# “The famous Lusternik-Schnirelmann Theorem of the Three Closed Geodesics”

The title is a quote from p.256 of Wilhelm Klingenberg's 1995 Riemannian Geometry (Google Books link): Every surface homeomorphic to a sphere $\mathbb{S}^2$ has three distinct, simple, closed geodesics. Another source is p.466 of Berger's A Panoramic view of Riemannian Geometry (Springer link).

My question is:

What is known about simple, closed curves of constant, non-zero geodesic curvature? Are there always three, simple closed curves for every constant $k_g$, on a surface homeomorphic to $\mathbb{S}^2$ ?

Update. macbeth noted that this question was posed on MO earlier and adequately answered: "Curves of constant curvature on S^2."

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Ian Agol gave a link, Rugang Ye had relevant articles in 1991 and 1996 in the Pacific Journal of Mathematics. If the surface has a point $p$ which is a non-degenerate critical point of the curvature function, there is a foliation of a neighborhood of $p$ by concentric circles of constant geodesic curvature. So then you have infinitely many simple closed curves of constant but nonzero geodesic curvature. Now I've got to think about critical points of curvature. –  Will Jagy Apr 16 '12 at 6:14
The link to which Will refers is now deleted, so here it is: "Foliation by constant mean curvature spheres," ams.org/mathscinet-getitem?mr=1084717 . –  Joseph O'Rourke Apr 16 '12 at 12:09
Is this the same question as mathoverflow.net/questions/31920/… ? (Joseph O'Rourke and Will Jagy, I'm second-guessing myself because you both also commented on that question!) –  macbeth Apr 16 '12 at 13:41
It's slightly different, since you're asking for 3, but Dmitri was asking for 2 :) –  Ian Agol Apr 16 '12 at 14:46
I never noticed you wanted the same constant curvature $k_g.$ In that case, the number is definitely finite and likely small. –  Will Jagy Apr 16 '12 at 19:36