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ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2008/iii/paper-17/3/a/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2008 iii Paper 17 3 a Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
A simple Riemannian manifold has strictly convex boundary, no conjugate points, and a unique connecting geodesic depending smoothly on its endpoints. In particular its unit-speed geodesics are nontrapping. Write for the inward unit normal, and identify inward and outward parts of its boundary unit tangent bundle byThe signs are a convention; here means inward. If is strictly inward, let be its first exit time. The geodesic scattering relation isThus it records both the exit point and the outward unit velocity, not just the exit point. On strictly outward vectors extend by following the same geodesic flow backwards to its previous entry point, retaining the velocity orientation. On tangential vectors set . The extended scattering relation is an involution on the full boundary unit bundle, since its forward and backward constructions undo one another. On a simple Riemannian manifold, the travel time equals the boundary distance function between the two endpoints; travel time is often recorded separately as lens data.
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