Closed geodesics on orbifolds

In this paper, we try to generalize to the case of compact Riemannian orbifolds Q some classical results about the existence of closed geodesics of positive length on compact Riemannian manifolds M. We shall also consider the problem of the existence of infinitely many geometrically distinct closed geodesics.In the classical case the solution of those problems involve the consideration of the homotopy groups of M and the homology properties of the free loop space on M (Morse theory). Those notions have their analogue in the case of orbifolds. The main part of this paper will be to recall those notions and to show how the classical techniques can be adapted to the case of orbifolds.     

Closed geodesics on Finsler spheres

In this paper, we prove that for every Finsler n-sphere (S ⁿ ,?F) all of whose prime closed geodesics are non-degenerate with reversibility λ and flag curvature K satisfying ${\left(\frac{\lambda}{\lambda+1}\right)^2 < K \le 1,}$ there exist ${2[\frac{n+1}{2}]-1}$ prime closed geodesics; moreover, there exist ${2[\frac{n}{2}]-1}$ non-hyperbolic prime closed geodesics provided the number of prime closed geodesics is finite.     

Closed geodesics on multiply connected manifolds

The existence of a finite number of non-hyperbolic periodic trajectories in Kirchhoff's problem of the motion of a rigid body in an ideal fluid as well as in its twin problem of the motion of a rigid body with a fixed point in a force field with a quadratic potential is proved using one of Klingenberg's theorems. The dynamical system is considered on a multiply connected manifold of even dimension with a Riemann metric.     

Closed geodesics in compact nilmanifolds

We study the density of closed geodesics property on 2-step nilmanifolds Γ\N, where N is a simply connected 2-step nilpotent Lie group with a left invariant Riemannian metric and Lie algebra ?, and Γ is a lattice in N. We show the density of closedgeodesics property holds for quotients of singular, simply connected, 2-step nilpotent Lie groups N which are constructed using irreducible representations of the compact Lie group SU(2). Received: 8 November 2000 / Revised version: 9 April 2001     

Closed geodesics on positively curved Finsler spheres

In this paper, we prove that for every Finsler n-sphere (Sn,F) for n?3 with reversibility λ and flag curvature K satisfying , either there exist infinitely many prime closed geodesics or there exists one elliptic closed geodesic whose linearized Poincaré map has at least one eigenvalue which is of the form exp(πiμ) with an irrational μ. Furthermore, there always exist three prime closed geodesics on any (S³,F) satisfying the above pinching condition.     

Correlations for pairs of closed geodesics

In this article we consider natural counting problems for closed geodesics on negatively curved surfaces. We present asymptotic estimates for pairs of closed geodesics, the differences of whose lengths lie in a prescribed family of shrinking intervals. Related pair correlation problems have been studied in both Quantum Chaos and number theory.     

Closed timelike geodesics in compact spacetimes

Let be a compact spacetime which admits a regular globally hyperbolic covering, and a nontrivial free timelike homotopy class of closed timelike curves in We prove that contains a longest curve (which must be a closed timelike geodesic) if and only if the timelike injectivity radius of is finite; i.e., has a bounded length. As a consequence among others, we deduce that for a compact static spacetime there exists a closed timelike geodesic within every nontrivial free timelike homotopy class having a finite timelike injectivity radius.

     

Closed geodesics on orbifolds of nonpositive or nonnegative curvature

In this note we prove existence of closed geodesics of positive length on compact developable orbifolds of nonpositive or nonnegative curvature. We also include a geometric proof of existence of closed geodesics whenever the orbifold fundamental group contains a hyperbolic element and therefore reduce the existence problem to developable orbifolds with \(\pi _1^{orb}\) infinite and having finite exponent and finitely many conjugacy classes.     

Closed geodesics and holonomies for Kleinian manifolds

For a rank one Lie group G and a Zariski dense and geometrically finite subgroup \({\Gamma}\) of G, we establish the joint equidistribution of closed geodesics and their holonomy classes for the associated locally symmetric space. Our result is given in a quantitative form for geometrically finite real hyperbolic manifolds whose critical exponents are big enough. In the case when \({G={\rm PSL}_2 (\mathbb{C})}\) , our results imply the equidistribution of eigenvalues of elements of Γ in the complex plane. When \({\Gamma}\) is a lattice, the equidistribution of holonomies was proved by Sarnak and Wakayama in 1999 using the Selberg trace formula.     

Closed geodesics on compact nilmanifolds with Chevalley rational structure

We study the distribution of closed geodesics on nilmanifolds Γ \ N arising from a 2-step nilpotent Lie algebra constructed from an irreducible representation of a compact semisimple Lie algebra on a real finite dimensional vector space U. We determine sufficient conditions on the semisimple Lie algebra for Γ \ N to have the density of closed geodesics property where Γ is a lattice arising from a Chevalley rational structure on .     

Closed geodesics on piecewise smooth constant curvature surfaces of revolution

The paper develops a study of closed geodesics on piecewise smooth constant curvature surfaces of revolution initiated by I.V. Sypchenko and D. S. Timonina. The case of constant negative curvature is considered. Closed geodesics on a surface formed by a union of two Beltrami surfaces are studied. All closed geodesics without self-intersections are found and tested for stability in a certain finite-dimensional class of perturbations. Conjugate points are found partly.     

Closed geodesics in homology classes on hyperbolic manifolds with cusps

On a class of hyperbolic manifolds with infinite volume, we give an asymptotic estimate for the number of closed geodesics in a given homology class. We show that, in certain cases, the existence of parabolic transformations in the fundamental group Γ of these manifolds has an effect on this estimate. This happens when the Hausdorff dimension of the limit set of Γ is less than 3/2. The geometrical meaning of this critical value remains to be understood.     

Closed curves and geodesics with two self-intersections on the Punctured torus

We classify the free homotopy classes of closed curves with minimal self intersection number two on a once punctured torus,T, up to homeomorphism. Of these, there are six primitive classes and two imprimitive. The classification leads to the topological result that, up to homeomorphism, there is a unique curve in each class realizing the minimum self intersection number. The classification yields a complete classification of geodesics on hyperbolicT which have self intersection number two. We also derive new results on the Markoff spectrum of diophantine approximation; in particular, exactly three of the imprimitive classes correspond to families of Markoff values below Hall's ray.Research started during the Summer 1994 NSF REU Program at Oregon State University and partially supported by NSF DMS 9300281