Cut locus in the sub-Riemannian problem on Engel group (Q1643782)

The Engel group is a nilpotent four-dimensional Lie group, connected and simply connected, such that for a basis \(X_1, X_2, X_3, X_4\) of its Lie algebra there holds \([X_1, X_2] = X_3\), \([X_1, X_3] = X_4\), all the other Lie brackets \([X_i, X_j]\) vanish. The distribution spanned by \(X_1, X_2\) endowed with the metric such that \(X_1, X_2\) is an orthonormal frame, defines a sub-Riemannian structure on the Engel group. On a sub-Riemannian manifold \((M, H, g)\), where \(M\) is a manifold, \(H\) is a distribution on \(M\), and \(g\) is a metric tensor on \(H\), a path \(\gamma\) is called horizontal if \(\gamma\) is tangent to \(H\). The distance between two points is the infimum of the lengths of the horizontal paths joining these points, and a minimizing geodesic is an absolutely continuous horizontal path which realizes the distance between two points. A normal geodesic \(\gamma\) of a sub-Riemannian manifold \((M, H, g)\) is the projection on \(M\) of a solution of the Hamiltonian equations for the sub-Riemannian Hamiltonian. It is worth mentioning that not all sub-Riemannian geodesics are normal. Indeed there exist sub-Riemannian geodesics, called abnormal, which do not solve the Hamiltonian equations [\textit{R. Montgomery}, A tour of sub-Riemannian geometries, their geodesics and applications. Providence, RI: American Mathematical Society (AMS) (2002; Zbl 1044.53022)]. The sufficiently small arcs of a geodesic are minimizing sub-Riemannian geodesics, however the large arcs of geodesics are not minimizers, and a point where a geodesic loses its optimality is called cut point. The cut locus is the union of all cut points along all geodesics. In the paper under review, the authors find global geometric properties of the cut locus of the sub-Riemannian structure of the Engel group, and obtain the Whitney stratification for the cut locus.