The classical theory of calculus of variations for generalized functions

We present an extension of the classical theory of calculus of variations to generalized functions. The framework is the category of generalized smooth functions, which includes Schwartz distributions while sharing many nonlinear properties with ordinary smooth functions. We prove full connections between extremals and Euler-Lagrange equations, classical necessary and sufficient conditions to have a minimizer, the necessary Legendre condition, Jacobis theorem on conjugate points and Noethers theorem. We close with an application to low regularity Riemannian geometry.

The regularity of geodesics in impulsive pp-waves

We consider the geodesic equation in impulsive pp-wave space-times in Rosen form, where the metric is of Lipschitz regularity. We prove that the geodesics (in the sense of Caratheodory) are actually continuously differentiable, thereby rigorously justifying the $C^1$-matching procedure which has been used in the literature to explicitly derive the geodesics in space-times of this form.