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Separation of variables in the Hamilton–Jacobi equation for geodesics in two and three dimensions

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Abstract

On (pseudo)Riemannian manifolds of two and three dimensions, we list all metrics that admit a complete separation of variables in the Hamilton–Jacobi equation for geodesics. There are three different classes of separable metrics on two-dimensional surfaces. Three-dimensional manifolds admit six classes of separable metrics. Within each class, metrics are related by canonical transformations and a nondegenerate transformation of parameters that does not depend on coordinates.

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Funding

This paper has been supported by the Kazan Federal University Strategic Academic Leadership Program.

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Correspondence to M. O. Katanaev.

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Translated from Teoreticheskaya i Matematicheskaya Fizika, 2024, Vol. 218, pp. 306–319 https://doi.org/10.4213/tmf10546.

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Katanaev, M.O. Separation of variables in the Hamilton–Jacobi equation for geodesics in two and three dimensions. Theor Math Phys 218, 264–275 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0040577924020065

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