Almost geodesics and special affine connection (Q2200284): Difference between revisions

An almost geodesic of an affine connection \(\nabla\) on a manifold is a curve \(x(t)\) so that \[ \nabla^2_{\dot{x}}\dot{x}=a\nabla_{\dot{x}} \dot{x}+b\dot{x}, \] for some real-valued continuous functions \(a(t),b(t)\). The authors consider a curve in the Euclidean space and a translation invariant affine connection on the Euclidean space. Picture rescaling all \(n\) of the variables of the Euclidean space \(\mathbb{R}^n\) by constants. They consider all associated rescalings of that curve. Under some technical hypotheses on the connection, they ask and answer for which curves it can occur that all of these rescalings are almost geodesic for that connection.