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Hopf–Rinow theorem


Hopf–Rinow theorem is a set of statements about the geodesic completeness of Riemannian manifolds. It is named after Heinz Hopf and his student Willi Rinow, who published it in 1931.

Let (Mg) be a connected Riemannian manifold. Then the following statements are equivalent:

Furthermore, any one of the above implies that given any two points p and q in M, there exists a length minimizing geodesic connecting these two points (geodesics are in general critical points for the length functional, and may or may not be minima).


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