Minkowski plane, confocal conics, and billiards (Q2929890)

Geometry of confocal conics in the Minkowski plane and related billiard dynamics are studied in details. Analytic condition of Cayley-type for periodic trajectories is derived. The elegant periodicity criterion for light-like trajectories of a planar billiard in Minkowski plane is proved using algebro-geometric methods. Connection of this criterion with condition of Cayley's type is illustrated with several interesting examples. The equivalence between light-like elliptical billiard flow and the flow of certain billiard trajectories within rectangle is stated. The complete description of the topological properties of plane elliptic billiards in Minkowski space is given by using Fomenko invariants.