Minimum action curves in degenerate Finsler metrics. Existence and properties (Q2342999)

The present monograph is an analytical treatment of the geometric problem focused on developing numerical methods for understanding the pathways of rare transition events in stochastic dynamical systems with small noise. It is split into two main parts and two appendices. In Part I all the results about the existence of minimum action curves are presented and are proved with some illustrative examples about how the mentioned criteria can be used in practice. The author discusses when the minimizers do not exist, and finally proves the stated properties of the minimum action curves. The first part consists of five chapters and is structured as follows: In the first chapter, entitled \textit{Introduction}, the reader is familiarized with the problem addressed by this monograph. Firstly, the main questions and motivations are explained and next the main features of the studied existence theory and the various approaches used in the literature are summarized. In the second chapter, entitled \textit{Geometric Action Functionals}, the author introduces all the necessary basics of rectificable curves and absolutely continuous functions and the class of geometric action functionals for which the studied theory can be applied (for instance the subclass of Hamiltonian geometric actions). Also, several examples of geometric actions are presented and a lower semi-continuity property for them is proved. At the end of this Chapter, the notion of a ``drift'' of an action is defined as a generalization of the drift vector field entering the Wentzell-Freidlin action. The third chapter, entitled \textit{Existence of Minimum Action Curves}, begins by stating the problem of the existence of a minimum action curve, and the main existence theorem is proved, which requires all relevant points in the state space to have ``local minimizers''. After illustrating the use of the three criteria for proving this property with a variety as examples, this chapter ends with a top-level theorem that can free us from having to invoke these criteria by hand if the drift of the given action is of a certain form. In the fourth chapter, entitled \textit{Properties of Minimum Action Curves}, the author studies the properties of minimum action curves, often focusing on a specific subclass of actions. Firstly, it is shown which points minimizing curves can pass ``in infinite lenght'' and next it is found for a certain type of Hamiltonian actions that the action of the drift vector field's flowlines vanishes, and that bending curves into the direction of the drift reduces their action. As a consequence, non-existence of minimizers is proved in some situations, and it is shown that the minimizers leading from one attractor of the drift to another have to pass a saddle point on the separatrix between the two basins of attraction. In the fifth chapter, entitled \textit{Conclusions}, the author summarizes the main results and discusses some open problems. The Part II consists of two chapters. Chapter 6 contains the proofs of the key criteria (stated in Part I) under which a ``local'' existence property holds to which the global existence theorem has been reduced in Part I. Chapter 7 contains the proof of a very technical lemma that was needed in Chapter 6 in order to deal with curves that are passing a saddle point. The Appendices A and B contain some of the more technical proofs that are omitted in Parts I and II.