Multiple connecting geodesics of a Randers-Kropina metric via homotopy theory for solutions of an affine control system

Fuente: arXiv
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Hauptverfasser: Caponio, Erasmo, Javaloyes, Miguel Angel, Masiello, Antonio
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2024
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author Caponio, Erasmo
Javaloyes, Miguel Angel
Masiello, Antonio
author_facet Caponio, Erasmo
Javaloyes, Miguel Angel
Masiello, Antonio
contents We consider a geodesic problem in a manifold endowed with a Randers-Kropina metric. This is a type of singular Finsler metric arising both in the description of the lightlike vectors of a spacetime endowed with a causal Killing vector field and in the Zermelo's navigation problem with a wind represented by a vector field having norm not greater than one. By using Lusternik-Schnirelman theory, we prove existence of infinitely many geodesics between two given points when the manifold is not contractible. Due to the type of nonholonomic constraints that the velocity vectors must satisfy, this is achieved thanks to a recent result about the homotopy type of the set of solutions of an affine control system with a controlled drift and related to a corank one, completely nonholonomic distribution of step 2.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2409_19596
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Multiple connecting geodesics of a Randers-Kropina metric via homotopy theory for solutions of an affine control system
Caponio, Erasmo
Javaloyes, Miguel Angel
Masiello, Antonio
Differential Geometry
We consider a geodesic problem in a manifold endowed with a Randers-Kropina metric. This is a type of singular Finsler metric arising both in the description of the lightlike vectors of a spacetime endowed with a causal Killing vector field and in the Zermelo's navigation problem with a wind represented by a vector field having norm not greater than one. By using Lusternik-Schnirelman theory, we prove existence of infinitely many geodesics between two given points when the manifold is not contractible. Due to the type of nonholonomic constraints that the velocity vectors must satisfy, this is achieved thanks to a recent result about the homotopy type of the set of solutions of an affine control system with a controlled drift and related to a corank one, completely nonholonomic distribution of step 2.
title Multiple connecting geodesics of a Randers-Kropina metric via homotopy theory for solutions of an affine control system
topic Differential Geometry
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.19596