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TauCeti.Geometry.Symplectic.Cotangent.Bundle.Cogeodesic

The Reeb flow of the unit cosphere bundle is the cogeodesic flow #

Let M be a Riemannian manifold without boundary, with cotangent bundle T*M, Liouville form λ = p dq and canonical symplectic form ω = -dλ. The kinetic energy of a covector is K(q, p) = ‖p‖² / 2 (TauCeti.CotangentBundle.kineticEnergy), where ‖p‖ is the norm of p for the metric. Its Hamiltonian vector field X_K, with ι_(X_K) ω = dK, generates the cogeodesic flow: in canonical coordinates it reads dq/dt = p♯, dp/dt = -∂_q K.

The unit cosphere bundle S*M = {‖p‖ = 1} is the level K = 1/2. It carries the two contact forms α_g = λ|S*M and α_b = -λ|S*M, which define opposite coorientations of the same contact distribution. This file identifies their Reeb vector fields with the cogeodesic field:

The proof applies TauCeti.SmoothTwoForm.IsNondegenerate.mfderiv_reebVectorField_mpullback to θ = λ and the energy K. Two facts about K enter. Its differential is ‖p‖ d‖p‖ (TauCeti.CotangentBundle.mvfderiv_kineticEnergy), so on S*M its kernel is the tangent space of S*M. And K is homogeneous of degree two in the fibres, so the Euler field Z = p ∂_p satisfies dK(Z) = 2K = ‖p‖² (TauCeti.CotangentBundle.mvfderiv_kineticEnergy_vectorBundleEulerField). Since ι_Z ω = -λ, this gives λ(X_K) = ω(X_K, Z) = dK(Z) = ‖p‖² (TauCeti.CotangentBundle.liouvilleForm_hamiltonianVectorField_kineticEnergy), which is 1 on S*M: the Reeb normalization α_g(R) = 1 holds for X_K itself, with no rescaling.

Main definitions #

Main results #

References #

The kinetic energy K(q, p) = ‖p‖² / 2 of a covector, for the norm of covectors induced by the Riemannian metric. Its Hamiltonian flow for the canonical symplectic form is the cogeodesic flow.

Instances For

    The differential of the kinetic energy. Off the zero section, dK = ‖p‖ d‖p‖.

    Euler's identity for the kinetic energy. The kinetic energy is homogeneous of degree two in the fibres, so the Euler vector field Z = p ∂_p satisfies dK(Z) = 2K = ‖p‖².

    The Liouville form on the cogeodesic field. The Liouville form takes the value λ(X_K) = ‖p‖² = 2K on the Hamiltonian vector field of the kinetic energy: in coordinates, p(dq/dt) = p(p♯) = ‖p‖².

    The Reeb field of λ|S*M is the cogeodesic field. The differential of the inclusion of the unit cosphere bundle sends the Reeb vector field of the contact form α_g = λ|S*M to the Hamiltonian vector field of the kinetic energy.

    The Reeb field of -λ|S*M is the reversed cogeodesic field. The differential of the inclusion of the unit cosphere bundle sends the Reeb vector field of the contact form α_b = -λ|S*M to minus the Hamiltonian vector field of the kinetic energy.

    The Reeb flow of λ|S*M is the cogeodesic flow. Wherever the Reeb flow of the contact form α_g = λ|S*M is defined, the inclusion of the unit cosphere bundle carries it to the Hamiltonian flow of the kinetic energy.