On dually flat general \((\alpha,\beta)\)-metrics (Q2348084)

The author investigates the local dual flatness of a special class of Finsler metrics, called general \((\alpha,\beta)\)-metrics, in which the Finsler function \(F\) is given by \(F=\alpha \phi(b^2,\frac{\beta}{\alpha})\), where \(\alpha\) is a Riemannian metric, \(\beta=b_i(x)y^i\) is a 1-form and \(b\) is the norm of \(\beta\) with respect to \(\alpha\). The main result (Theorem 1.2) of the paper is as follows: Let \(F=\alpha \phi(b^2,\frac{\beta}{\alpha})\) be a Finsler metric on an open domain \(U\subset \mathbb{R}^n\). Suppose that \(\alpha\) and \(\beta\) satisfy \[ G^i_\alpha=2\theta y^i+\alpha^2\theta^i, \qquad b_{i| j}=c(x)a_{ij}+2\theta_ib_j, \] where \(\theta\) is a 1-form and \(c(x)\) is a scalar function such that \(c(x)\neq -2\theta_kb^k\). Then, \(F\) is dually flat on \(U\) if and only if the function \(\phi\) satisfies the following PDE: \[ (\phi_2)^2+\phi\phi_{22}+2s\phi_1\phi_2+2s\phi\phi_{12}-4\phi\phi_1=0. \] (\(\phi_1\) means the derivative of \(\phi\) with respect to the first variable \(b^2\)). The non-zero solutions of the above equation are obtained (Proposition 5.1). Moreover, a characterization, under certain conditions, of a dually flat general \((\alpha,\beta)\)-metric on \(U\) to be projectively flat is established (Theorem 1.3). Many nontrivial concrete examples are constructed.