The local structure of rotationally symmetric Finsler surfaces with vanishing flag curvature is completely determined in this paper. A geometric method for constructing such surfaces is introduced. The construction begins with a planar vector field X that depends on two functions of one variable. It is shown that the flow of X could be used to generate a generalized Finsler surface with zero flag curvature. Moreover, this generalized structure reduces to a regular Finsler metric if and only if X has an isochronous center. By relating X to a Liénard system, we obtain the isochronicity condition and discover numerous new examples of complete flat Finsler surfaces, depending on an odd function and an even function.

In this paper, we study the warped structures of Finsler metrics. We obtain the differential equation that characterizes Finsler warped product metrics with vanishing Douglas curvature. By solving this equation, we obtain all Finsler warped product Douglas metrics. Some new Douglas Finsler metrics of this type are produced by using known spherically symmetric Douglas metrics.

In this paper, we study a class of homogeneous Finsler metrics of vanishing $S$-curvature on a $(4n+3)$-dimensional sphere. We find a second order ordinary differential equation that characterizes Einstein metrics with constant Ricci curvature $1$ in this class. Using this equation we show that there are infinitely many homogeneous Einstein metrics on $S^{4n+3}$ of constant Ricci curvature $1$ and vanishing $S$-curvature. They contain the canonical metric on $S^{4n+3}$ of constant sectional curvature $1$ and the Einstein metric of non-constant sectional curvature given by Jensen in 1973.

In this paper, a newnotion of scalar curvature for a Finsler metric $F$ is introduced, and two conformal invariants $Y(M,F)$ and $C(M,F)$ are defined. We prove that there exists a Finsler metric with constant scalar curvature in the conformal class of $F$ if the Cartan torsion of $F$ is sufficiently small and $Y(M,F)C(M,F)<Y({{\mathbb{S}}^{n}})$ where $Y({{\mathbb{S}}^{n}})$ is the Yamabe constant of the standard sphere.

In this paper we study several non-Riemannian quantities in Finsler geometry. These non-Riemannian quantities play an important role in understanding the geometric properties of Finsler metrics. In particular, we study a new non-Riemannian quantity defined by the $\text{S}$-curvature. We show some relationships among the flag curvature, the $\text{S}$-curvature, and the new non-Riemannian quantity.

In this paper, we study locally projectively flat fourth root Finsler metrics and their generalized metrics. We prove that if they are irreducible, then they must be locally Minkowskian.

We give an explicit construction of polynomial (of arbitrary degree) $(\alpha ,\,\beta )$-metrics with scalar flag curvature and determine their scalar flag curvature. These Finsler metrics contain all nontrivial projectively flat $(\alpha ,\,\beta )$-metrics of constant flag curvature.

We study an important class of Finsler metrics, namely, Randers metrics. We classify Randers metrics of scalar flag curvature whose S-curvatures are isotropic. This class of Randers metrics contains all projectively flat Randers metrics with isotropic S-curvature and Randers metrics of constant flag curvature.

In this paper we study the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of metric measure manifolds. We prove that any eigenfunction is $C^{1,\alpha}$ at its critical points and $C^{\infty}$ elsewhere. Moreover, the eigenfunction corresponding to the first eigenvalue in the Dirichlet problem does not change sign. We also discuss the first eigenvalue, the Sobolev constants and their relationship with the isoperimetric constants. 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification: 47J05, 47J10, 53C60, 58E05, 58C40.