Let $M$ be a differentiable manifold, $T_xM$ be its tangent space at $x\in M$ and $TM=\{(x,y);x\in M;y \in T_xM\}$ be its tangent bundle. A $C^0$-Finsler structure is a continuous function $F:TM \rightarrow \mathbb [0,\infty)$ such that $F(x,\cdot): T_xM \rightarrow [0,\infty)$ is an asymmetric norm. In this work we introduce the Pontryagin type $C^0$-Finsler structures, which are structures that satisfy the minimum requirements of Pontryagin's maximum principle for the problem of minimizing paths. We define the extended geodesic field $\mathcal E$ on the slit cotangent bundle $T^\ast M\backslash 0$ of $(M,F)$, which is a generalization of the geodesic spray of Finsler geometry. We study the case where $\mathcal E$ is a locally Lipschitz vector field. We show some examples where the geodesics are more naturally represented by $\mathcal E$ than by a similar structure on $TM$. Finally we show that the maximum of independent Finsler structures is a Pontryagin type $C^0$-Finsler structure where $\mathcal E$ is a locally Lipschitz vector field.
On the ground of origins of the theory of Lie groups and Lie algebras, their (co)adjoint representations, and the Pontryagin maximum principle for the time-optimal problem are given an independent foundation for methods of geodesic vector field to search for normal geodesics of left-invariant (sub-)Finsler metrics on Lie groups and to look for the corresponding locally optimal controls in (sub-)Riemannian case, as well as some their applications.
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.
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.
We prove some rigidity results on geodesic orbit Finsler spaces with non-positive curvature. In particular, we show that a geodesic Finsler space with strictly negative flag curvature must be a non-compact Riemannian symmetric space of rank one.
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.
In this paper, we study geodesics and geodesic vectors for homogeneous exponential Finsler space and homogeneous infinite series Finsler space. Further, we find necessary and sufficient condition for a non-zero vector in these homogeneous spaces to be a geodesic vector.
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.
In this paper, we generalize the classification of geodesic orbit spheres from Riemannian geometry to Finsler geometry. Then we further prove if a geodesic orbit Finsler sphere has constant flag curvature, it must be Randers. It provides an alternative proof for the classification of invariant Finsler metrics with $K\equiv1$ on homogeneous spheres other than $Sp(n)/Sp(n-1)$.
In this paper, we consider a Finsler space with a Randers change of Quartic metric F = $\sqrt[4]{α^4 + β^4} + β$. The conditions for this space to be with reversible geodesics are obtained. Further, we study some geometrical properties of F with reversible geodesics and prove that the Finsler metric F induces a generalized weighted quasi-distance $d_F$ on M.
We consider Heisenberg groups equipped with a sub-Finsler metric. Using methods of optimal control theory we prove that in this geometric setting the infinite geodesics are horizontal lines under the assumption that the sub-Finsler metric is defined by a strictly convex norm. This answers a question posed in [5] and has applications in the characterisation of isometric embeddings into Heisenberg groups.
In a recent paper, it was claimed that any homogeneous Finsler space of odd dimension admits a homogeneous geodesic through any point. For the proof, the algebraic method dealing with the reductive decomposition of the Lie algebra of the isometry group was used. However, the proof contains a serious gap. In the present paper, homogeneous geodesics in Finsler homogeneous spaces are studied using the affine method, which was developed in earlier papers by the author. The mentioned statement is proved correctly and it is further proved that any homogeneous Berwald space or homogeneous reversible …
We prove that a reversible Berwaldian Finsler structure $\left(M,F\right)$ with base-independent non-negative radial flag curvature and large volume growth does not have any closed geodesics.
In this paper, we study the existence and multiplicity problems for orthogonal Finsler geodesic chords in a manifold with boundary which is homeomorphic to a N-dimensional disk. Under a suitable assumption, which is weaker than convexity, we prove that, if the Finsler metric is reversible, then there are at least N orthogonal Finsler geodesic chords that are geometrically distinct. If the reversibility assumption does not hold, then there are at least two orthogonal Finsler geodesic chords with different values of the energy functional.
We study non-reversible Finsler metrics with constant flag curvature 1 on S^2 and show that the geodesic flow of every such metric is conjugate to that of one of Katok's examples, which form a 1-parameter family. In particular, the length of the shortest closed geodesic is a complete invariant of the geodesic flow. We also show, in any dimension, that the geodesic flow of a Finsler metrics with constant positive flag curvature is completely integrable. Finally, we give an example of a Finsler metric on~$S^2$ with positive flag curvature such that no two closed geodesics intersect and show that…
A Finsler space $(M,F)$ is called a geodesic orbit space if any geodesic of constant speed is the orbit of a one-parameter subgroup of isometries of $(M, F)$. In this paper, we study Finsler metrics on Euclidean spaces which are geodesic orbit metrics. We will show that, in this case $(M, F)$ is a fiber bundle over a symmetric Finsler space $M_1$ of non-compact type such that each fiber $M_2$ is a totally geodesic nilmanifold with a step-size at most 2, and the projection $π:M\rightarrow M_1$ is a Finslerian submersion. Furthermore, when $M_1$ has no Hermitian symmetric factors, the fiber bund…
For compact manifolds with infinite fundamental group we present sufficient topological or metric conditions ensuring the existence of two geometrically distinct closed geodesics. We also show how results about generic Riemannian metrics can be carried over to Finsler metrics.
If all prime closed geodesics on $(S^n,F)$ with an irreversible Finsler metric $F$ are irrationally elliptic, there exist either exactly $2\left[\frac{n+1}{2}\right]$ or infinitely many distinct closed geodesics. As an application, we show the existence of three distinct closed geodesics on bumpy Finsler $(S^3,F)$ if any prime closed geodesic has non-zero Morse index.
When a closed Finsler manifold admits continuous isometric actions, estimating the number of orbits of prime closed geodesics seems a more reasonable substitution for estimating the number of prime closed geodesics. To generalize the works of H. Duan, Y. Long, H.B. Rademacher, W. Wang and others on the existence of two prime closed geodesics to the equivariant situation, we purpose the question if a closed Finsler manifold has only one orbit of prime closed geodesic if and only if it is a compact rank-one Riemannian symmetric space. In this paper, we study this problem in homogeneous Finsler g…
In this note, we prove that given a submanifold $P$ in a Finsler manifold $(M,F)$, (i) the orthogonal geodesics to $P$ minimize the distance from $P$ at least in some interval, (ii) there exist tubular neighbourhoods around each point of $P$, (iii) the distance from $P$ is smooth in some open neighbourhood of $P$ (but not necessarily in $P$).
In this paper, we prove that for every Finsler $n$-dimensional sphere $(S^{n},F)$ with reversibility $\lm$ and flag curvature $K$ satisfying $\left(\frac{\lm}{1+\lm}\right)^2<K\le 1$, either there exist infinitely many closed geodesics, or there exist at least two elliptic closed geodesics and each linearized Poincaré map has at least one eigenvalue of the form $e^{\sqrt{-1}þ}$ with $þ$ being an irrational multiple of $π$.
In this paper, we prove that on every Finsler manifold $(M,\,F)$ with reversibility $λ$ and flag curvature $K$ satisfying $\left(\fracλ{λ+1}\right)^2<K\le 1$, there exist $[\frac{\dim M+1}{2}]$ closed geodesics. If the number of closed geodesics is finite, then there exist $[\frac{\dim M}{2}]$ non-hyperbolic closed geodesics. Moreover, there are 3 closed geodesics on $(M,\,F)$ satisfying the above pinching condition when $\dim M=3$.
In this paper, we discuss how to travel along horizontal broken geodesics of a homogenous Finsler submersion, i.e., we study, what in Riemannian geometry was called by Wilking, the dual leaves. More precisely, we investigate the attainable sets $\mathcal{A}_{q}(\mathcal{C})$ of the set of analytic vector fields $\mathcal{C}$ determined by the family of horizontal unit geodesic vector fields $\mathcal{C}$ to the fibers $\mathcal{F}=\{ρ^{-1}(c)\}$ of a homogenous analytic Finsler submersion $ρ: M\to B$. Since reverse of geodesics don't need to be geodesics in Finsler geometry, one can have examp…
We use a theorem of P. Berger and D. Turaev to construct an example of a Finsler geodesic flow on the 2-torus with a transverse section, such that its Poincaré return map has positive metric entropy. The Finsler metric generating the flow can be chosen to be arbitrarily $C^\infty$-close to a flat metric.
We show that the geodesic ray transform is injective on scalar functions on spherically symmetric reversible Finsler manifolds where the Finsler norm satisfies a Herglotz condition. We use angular Fourier series to reduce the injectivity problem to the invertibility of generalized Abel transforms and by Taylor expansions of geodesics we show that these Abel transforms are injective. Our result has applications in linearized boundary rigidity problem on Finsler manifolds and especially in linearized elastic travel time tomography.
We establish a framework, namely, nuclear bounded Fréchet manifolds endowed with Riemann-Finsler structures to study geodesic curves on certain infinite dimensional manifolds such as the manifold of Riemannian metrics on a closed manifold. We prove on these manifolds geodesics exist locally and they are length minimizing in a sense. Moreover, we show that a curve on these manifolds is geodesic if and only if it satisfies a collection of Euler-Lagrange equations. As an application, without much difficulty, we prove that the solution to the Ricci flow on an Einstein manifold is not geodesic.
In this paper, we prove that lightlike geodesics of a pseudo-Finsler manifold and its focal points are preserved up to reparametrization by anisotropic conformal changes, using the Chern connection and the anisotropic calculus and the fact that geodesics are critical points of the energy functional and Jacobi fields, the kernel of its index form. This result has applications to the study of Finsler spacetimes.
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…
We prove that a homogeneous Finsler sphere with constant flag curvature $K\equiv1$ and a prime closed geodesic of length $2π$ must be Riemannian. This observation provides the evidence for the non-existence of homogeneous Bryant spheres. It also helps us propose an alternative approach proving that a geodesic orbit Finsler sphere with $K\equiv1$ must be Randers. Then we discuss the behavior of geodesics on a homogeneous Finsler sphere with $K\equiv1$. We prove that many geodesic properties for homogeneous Randers spheres with $K\equiv1$ can be generalized to the non-Randers case.
In this paper we study the Finsler sphere $(S^n,F)$ with $n>1$, which has constant flag curvature $K\equiv 1$ and only finite prime closed geodesics. In this case, the connected isometry group $I_0(S^n,F)$ must be a torus which dimension satisfies $0<\dim I(S^n,F) \leq[\frac{n+1}{2}]$. We will prove that the number of geometrically distinct reversible closed geodesics on $(S^n,F)$ is at least $\dim I(S^n,F)$. When $\dim I_0(S^n,F)=[\frac{n+1}{2}]$, the equality happens, and there are exactly $2[\frac{n+1}{2}]$ prime closed geodesics, which verifies Anosov conjecture in this special case.
We show that the infinite-dimensional space of Zoll Finsler metrics on the projective plane strongly deformation retracts to the canonical round metric. In particular, this space of Zoll Finsler metrics is connected. Moreover, the strong deformation retraction arises from a deformation of the geodesic flow of every Zoll Finsler projective plane to the geodesic flow of the round metric through a family of smooth free circle actions induced by the curvature flow of the canonical round projective plane. This construction provides a description of the geodesics of the Zoll Finsler metrics along th…
In this paper we show that the geodesic flow of a Finsler metric is Anosov if and only if there exists a $C^2$ open neighborhood of Finsler metrics all of whose closed geodesics are hyperbolic. For surfaces this result holds also for Riemannian metrics. This follows from a recent result of Contreras and Mazzucchelli. Furthermore, geodesic flows of Riemannian or Finsler metrics on surfaces are $C^2$ stably ergodic if and only if they are Anosov.
In this paper, we derive the first and the second variation of the energy functional for a pseudo-Finsler metric using the family of affine connections associated to the Chern connection. This opens the possibility to accomplish computations with coordinate-free methods. Using the second variation formula, we introduce the index form and present some properties of Jacobi fields.
In this paper, we study the interaction between the geodesic orbit (g.o.~in short) property and certain flag curvature conditions. A Finsler manifold is called g.o.~if each constant speed geodesic is the orbit of a one-parameter subgroup. Besides the non-negatively curved condition, we also concern the (FP) condition for the flag curvature, i.e., in any flag we can find a flag pole, such that the flag curvature is positive. The main theorem we will prove is the following. If a g.o.~Finsler space $(M,F)$ has non-negative flag curvature and satisfies the (FP) condition, then $M$ must be compact.…
Addendum to "Morse theory of causal geodesics in a stationary spacetime via Morse theory of geodesics of a Finsler metric", Ann. Inst. H. Poincaré Anal. Non Linéaire, 27 (2010) 857--876
In this paper, we establish first the resonance identity for non-contractible homologically visible prime closed geodesics on Finsler $n$-dimensional real projective space $(\mathbb{R}P^n,F)$ when there exist only finitely many distinct non-contractible closed geodesics on $(\mathbb{R}P^n,F)$, where the integer $n\geq2$. Then as an application of this resonance identity, we prove the existence of at least two distinct non-contractible closed geodesics on $\mathbb{R}P^{n}$ with a bumpy and irreversible Finsler metric. Together with two previous results on bumpy and reversible Finsler metrics in…
We make use of a symmetry reduction technique called Routh reduction to show that the solutions of the Euler-Lagrange equations of a strongly convex autonomous Lagrangian which lie on a specific energy level can be thought of as geodesics of an associated Finsler function.
