A multiplicity result for orthogonal geodesic chords in Finsler disks (Q1983315)

In [Ann. Math. (2) 108, 507--518 (1978; Zbl 0403.58001)] \textit{A. Weinstein} proved the correspondence between brake orbits (periodic orbits with zero velocity in certain points) in a potential well of classical (even in the momenta and convex) \(N\)-dimensional Hamiltonian systems and geodesics in a \(N\)-dimensional disk with endpoints on the boundary, disk endowed with a reversible Jacobi-Finsler metric, where reversible means that the function generating the metric is even with respect to the velocity. When the Hamiltonian is natural, the Jacobi-Finsler metric becomes a Riemannian metric. The Hamiltonians in this paper are assumed of the same classical type, but the requirement of convexity is relaxed, as described below. The geodesics of the Jacobi-Finsler metric considered here are of two types: Orthogonal Finsler Geodesic Chords (OFGC) and Orthogonal Tangent Finsler Geodesic Chords (OTFGC). OFGC being arcs of geodesics with endpoints on the boundary of the disk and velocities in the endpoints both orthogonal to the boundary, while OTFGC are defined as OFGC with the difference that in one of the endpoints the velocity is tangent to the boundary. The main result is that: in absence of OTFGC, a reversible Finsler metric admits at least \(N\) geometrically distinct OFGC, while a non-reversible one admits at least two OFGC with different values of the Finsler functional. It is proved via a counterexample that the absence of OTFGC is a weaker assumption than convexity of the Hamiltonian. The proof of the main result is obtained by variational methods after introducing the Finsler energy functional. The work generalizes similar results obtained in recent literature regarding disks endowed with Riemannian metrics.