The Birkhoff-Poritsky conjecture for centrally-symmetric billiard tables

TL;DR

This paper proves the Birkhoff-Poritsky conjecture for centrally-symmetric $C^2$-smooth convex billiards, showing that under certain foliation conditions, the billiard boundary must be an ellipse, using advanced geometric and dynamical methods.

Contribution

It establishes the conjecture for centrally-symmetric $C^2$-smooth convex billiards under foliation assumptions, demonstrating the boundary is necessarily an ellipse, which is a significant rigidity result.

Findings

Birkhoff-Poritsky conjecture proven for symmetric billiards

Elliptical boundary characterized by invariant curve foliation

Hopf-type rigidity established for elliptical billiards

Abstract

In this paper we prove the Birkhoff-Poritsky conjecture for centrally-symmetric $C^2$-smooth convex planar billiards. We assume that the domain $\mathcal A$ between the invariant curve of $4$-periodic orbits and the boundary of the phase cylinder is foliated by $C^0$-invariant curves. Under this assumption we prove that the billiard curve is an ellipse. For the original Birkhoff-Poritsky formulation we show that if a neighborhood of the boundary of billiard domain has a $C^1$-smooth foliation by convex caustics of rotation numbers in the interval (0; 1/4] then the boundary curve is an ellipse. In the language of first integrals one can assert that {if the billiard inside a centrally-symmetric $C^2$-smooth convex curve $\gamma$ admits a $C^1$-smooth first integral with non-vanishing gradient on $\mathcal A$, then the curve $\gamma$ is an ellipse.} The main ingredients of the proof are : (1) the non-standard generating function for convex billiards discovered in \cite{BM}, \cite{B}; (2) the remarkable structure of the invariant curve consisting of $4$-periodic orbits; and (3) the integral-geometry approach initiated in B0, B1 for rigidity results of circular billiards. Surprisingly, we establish a Hopf-type rigidity for billiard in ellipse.