Richard Montgomery

The space $J^k$ of $k$-jets of a real function of one real variable $x$ admits the structure of Carnot group type. As such, $J^k$ admits a submetry (sub-Riemannian submersion) onto the Euclidean plane. Horizontal lifts of Euclidean lines (which are the left translates of horizontal one-parameter subgroups) are thus globally minimizing geodesics on $J^k$. All $J^k$-geodesics, minimizing or not, are constructed from degree $k$ polynomials in $x$ according to [7–9], reviewed here. The constant polynomials correspond to the horizontal lifts of lines. Which other polynomials yield globally minimizers and what do these minimizers look like? We give a partial answer. Our methods include constructing an intermediate three-dimensional ``magnetic'' sub-Riemannian space lying between the jet space and the plane, solving a Hamilton – Jacobi (eikonal) equations on this space, and analyzing period asymptotics associated to period degenerations arising from two-parameter families of these polynomials. Along the way, we conjecture the independence of the cut time of any geodesic on jet space from the starting location on that geodesic.

We show how to construct the hyperbolic plane with its geodesic flow as the reduction of a three-problem whose potential is proportional to $I/\Delta^2$ where $I$ is the moment of inertia of this triangle whose vertices are the locations of the three bodies and $\Delta$ is its area. The reduction method follows [11]. Reduction by scaling is only possible because the potential is homogeneous of degree $-2$. In trying to extend the assertion of hyperbolicity to the analogous family of planar $N$-body problems with three-body interaction potentials we run into Mnëv’s astounding universality theorem which implies that the extended assertion is doomed to fail.

We show that the $n$-dimensional MICZ-Kepler system arises from symplectic reduction of the "Kepler problem" on the cone over the rotation group $SO(n)$. As a corollary we derive an elementary formula for the general solution of the MICZ-Kepler problem. The heart of the computation is the observation that the additional MICZ-Kepler potential, $|\phi|^2/r^2$, agrees with the rotational part of the cone’s kinetic energy.