for the unit ball of seminorm on two-dimensional subspace of Lie algebra, defining a quasimetric, we establish a criterion for strict abnormality of these extremals.
We study singularities of geodesics flows in two-dimensional generalized Finsler spaces (pseudo-Finsler spaces). Geodesics are defined as extremals of a certain auxiliary functional whose non-isotropic extremals coincide with extremals of the action functional. This allows to consider isotropic lines as (unparametrized) geodesics.
A new convenient method of describing flat convex compact sets is proposed. It generalizes classical trigonometric functions $\sin$ and $\cos$. Apparently, this method may be very useful for explicit description of solutions of optimal control problems with two-dimensional control. Using this method a series of sub-Finsler problems with two-dimensional control lying in an arbitrary convex set $Ω$ is investigated. Namely, problems on the Heisenberg, Engel, and Cartan groups and also Grushin's and Martinet's cases are considered. A particular attention is paid to the case when $Ω$ is a polygon.
Generalized Berwald manifolds are Finsler manifolds admitting linear connections such that the parallel transports preserve the Finslerian length of tangent vectors (compatibi\-li\-ty condition). By the fundamental result of the theory \cite{V5} such a linear connection must be metrical with respect to the averaged Riemannian metric given by integration of the Riemann-Finsler metric on the indicatrix hypersurfaces. Therefore the linear connection (preserving the Finslerian length of tangent vectors) is uniquely determined by its torsion. If the torsion is zero then we have a classical Berwald …
A linear connection on a Finsler manifold is called compatible to the metric if its parallel transports preserve the Finslerian length of tangent vectors. Generalized Berwald manifolds are Finsler manifolds equipped with a compatible linear connection. Since the compatibility to the Finslerian metric does not imply the unicity of the linear connection in general, the first step of checking the existence of compatible linear connections on a Finsler manifold is to choose the best one to look for. A reasonable choice is introduced in \cite{V14} called the extremal compatible linear connection, w…
We prove optimal systolic inequalities on Finsler Mobius bands relating the systole and the height of the Mobius band to its Holmes-Thompson volume. We also establish an optimal systolic in- equality for Finsler Klein bottles of revolution, which we conjecture to hold true for arbitrary Finsler metrics. Extremal metric families both on the Mobius band and the Klein bottle are also presented.
A Finsler geometry may be understood as a homogeneous variational problem, where the Finsler function is the Lagrangian. The extremals in Finsler geometry are curves, but in more general variational problems we might consider extremal submanifolds of dimension $m$. In this minicourse we discuss these problems from a geometric point of view.
We consider a series of optimal control problems with 2-dimensional control lying in an arbitrary convex compact set $Ω$. The considered problems are well studied for the case when $Ω$ is a unit disc, but barely studied for arbitrary $Ω$. We derive extremals to these problems in general case by using machinery of convex trigonometry, which allows us to do this identically and independently on the shape of $Ω$. The paper describes geodesics in (i) the Finsler problem on the Lobachevsky hyperbolic plane; (ii) left-invariant sub-Finsler problems on all unimodular 3D Lie groups (SU(2), SL(2), SE(2…
The left-invariant sub-Riemannian problem on the Engel group is considered. The problem gives the nilpotent approximation to generic nonholonomic systems in four-dimensional space with two-dimensional control, for instance to a system which describes motion of mobile robot with a trailer. The global optimality of extremal trajectories is studied via geometric control theory. The global diffeomorphic structure of the exponential mapping is described. As a consequence, the cut time is proved to be equal to the first Maxwell time corresponding to discrete symmetries of the exponential mapping.
This paper is a continuation of the work by the same authors on the Cartan group equipped with the sub-Finsler $\ell_\infty$ norm. We start by giving a detailed presentation of the structure of bang-bang extremal trajectories. Then we prove upper bounds on the number of switchings on bang-bang minimizers. We prove that any normal extremal is either bang-bang, or singular, or mixed. Consequently, we study mixed extremals. In particular, we prove that every two points can be connected by a piecewise smooth minimizer, and we give a uniform bound on the number of such pieces.
The notion of curvature discussed in this paper is a far going generalization of the Riemannian sectional curvature. It was first introduced by Agrachev, Barilari and Rizzi in arXiv:1306.5318, and it is defined for a wide class of optimal control problems: a unified framework including geometric structures such as Riemannian, sub-Riemannian, Finsler, and sub-Finsler structures. In this work we study the generalized sectional curvature of Carnot groups with rank-two distributions. In particular, we consider the Cartan group and Carnot groups with horizontal distribution of Goursat-type. In thes…
The paper is devoted to weighted $L^p$-Hardy inequalities with best constants on Finsler metric measure manifolds. There are two major ingredients. The first, which is the main part of this paper, is the Hardy inequalities concerned with distance functions in the Finsler setting. In this case, we find that besides the flag curvature, the Ricci curvature together with two non-Riemannian quantities, i.e., reversibility and S-curvature, also play an important role. And we establish the optimal Hardy inequalities not only on noncompact manifolds, but also on closed manifolds. The second ingredient…
We provide lower bounds on the number of periodic Finsler billiard trajectories inside a quadratically convex smooth closed hypersurface $M$ in a $d$-dimensional Finsler space with possibly irreversible Finsler metric. An example of such a system is a billiard in a sufficiently weak magnetic field. The $r$-periodic Finsler billiard trajectories correspond to $r$-gons inscribed in $M$ and having extremal Finsler length. The cyclic group ${\mathbb Z}_r$ acts on these extremal polygons, and one counts the ${\mathbb Z}_r$-orbits. Using Morse and Lusternik-Schnirelmann theories, we prove that if $r…
We construct a convex and strongly pseudoconvex Kobayashi positive Finsler metric on a vector bundle $E$ under the assumption that the symmetric power of the dual $S^kE^*$ has a Griffiths negative $L^2$-metric for some $k$. The proof relies on the negativity of direct image bundles and the Minkowski inequality for norms. As a corollary, we show that given a strongly pseudoconvex Kobayashi positive Finsler metric, one can upgrade to a \textit{convex} Finsler metric with the same property. We also give an extremal characterization of Kobayashi curvature for Finsler metrics.
We consider control-linear left-invariant time-optimal problems on step 2 Carnot groups with strictly convex set of control parameters (in particular, sub-Finsler problems). We describe all linear-in-momenta Casimirs on the dual of the Lie algebra. In the case of rank 3 Lie groups we describe the symplectic foliation on the dual of the Lie algebra. On this basis we show that extremal controls are either constant or periodic. Some related results for other Carnot groups are presented.
In this paper we study the sub-Finsler geometry as a time-optimal control problem. In particular, we consider non-smooth and non-strictly convex sub-Finsler structures associated with the Heisenberg, Grushin, and Martinet distributions. Motivated by problems in geometric group theory, we characterize extremal curves, discuss their optimality, and calculate the metric spheres, proving their Euclidean rectifiability.
In this paper we study a sub-Finsler geometric problem on the free-nilpotent group of rank 2 and step 3. Such a group is also called Cartan group and has a natural structure of Carnot group, which we metrize considering the $\ell_\infty$ norm on its first layer. We adopt the point of view of time-optimal control theory. We characterize extremal curves via Pontryagin maximum principle. We describe abnormal and singular arcs, and construct the bang-bang flow.
Finsler metrics are direct generalizations of Riemannian metrics such that the quadratic Riemannian indicatrices in the tangent spaces of a manifold are replaced by more general convex bodies as unit spheres. A linear connection on the base manifold is called compatible with the Finsler metric if the induced parallel transports preserve the Finslerian length of tangent vectors. Finsler manifolds admitting compatible linear connections are called generalized Berwald manifolds. Compatible linear connections are the solutions of the so-called compatibility equations containing the torsion compone…
We define systems of pre-extremals for the energy functional of regular rheonomic Lagrange manifolds and show how they induce well-defined Hamilton orthogonal nets. Such nets have applications in the modelling of e.g. wildfire spread under time- and space-dependent conditions. The time function inherited from such a Hamilton net induces in turn a time-independent Finsler metric - we call it the associated frozen metric. It is simply obtained by inserting the time function from the net into the given Lagrangean. The energy pre-extremals then become ordinary Finsler geodesics of the frozen metri…
In the present paper, we obtain explicit formulae for geodesics in some left-invariant sub-Finsler problems on Heisenberg groups $\mathbb{H}_{2n+1}$. Our main assumption is the following: the compact convex set of unit velocities at identity admits a generalization of spherical coordinates. This includes convex hulls and sums of coordinate 2-dimensional sets, all left-invariant sub-Riemannian structures on $\mathbb{H}_{2n+1}$, and unit balls in $L_p$-metric for $1\le p\le\infty$. In the last case, extremals are obtained in terms of incomplete Euler integral of the first kind.
We study the isoperimetric problem for anisotropic left-invariant perimeter measures on $\mathbb R^3$, endowed with the Heisenberg group structure. The perimeter is associated with a left-invariant norm $ϕ$ on the horizontal distribution. We first prove a representation formula for the $ϕ$-perimeter of regular sets and, assuming some regularity on $ϕ$ and on its dual norm $ϕ^*$, we deduce a foliation property by sub-Finsler geodesics of $\mathrm C^2$-smooth surfaces with constant $ϕ$-curvature. We then prove that the characteristic set of $\mathrm C^2$-smooth surfaces that are locally extremal…