On a Fermat principle in general relativity. A Ljusternik-Schnirelmann theory for light rays

Summary In this paper existence and multiplicity results for lightlike geodesics joining a point with a timelike curve on a class of Lorentzian manifolds are proved under intrinsic assumptions. Such results are obtained using an extension to Lorentzian Geometry of the classical Fermat principle in optics. The results are proved using critical point theory on infinite dimensional manifolds. An application to the gravitational lens effect is presented.