The famous Cheng-Shen’s conjecture in Riemann-Finsler geometry claims that every n-dimensional closed W-quadratic Randers manifold is a Berwald manifold. In this paper, first we study the Riemann and Ricci curvatures of homogeneous Finsler manifolds and obtain some rigidity theorems. Then, by using this investigation, we construct a family of W-quadratic Randers metrics which are not R-quadratic nor strongly Ricci-quadratic.

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.

It is well known that a system of homogeneous second-order ordinary differential equations (spray) is necessarily isotropic in order to be metrizable by a Finsler function of scalar flag curvature. In our main result we show that the isotropy condition, together with three other conditions on the Jacobi endomorphism, characterize sprays that are metrizable by Finsler functions of scalar flag curvature. We call these conditions the scalar flag curvature (SFC) test. The proof of the main result provides an algorithm to construct the Finsler function of scalar flag curvature, in the case when a given spray is metrizable. Hilbert’s fourth problem asks to determine the Finsler functions with rectilinear geodesics. A Finsler function that is a solution to Hilbert’s fourth problem is necessarily of constant or scalar flag curvature. Therefore, we can use the constant flag curvature (CFC) test, which we developed in our previous paper, Bucataru and Muzsnay [‘Sprays metrizable by Finsler functions of constant flag curvature’, Differential Geom. Appl.31 (3)(2013), 405–415] as well as the SFC test to decide whether or not the projective deformations of a flat spray, which are isotropic, are metrizable by Finsler functions of constant or scalar flag curvature. We show how to use the algorithms provided by the CFC and SFC tests to construct solutions to Hilbert’s fourth problem.

In this paper we give an explicit formula for the flag curvature of homogeneous Randers spaces of Douglas type and apply this formula to obtain some interesting results. We first deduce an explicit formula for the flag curvature of an arbitrary left invariant Randers metric on a two-step nilpotent Lie group. Then we obtain a classification of negatively curved homogeneous Randers spaces of Douglas type. This results, in particular, in many examples of homogeneous non-Riemannian Finsler spaces with negative flag curvature. Finally, we prove a rigidity result that a homogeneous Randers space of Berwald type whose flag curvature is everywhere nonzero must be Riemannian.

In this paper we study left invariant Einstein–Randers metrics on compact Lie groups. First, we give a method to construct left invariant non-Riemannian Einstein–Randers metrics on a compact Lie group, using the Zermelo navigation data. Then we prove that this gives a complete classification of left invariant Einstein–Randers metrics on compact simple Lie groups with the underlying Riemannian metric naturally reductive. Further, we completely determine the identity component of the group of isometries for this type of metrics on simple groups. Finally, we study some geometric properties of such metrics. In particular, we give the formulae of geodesics and flag curvature of such metrics.

In this paper, we find a class of $\left( \alpha ,\,\beta \right)$ metrics which have a bounded Cartan torsion. This class contains all Randers metrics. Furthermore, we give some applications and obtain two corollaries about curvature of this metrics.

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.