On the Finsler variational nature of autoparallels in metric-affine geometry

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Csillag, Lehel, Voicu, Nicoleta, Elgendi, Salah, Pfeifer, Christian
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2026
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author Csillag, Lehel
Voicu, Nicoleta
Elgendi, Salah
Pfeifer, Christian
author_facet Csillag, Lehel
Voicu, Nicoleta
Elgendi, Salah
Pfeifer, Christian
contents In metric-affine geometry, autoparallels are generically non-variational, i.e., they are not the extremals of any action integral. The existence of a parametrization-invariant action principle for autoparallels is a long-standing open problem, which is equivalent to the so-called Finsler metrizability of the connection -- that is, to the fact that these autoparallels can be interpreted as Finsler geodesics. In this article, we address this problem for the class of torsion-free affine connections with vectorial nonmetricity, which includes, as notable subcases, Weyl and Schrödinger connections. For this class, we determine the necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a Finsler Lagrangian that metrizes the connection (and depends only algebraically on the metric and on the nonmetricity defining vector field). In the cases where such a Finsler Lagrangian exists, we construct it explicitly. In particular, we show that a broad class of such connections is in fact Finsler metrizable, i.e., the autoparallels of these connections are Finsler geodesics.
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id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_18416
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publishDate 2026
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spellingShingle On the Finsler variational nature of autoparallels in metric-affine geometry
Csillag, Lehel
Voicu, Nicoleta
Elgendi, Salah
Pfeifer, Christian
Mathematical Physics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
Differential Geometry
In metric-affine geometry, autoparallels are generically non-variational, i.e., they are not the extremals of any action integral. The existence of a parametrization-invariant action principle for autoparallels is a long-standing open problem, which is equivalent to the so-called Finsler metrizability of the connection -- that is, to the fact that these autoparallels can be interpreted as Finsler geodesics. In this article, we address this problem for the class of torsion-free affine connections with vectorial nonmetricity, which includes, as notable subcases, Weyl and Schrödinger connections. For this class, we determine the necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a Finsler Lagrangian that metrizes the connection (and depends only algebraically on the metric and on the nonmetricity defining vector field). In the cases where such a Finsler Lagrangian exists, we construct it explicitly. In particular, we show that a broad class of such connections is in fact Finsler metrizable, i.e., the autoparallels of these connections are Finsler geodesics.
title On the Finsler variational nature of autoparallels in metric-affine geometry
topic Mathematical Physics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
Differential Geometry
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.18416