A regularity result for shortest generalized billiard trajectories in convex bodies in \(\mathbb{R}^n\) (Q2164371)

This work deals with the study of length-minimizing closed generalized Euclidean billiard trajectories in convex bodies in \(\mathbb{R}^n\). When considering the affine sections that contain these trajectories it is proven that the length-minimizing property as well as the regularity of the billiard trajectory can be destroyed. The authors develop an algorithm to calculate the length-minimizing closed regular billiard trajectories in the aforementioned convex polytopes. The abstract of the work contains the relevant information and presents the results in a clear way. The references in the bibliography provide a good overview of the existing research about this subject. The structure of the work is as follows. In the first part a general setup is provided for calculating the shortest billiard trajectories. Then the main properties of closed billiard trajectories are investigated and a detailed proof of the main theorem is given. Illustrative examples help the reader to understand the general setting. The work is concluded with an algorithm to calculate the length-minimizing trajectories.