The cut locus of a two-sphere of revolution and Toponogov's comparison theorem (Q2472341)

A compact Riemannian manifold \((M,g)\) homeomorphic to a \(2\)-dimensional sphere is called a sphere of revolution if there is a point \(p\in M\) such that for every two points \(q_{1},q_{2}\in M\) with \(d(p,q_{1})=d(p,q_{2})\) there exists an isometry fixing \(p\) and taking \(q_{1}\) to \(q_{2}\). The authors determine the structure of the cut locus of a class of two-spheres of revolution; the latter includes all ellipsoids of revolution. A subclass of the class constructed in the paper gives a new model surface for the Toponogov comparison theorem about geodesic triangles.