We give a new and complete proof of the following theorem, discovered by Detlef Laugwitz: (forward) complete and connected finite dimensional Finsler manifolds admitting a proper homothety are Minkowski vector spaces. More precisely, we show that under these hypotheses the Finsler manifold is isometric to the tangent Minkowski vector space of the fixed point of the homothety via the exponential...

We show that the index of a lightlike geodesic in a conformally standard stationary spacetime (M0 × R, g) is equal to the index of its spatial projection as a geodesic of a Finsler metric F on M0 associated to (M0×R, g). Moreover we obtain the Morse relations of lightlike geodesics connecting a point p to a curve γ(s) = (q0, s) by using Morse theory on the Finsler manifold (M0, F ). To this end...

here, a finsler manifold $(m,f)$ is considered with corresponding curvature tensor, regarded as $2$-forms on the bundle of non-zero tangent vectors. certain subspaces of the tangent spaces of $m$ determined by the curvature are introduced and called $k$-nullity foliations of the curvature operator. it is shown that if the dimension of foliation is constant, then the distribution is involutive a...

The aim of this paper is to show that holonomy properties of Finsler manifolds can be very different from those of Riemannian manifolds. We prove that the holonomy group of a positive definite non-Riemannian Finsler manifold of non-zero constant curvature with dimension > 2 cannot be a compact Lie group. Hence this holonomy group does not occur as the holonomy group of any Riemannian manifold. ...

on a finsler manifold, we define conformal vector fields and their complete lifts and prove that incertain conditions they are homothetic.

If D is a bounded convex domain in C , then the work of Lempert [L] and Royden-Wong [RW] (see also [A]) show that given any point p ∈ D and any non-zero tangent vector v ∈ C at p, there exists a holomorphic map φ:U → D from the unit disk U ⊂ C into D passing through p and tangent to v in p which is an isometry with respect to the hyperbolic distance of U and the Kobayashi distance of D. Further...

Here, a Finsler manifold $(M,F)$ is considered with corresponding curvature tensor, regarded as $2$-forms on the bundle of non-zero tangent vectors. Certain subspaces of the tangent spaces of $M$ determined by the curvature are introduced and called $k$-nullity foliations of the curvature operator. It is shown that if the dimension of foliation is constant, then the distribution is involutive...

Randers manifolds are studied in the framework of the pullback bundle formalism, with the aid of intrinsic methods only. After checking a sufficient condition for a Randers manifold to be a Finsler manifold, we provide a systematic description of the Riemann-Finsler metric, the canonical spray, the Barthel endomorphism, the Berwald connection, the Cartan tensors and the Cartan vector field in t...

The aim of this paper is to show that the holonomy group of a non-Riemannian Finsler manifold of constant curvature with dimension n > 2 cannot be a compact Lie group and hence it cannot occur as the holonomy group of any Riemannian manifold. This result gives a positive answer to the following problem formulated by S. S. Chern and Z. Shen: Is there a Finsler manifold whose holonomy group is no...

After defining what is meant by a complex spray X on a complex manifold M , we introduce the notion of a spray complex curve associated to X. Several equivalent formulations are derived and we give necessary and sufficient conditions for M to admit spray complex curves for X through each point and in each direction. Refinements of this result are then derived for some special cases, for example...