The boundary rigidity problem in the presence of a magnetic field (Q2456973): Difference between revisions

Consider a manifold \(M\), diffeomorphic to a ball of \(\mathbb{R}^n\), endowed with a `magnetic system' \((g,\alpha)\), i.e., a Riemannian metric \(g\) and a 1-form \(\alpha\) (called magnetic potential). The Lorentz force is then the bundle map \(Y: TM\to TM\) determined by \(d\alpha_x(\xi,\eta)=\langle Y_x(\xi), \eta\rangle\) (for \(x\in M\), \(\xi,\eta\in T_xM)\). The so-called `magnetic geodesics' are the curves \(\gamma\) on \(M\) such that \(\nabla_{\dot\gamma}\dot\gamma= Y(\dot\gamma)\). They have constant speed. For any \(x,y\in M\), there exists a unique unit speed magnetic geodesic \(\gamma_{x,y}: [0,T_{x,y}]\to M\) from \(x\) to \(y\). The `time-free action' of a curve \(\gamma\) (from \([0,T]\) into \(M\)) is \[ A(\gamma):= {1\over 2} \int^T_0 |\dot\gamma(t)|^2 \,dt+{T\over 2}- \int_\gamma\alpha. \] \(A(\gamma_{x,y})= T_{x,y}- \int_{\gamma_{x,y}}\alpha\) minimizes \(\{A(\gamma)\mid \gamma: [0,T]\to M;\gamma(0)= x,\gamma(T)= y\}\). The `boundary action function' \(A\) is defined on \(\partial M\times\partial M\) by \(A(x,y):= A(\gamma_{x,y})\). (If \(\alpha= 0\), this is simply the Riemannian distance between \(x\) and \(y\).) Knowledge of \(A\) happens to be equivalent to the knowledge of the `scattering relation' on the boundary, which maps a starting point and a (inward unit tangent) vector of a magnetic geodesic to its endpoint and (outward unit tangent) vector. The boundary action function \(A\) is invariant under `gauge equivalence', i.e., under any transform \((g,\alpha)\mapsto (f^* g, f^*\alpha+ d\varphi)\) of the magnetic system, where \(f\) is a diffeomorphism of \(M\) which is the identity on \(\partial M\), and \(\varphi\) is a \(C^1\) function on \(M\) which vanishes on \(\partial M\). The magnetic system \((g,\alpha)\) on \(M\) is said to be `magnetic boundary rigid' if any other magnetic system on \(M\) having the same boundary action function \(A\) is gauge equivalent to \((g,\alpha)\). The main results of this dense article are that magnetic boundary rigidity holds: -- locally; within a conformal class; within real analytic magnetic systems; in dimension two; if boundary rigidity holds (within the class of Riemannian metrics \(g\)).