Gutkin billiard tables in higher dimensions and rigidity

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Abstract

Gutkin found a remarkable class of convex billiard tables in a plane that has a constant angle invariant curve. In this paper we prove that in dimension 3 only a round sphere has such a property. For dimensions greater than 3, a hypersurface with a Gutkin property different from a round sphere, if it exists, must be of constant width and, moreover, it must have very special geometric properties. In the 2D case we prove a rigidity result for Gutkin billiard tables. This is done with the help of a new generating function introduced recently for billiards in our joint paper with Mironov. In the present paper a formula for the generating function in higher dimensions is found.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2281-2293
Number of pages13
JournalNonlinearity
Volume31
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 10 Apr 2018

Keywords

  • Birkhoff billiards
  • bodies of constant width
  • geodesics

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Applied Mathematics
  • Statistical and Nonlinear Physics
  • General Physics and Astronomy
  • Mathematical Physics

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