Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2023/ii/paper-2/38b/b/solution

For an affine parameter , the geodesic equation and the connection coefficients from part (a) give
where dots denote derivatives with respect to .
On a line of constant , one has . The equations reduce to , so itself can be chosen as an affine parameter. Every such radial line is therefore a geodesic.
For a circle , the first equation instead requires
Both hyperbolic factors are positive when , so . This gives only a constant point, not a parametrized circle. Thus no circle of constant positive is a geodesic, in agreement with the coordinate geodesics of the hyperbolic polar metric.

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