Abstract. According to the principle of least action, the spatially periodic motions of one-dimensional mechanical systems with no external forces are described in the Lagrangian formalism by geodesics on a manifold-configuration space, the group of smooth orientation-preserving diffeomorphisms of the circle. The periodic inviscid Burgers equation is the geodesic equation on with the L² right-invariant metric. However, the exponential map for this right-invariant metric is not a C¹ local diffeomorphism and the geometric structure is therefore deficient. On the other hand, the geodesic equation on for the H¹ right-invariant metric is also a re-expression of a model in mathematical physics. We show that in this case the exponential map is a C¹ local diffeomorphism and that if two diffeomorphisms are sufficiently close on , they can be joined by a unique length-minimizing geodesic—a state of the system is transformed to another nearby state by going through a uniquely determined flow that minimizes the energy. We also analyse for both metrics the breakdown of the geodesic flow.

PACS numbers: 02.20.Tw, 02.30.lk, 02.30.Jr, 02.40.Vh, 45.10.Db, 47.45.+i

Print publication: Issue 32 (16 August 2002)
Received 31 May 2002, in final form 19 June 2002
Published 2 August 2002