Resonance of ellipsoidal billiard trajectories and extremal rational functions

TL;DR

This paper explores the connection between resonant billiard trajectories in quadrics and extremal rational functions, revealing fundamental properties of billiard dynamics and analyzing non-periodic trajectories through advanced algebraic relations.

Contribution

It establishes a novel link between billiard trajectories and extremal rational functions, using generalized Pell-type relations to analyze integrable billiard dynamics.

Findings

Proves key properties of non-periodic billiard trajectories.

Develops a generalized Pell-type relation for billiard dynamics.

Provides a comprehensive study of integrable billiard trajectories.

Abstract

We study resonant billiard trajectories within quadrics in the $d$-dimensional Euclidean space. We relate them to the theory of approximation, in particular the extremal rational functions on the systems of $d$ intervals on the real line. This fruitful link enables us to prove fundamental properties of the billiard dynamics and to provide a comprehensive study of a large class of non-periodic trajectories of integrable billiards. A key ingredient is a functional-polynomial relation of a generalized Pell type. Applying further these ideas and techniques to $s$-weak billiard trajectories, we come to a functional-polynomial relation of the same generalized Pell type.