The geodesics of a sub-Riemannian metric on the group of semiaffine transformations of the Euclidean plane (Q2002493)

The group of semiaffine transformations of the Euclidean plane is the matrix group: \( A^+(\mathbb{R}) \times \mathbb{R} = \left( \begin{array}{ccc} x & 0 & y \\ 0 & 1& z \\ 0 & 0 & 1 \end{array} \right), \) where \(x>0\), \(y \in \mathbb{R}\), \(z \in \mathbb{R}\). The Lie algebra \(\mathfrak{g}\) of this group is spanned by the matrices \(p_1 = e_{11}\), \(p_2=\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}(e_{13} + e_{23})\), \(k = e_{13}\), where \(e_{ij}\) is the matrix with the unique nonzero \((i, j)\)-entry equal to \(1\). As \([p_1, p_2] = k\), the subspace \(D_0 \subset \mathfrak{g}\) spanned by \(p_1\) and \(p_2\) generates \(\mathfrak{g}\). Taking a scalar product \(g_0\) on \(D_0\) such that \(g_0(p_i, p_j) = \delta_{ij}\), one can construct a unique left-invariant sub-Riemannian structure \((D, g)\) on \(A^+(\mathbb{R}) \times \mathbb{R}\) such that \(D(e) = D_0\), and \(g_e = g_0\), where \(e\) is the unit element of the group. In the paper under review, the author finds parametric equations of the normal geodesics of this sub-Riemannian structure. The computation is based on a general result from [\textit{V. N. Berestovskiĭ} and \textit{I. A. Zubareva}, Sib. Math. J. 58, No. 1, 16--27 (2017; Zbl 1369.53022); translation from Sib. Mat. Zh. 58, No. 1, 22--35 (2017)] (Theorem 1) which provides a system of differential equations for a normal geodesic of a left-invariant sub-Riemannian structure on a connected Lie subgroup \(G\) of the matrix group \(\operatorname{GL}(n)\). The sub-Riemannian structure on \(G\) is given by a totally nonholonomic distribution \(D\) on \(G\), and by a metric tensor \(g\) on \(D\) such that \(g_e\) is proportional to the restriction of the standard inner product on the Lie algebra \(gl(n) = R^{n^2}\) to \(D(e)\).