A unified approach to the theory of connections in Finsler geometry (Q2399642)

The author presents a unified approach to the theory of connections in the geometry of sprays and Finsler metrics which, in particular, provides a simple explanation of the well-known fact that all those classical connections provide exactly the same formulas as appearing in the calculus of variations. This has been accomplished by passing from linear connections on the double tangent bundle to families of affine connections, investigating the conditions a linear connection has to satisfy such that its corresponding family of affine connections enjoy nice properties. This approach leads to the conclusion that the Berwald and Hashiguchi linear connections induce the same family of affine connections, and the same is true for the linear connections of Cartan and Chern-Rund.