On the distribution of conjugate points along semi-Riemannian geodesics

DOI10.4310/CAG.2003.V11.N1.A3MaRDI QIDQ2386763zbMATH OpenWikidataFDO

Authors Paolo Piccione, Daniel V. Tausk

Publication date 25 August 2005

Published in Communications in Analysis and Geometry (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/math/0011038

zbMATH Keywords

conjugate pointsLorentzian manifoldspace-like geodesic

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Geodesics in global differential geometry (53C22) Global differential geometry of Lorentz manifolds, manifolds with indefinite metrics (53C50) Variational problems in applications to the theory of geodesics (problems in one independent variable) (58E10)

Abstract: Helfer in [Pacific J. Math. 164/2 (1994), p. 321--350] was the first to produce an example of a spacelike Lorentzian geodesic with a continuum of conjugate points. In this paper we show the following result: given an interval $[a,b]$ of $IR$ and any closed subset $F$ of $IR$ contained in $]a,b]$, then there exists a Lorentzian manifold $(M,g)$ and a spacelike geodesic $gamma:[a,b]oM$ such that $gamma(t)$ is conjugate to $gamma(a)$ along $gamma$ iff $tinF$.

Review text

It is shown that any compact subset of the real line is the set of conjugate instants along some space-like Lorentzian geodesic. A new procedure for constructing a curve in the Lagrangian Grassmannian starting from a semi-Riemannian geodesic is introduced.

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