Related papers: Closed geodesics on reversible Finsler 2-spheres

If all prime closed geodesics on $(S^n,F)$ with an irreversible Finsler metric $F$ are irrationally elliptic, there exist either exactly $2\left[\frac{n+1}{2}\right]$ or infinitely many distinct closed geodesics. As an application, we show…

For non-reversible Finsler metrics of positive flag curvature on spheres and projective spaces we present results about the number and the length of closed geodesics and about their stability properties.

For compact manifolds with infinite fundamental group we present sufficient topological or metric conditions ensuring the existence of two geometrically distinct closed geodesics. We also show how results about generic Riemannian metrics…

It's well known that the n-sphere $S^n$ is the universal double covering of the $n$-dimensional real projective space $\mathbb{R}P^n$ and then any Finsler metric on $\mathbb{R}P^n$ induces a Finsler metric of $S^n$. In this paper, we prove…

A Finsler space is said to be geodesically reversible if each oriented geodesic can be reparametrized as a geodesic with the reverse orientation. A reversible Finsler space is geodesically reversible, but the converse need not be true. In…

In this paper, we prove the existence of at least two distinct closed geodesics on every compact simply connected irreversible or reversible Finsler (including Riemannian) manifold of dimension not less than 2.

Using the theory of geodesics on surfaces of revolution, we introduce the period function. We use this as our main tool in showing that any two-dimensional orbifold of revolution homeomorphic to S^2 must contain an infinite number of…

This is a survey paper on Morse theory and the existence problem for closed geodesics. The free loop space plays a central role, since closed geodesics are critical points of the energy functional. As such, they can be analyzed through…

The paper shows that the curvature of RP2 is constant iff all geodesics are closed. Therefore RP2 is the first known manifold with only one G-structure. It took quiete a long time to find such a manifold. The author shows only that if all…

The existence of two geometrically distinct closed geodesics on an $n$-dimensional sphere $S^n$ with a non-reversible and bumpy Finsler metric was shown independently by Duan--Long [7] and the author [27]. We simplify the proof of this…

Let S be a triangulated 2-sphere with fixed triangulation T. We apply the methods of thin position from knot theory to obtain a simple version of the three geodesics theorem for the 2-sphere [5]. In general these three geodesics may be…

In this paper we prove that for every bumpy Finsler metric $F$ on every rationally homological $n$-dimensional sphere $S^n$ with $n\ge 2$, there exist always at least two distinct prime closed geodesics.

The question of whether a closed Riemannian manifold has infinitely many geometrically distinct closed geodesics has a long history. Though unsolved in general, it is well understood in the case of surfaces. For surfaces of revolution…

We prove that for every $\Q$-homological Finsler 3-sphere $(M,F)$ with a bumpy and irreversible metric $F$, either there exist two non-hyperbolic prime closed geodesics, or there exist at least three prime closed geodesics.

We give a Morse-theoretic characterization of simple closed geodesics on Riemannian $2$-spheres. On any Riemannian $2$-sphere endowed with a generic metric, we show there exists a simple closed geodesic with Morse index $1$, $2$ and $3$. In…

Given a sweepout of a Riemannian 2-sphere which is composed of curves of length less than L, we construct a second sweepout composed of curves of length less than L which are either constant curves or simple curves. This result, and the…

We show that if a Finsler metric on $S^2$ with reversibility $r$ has flag curvatures $K$ satisfying $(\frac{r}{r+1})^2 <K \leq 1$, then closed geodesics with specific contact-topological properties cannot exist, in particular there are no…

We prove that a free boundary curve shortening flow on closed surfaces with a strictly convex boundary remains noncollapsed for a finite time in the sense of the reflected chord-arc profile introduced by Langford-Zhu. This shows that such…

I classify the Finsler structures on the 2-sphere that have constant Finsler-Gauss curvature and whose geodesics are the great circles. Modulo diffeomorphism, there is a 2-parameter family of such Finsler structures, only one of which is…

In this paper, we establish the existence of an equidistributed sequence of nondegenerate closed geodesics for generic Finsler, symmetric Finsler and Riemannian metrics on every closed surface. The proof relies on the volume property of…