 Hopf-Rinow lemma

If the Riemannian exponential map at one point $p$ of a connected finite-dimensional Riemannian manifold is defined on all of $T_{p}M$, every point can be joined to $p$ by a minimizing geodesic. The distance splitting through a small geodesic sphere selects a radial direction attaining $d(p,q)=r+d(\gamma (r),q)$. If this equality stopped before the target, repeat the splitting at its last point. A broken minimizing path cannot have a corner, so the new segment continues the same geodesic, contradicting maximality. This is the minimizing-geodesic lemma used in the radial continuation proof of Hopf-Rinow.

// Target: riemannian-geometry.bigb