English

The classification of flat Riemannian metrics on the plane

Differential Geometry 2020-01-14 v1

Abstract

We classify all smooth flat Riemannian metrics on the two-dimensional plane. In the complete case, it is well-known that these metrics are isometric to the Euclidean metric. In the incomplete case, there is an abundance of naturally-arising, non-isometric metrics that are relevant and useful. Remarkably, the study and classification of all flat Riemannian metrics on the plane -- as a subject -- is new to the literature. Much of our research focuses on conformal metrics of the form e2φg0e^{2\varphi}g_0, where \varphi : \mathbb{R}^2 \rightarrow \mathbb{R) is a harmonic function and g0g_0 is the standard Euclidean metric on R2\mathbb{R}^2. We find that all such metrics, which we call "harmonic", arise from Riemann surfaces.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2001.03888,
  title  = {The classification of flat Riemannian metrics on the plane},
  author = {Vincent E. Coll, and Lee B. Whitt},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2001.03888},
  year   = {2020}
}