Generic extremals avoid the strict-subgroup union in the free step-2 rank-4 group

From papers

Let F4\mathbb F_4 be the free step-2 rank-four Carnot group, and let H\mathcal H be the union of all strict Carnot subgroups. Equivalently,

H={(x,t)F4:rank(t)2}.\mathcal H=\{(x,t)\in\mathbb F_4:\operatorname{rank}(t)\leq 2\}.

Let γ=γ(,a,b,φ)\gamma=\gamma(\cdot,a,b,\varphi) be a generic extremal. Generic-extremal avoidance conjecture. The image of γ\gamma at positive times does not meet H\mathcal H:

γ((0,+))H=.\gamma((0,+\infty))\cap\mathcal H=\varnothing.

The paper proves only that any such intersection, if it occurs, lies after the cut time and before a positive extremal-dependent constant c2(γ)c_2(\gamma); the conjectured global avoidance remains open.

Progress summary

Nothing recorded yet. Refresh searches the literature and the public web for attempts on this problem, and writes the first summary here.

Sources & referencesView supporting material

Primary source

Annamaria Montanari and Daniele Morbidelli, “New properties of length-extremals in free step-2 rank-4 Carnot groups”, arXiv:2503.00021 (2026).

Solutions 0

No solutions have been posted yet.