A comprehensive approach to qualitative problems in intrinsic differential geometry, this text for upper-level undergraduates and graduate students emphasizes cases in which geodesics possess only local uniqueness properties--and consequently, the relations to the foundations of geometry are decidedly less relevant, and Finsler spaces become the principal subject.This direct approach has produced many new results and has materially generalized many known phenomena. Author Herbert Busemann begins with an explanation of the basic concepts, including compact metric spaces, convergence of point sets, motion and isometry, segments, and geodesics. Subsequent topics include Desarguesian spaces, with discussions of Riemann and Finsler spaces and Beltrami's theorem; perpendiculars and parallels, with examinations of higher-dimensional Minkowskian geometry and the Minkowski plane; and covering spaces, including locally isometric space, the universal covering space, fundamental sets, free homotopy and closed geodesics, and transitive geodesics on surfaces of higher genus. Concluding chapters explore the influence of the sign of the curvature on the geodesics, and homogenous spaces, including those with flat bisectors.
Product Identifiers
Publisher
Dover Publications Inc.
ISBN-13
9780486442372
eBay Product ID (ePID)
94480309
Product Key Features
Author
Herbert Busemann
Publication Name
The Geometry of Geodesics
Format
Paperback
Language
English
Subject
Mathematics
Publication Year
2005
Type
Textbook
Number of Pages
432 Pages
Dimensions
Item Height
217mm
Item Width
140mm
Item Weight
458g
Additional Product Features
Title_Author
Herbert Busemann
Series Title
Dover Books on Mathematics
Country/Region of Manufacture
United States
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