Projective and Finsler metrizability: parameterization-rigidity of the geodesics (Q2909617)

Projective and Finsler metrizability problems are treated by the authors as particular cases of the inverse problem of the calculus of variations, using the techniques of Frölicher-Nijenhuis theory of derivations. Their main result proves that for an arbitrary spray its projective class contains sprays that are not Finsler metrizable. More exactly, for a spray \(S\), there are infinitely many values of a scalar \(\lambda\) such that the projectively related spray \(S-{\lambda}FC\) is not Finsler metrizable (here \(F\) is a Finsler function and \(C\) is the Liouville vector field). For these values of \(\lambda\) they reparametrize the geodesics of a Finsler function to transform them into parametrized curves that cannot be the geodesics of any Finsler function.