Related papers: Hilbert's fourth problem in the constant curvature…
It is the Hilbert's Fourth Problem to characterize the (not-necessarily-reversible) distance functions on a bounded convex domain in R^n such that straight lines are shortest paths. Distance functions induced by a Finsler metric are…
A Riemannian metric is of constant curvature if and only if it is locally projectively flat. There are infinitely many locally projectively flat Finsler metrics of constant curvature, that are special solutions to the Hilbert's Fourth…
This article is an exposition of four loosely related remarks on the geometry of Finsler manifolds with constant positive flag curvature. <p> The first remark is that there is a canonical Kahler structure on the space of geodesics of such a…
In the asymmetric setting, Hilbert's fourth problem asks to construct and study all (non-reversible) projective Finsler metrics: Finsler metrics defined on open, convex subsets of real projective $n$-space for which geodesics lie on…
In this paper we study a class of Finsler metrics defined by a Riemannian metric and an 1-form. We classify those of projectively flat in dimension $n\geq3$ by a special class of deformations. The results show that the projective flatness…
In this paper, we study locally projectively flat Finsler metrics with constant flag curvature ${\bf K}$. We prove those are totally determined by their behaviors at the origin by solving some nonlinear PDEs. The classifications when ${\bf…
The flag curvature is a natural extension of the sectional curvature in Riemannian geometry, and the S-curvature is a non-Riemannian quantity which vanishes for Riemannian metrics. There are (incomplete) non-Riemannian Finsler metrics on an…
In this paper we study the flag curvature of a particular class of Finsler metrics called general $(\alpha,\beta)$-metrics, which are defined by a Riemannian metric $\alpha$ and a $1$-form $\beta$. The classification of such metrics with…
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…
If the flag curvature of a Finsler manifold reduces to sectional curvature, then locally either the Finsler metric is Riemannian, or the flag curvature is isotropic.
It is well known that a system of homogeneous second-order ordinary differential equations (spray) is necessarily isotropic in order to be metrizable by a Finsler function of scalar flag curvature. In Theorem 3.1 we show that the isotropy…
The local structure of Finsler metrics of constant flag curvature have been historically mysterious. It is proved that every Matsumoto metric of constant flag curvature on a manifold of dimension n \geq 3 is either Riemannian or locally…
Seiberg-Witten theory leads to a delicate interplay between Riemannian geometry and smooth topology in dimension four. In particular, the scalar curvature of any metric must satisfy certain non-trivial estimates if the manifold in question…
For every Finsler metric $F$ we associate a Riemannian metric $g_F$ (called the Binet-Legendre metric). The transformation $F \mapsto g_F$ is $C^0$-stable and has good smoothness properties, in contrast to previous constructions. The…
In 1929, Paul Funk and Ludwig Berwald gave a characterization of Hilbert geometries from the Finslerian viewpoint. They showed that a smooth Finsler metric in a convex bounded domain of $\mathbb{R}^n$ is the Hilbert geometry in that domain…
The flag curvature of a Finsler metric is called a Riemannian quantity because it is an extension of sectional curvature in Riemannian geometry. In Finsler geometry, there are several non-Riemannian quantities such as the (mean) Cartan…
It is shown that a possibly irreversible $C^2$ Finsler metric on the torus, or on any other compact Euclidean space form, whose geodesics are straight lines is the sum of a flat metric and a closed $1$-form. This is used to prove that if…
Hilbert's fourth problem asks for the construction and the study of metrics on subsets of projective space for which the projective line segments are geodesics. Several solutions of the problem were given so far, depending on more precise…
By using a certain second order differential equation, the notion of adapted coordinates on Finsler manifolds is defined and some classifications of complete Finsler manifolds are found. Some examples of Finsler metrics, with positive…
In certain circumstances tools of Riemannian geometry are sufficient to address questions arising in the more general Finslerian context. We show that one such instance presents itself in the characterisation of geodesics in Randers spaces…