Lectures on Closed Geodesics

W. Klingenberg

ISBN 10: 3642618839 / ISBN 13: 9783642618833

Published by Springer Berlin Heidelberg, Springer Berlin Heidelberg Okt 2011, 2011

About this Item

This item is printed on demand - Print on Demand Titel. Neuware -The question of existence of c10sed geodesics on a Riemannian manifold and the properties of the corresponding periodic orbits in the geodesic flow has been the object of intensive investigations since the beginning of global differential geo metry during the last century. The simplest case occurs for c10sed surfaces of negative curvature. Here, the fundamental group is very large and, as shown by Hadamard [Had] in 1898, every non-null homotopic c10sed curve can be deformed into a c10sed curve having minimallength in its free homotopy c1ass. This minimal curve is, up to the parameterization, uniquely determined and represents a c10sed geodesic. The question of existence of a c10sed geodesic on a simply connected c10sed surface is much more difficult. As pointed out by Poincare [po 1] in 1905, this problem has much in common with the problem ofthe existence of periodic orbits in the restricted three body problem. Poincare [l.c.] outlined a proof that on an analytic convex surface which does not differ too much from the standard sphere there always exists at least one c10sed geodesic of elliptic type, i. e., the corres ponding periodic orbit in the geodesic flow is infinitesimally stable.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 248 pp. Englisch.

Seller Inventory # 9783642618833

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Lectures on Closed Geodesics
• Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, Springer Berlin Heidelberg Okt 2011
• Publication Date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 3642618839
• ISBN 13: 9783642618833
• Binding: Taschenbuch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 235W x 155H x 14D millimeters 235 millimeters width by 155 millimeters height by 14 millimeters depth
• Weight: 382 grams

About this title

Synopsis

The question of existence of c10sed geodesics on a Riemannian manifold and the properties of the corresponding periodic orbits in the geodesic flow has been the object of intensive investigations since the beginning of global differential geo­ metry during the last century. The simplest case occurs for c10sed surfaces of negative curvature. Here, the fundamental group is very large and, as shown by Hadamard [Had] in 1898, every non-null homotopic c10sed curve can be deformed into a c10sed curve having minimallength in its free homotopy c1ass. This minimal curve is, up to the parameterization, uniquely determined and represents a c10sed geodesic. The question of existence of a c10sed geodesic on a simply connected c10sed surface is much more difficult. As pointed out by Poincare [po 1] in 1905, this problem has much in common with the problem ofthe existence of periodic orbits in the restricted three body problem. Poincare [l.c.] outlined a proof that on an analytic convex surface which does not differ too much from the standard sphere there always exists at least one c10sed geodesic of elliptic type, i. e., the corres­ ponding periodic orbit in the geodesic flow is infinitesimally stable.