Generic uniqueness of shortest closed geodesics

DOI10.1007/S00526-016-1060-1MaRDI QIDQ343008zbMATH OpenOpenAlexFDO

Authors Jan Philipp Schröder

Publication date 18 November 2016

Published in Calculus of Variations and Partial Differential Equations (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://doi.org/10.1007/s00526-016-1060-1

zbMATH Keywords

closed geodesicFinsler metricfree loop spacegenericityhomotopy class

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Generic properties, structural stability of dynamical systems (37C20) Geodesics in global differential geometry (53C22) Global differential geometry of Finsler spaces and generalizations (areal metrics) (53C60)

Review text

It is well known that if \(F\) is a Finsler metric on a closed manifold \(M\), then in each homotopy class of free loops there exists at least one loop minimizing the associated length functional, which is thus a geodesic. See, e.g., Theorem 8.7.1(2) in [\textit{D. Bao} et al., An introduction to Riemann-Finsler geometry. New York, NY: Springer (2000; Zbl 0954.53001)]. However, as the flat torus clearly shows, in general these minimizers are not unique. In this paper the author shows that for conformally generic perturbations of the Finsler metric, they become unique. The notion of genericity used here is based on a kind of geometric perturbation related, via Maupertuis' principle, to the ones introduced for Lagrangians in [\textit{R. Mañé}, Nonlinearity 9, No. 2, 273--310 (1996; Zbl 0886.58037)]. The proof of the main theorem is based on an abstract result on the minimization of varying functionals, which is obtained following the ideas of R. Mañé. The author considers possible applications of the ideas in this paper to genericity problems associated to integral currents in geometric measure theory.

Recommendations

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Cites work

• A generic property of families of Lagrangian systems
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• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 1001612 (Why is no real title available?)
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 41015 (Why is no real title available?)
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 1266748 (Why is no real title available?)
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Cited in

(5)

• One-sided closed geodesics on surfaces
• On a remarkable example of F. Almgren and H. Federer in the global theory of minimizing geodesics
• Local perturbation of a Finsler metric with a closed geodesic without self-intersections
• MINIMAL GEODESICS OF A TORUS WITH A HOLE
• Minimal rays on closed surfaces

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