AbstractThis paper investigates the relationship between a system of differential equations and the underlying geometry associated with it. The geometry of a surface determines shortest paths, or geodesics connecting nearby points, which are defined as the solutions to a pair of second-order differential equations: the Euler–Lagrange equations of the metric. We ask when the converse holds, that is, when solutions to a system of differential equations reveals an underlying geometry. Specifically, when may the solutions to a given pair of second order ordinary differential equations d2y1/dt2 = f (y, ẏ, t) and d2y2/dt2 = g(y, ẏ, t) be reparameterized by t → T(y, t) so as to give locally the geodesics of a Euclidean space? Our approach is based upon Cartan's method of equivalence. In the second part of the paper, the equivalence problem is solved for a generic pair of second order ordinary differential equations of the above form revealing the existence of 24 invariant functions.
Equivalence problem for the orthogonal webs on the 3-sphere
