We introduce the self-linking number of a smooth closed curve in R^n with respect to a 3-dimensional vector bundle over the curve, provided that some regularity conditions are satisfied. When n=3, this construction gives the classical self-linking number of a closed embedded curve with non-vanishing curvature. We also look at some interesting particular cases, which correspond to the osculating or the orthogonal vector bundle of the curve.
We construct radial fundamental solutions for the differential form Laplacian on negatively curved symmetric spaces. At least one of these Green's functions also yields a Biot-Savart Opearator, i.e. a right inverse of the exterior differential on closed forms with image in the kernel of the codifferential. Any Biot-Savart operator gives rise to a Gauss linking integral.
We present a new strategy for proving the Ambrose conjecture, a global version of the Cartan local lemma. A linking curve is defined as a curve in the tangent space whose composition with the exponential map is tree formed. This key idea is used to define sutured manifolds. We prove first that any sutured manifold satisfies the Ambrose conjecture. We then prove that the set of sutured Riemmanian manifolds contains a residual set of the metrics on a given smooth manifold of dimension 3 by explicitely constructing a special type of linking curves that follow the "conjugate descending flow".
We define and study a Möbius invariant energy associated to planar domains, as well its generalization to space curves. This generalization is a Möbius version of Banchoff-Pohl's notion of area enclosed by a space curve. A relation with Gauss-Bonnet theorems for complete surfaces in hyperbolic space is also described.
We show that the Lagrangian of classical mechanics on a Riemannian manifold of bounded geometry carries a periodic solution of motion with rescribed energy, provided the potential satisfies an asymptotic growth condition, changes sign, and the negative set of the potential is non-trivial in the relative homology.
Let K and L be disjoint closed oriented submanifolds of the n-sphere, with dimensions adding up to n-1. We define a map from their join K*L to the n-sphere whose degree up to sign equals their linking number, and then use this to find the desired linking integral.
On a negatively curved surface, we show that the Poincar{é} series counting geodesic arcs orthogonal to some pair of closed geodesic curves has a meromorphic continuation to the whole complex plane. When both curves are homologically trivial, we prove that the Poincar{é} series has an explicit rational value at 0 interpreting it in terms of linking number of Legendrian knots. In particular, for any pair of points on the surface, the lengths of all geodesic arcs connecting the two points determine its genus, and, for any pair of homologically trivial closed geodesics, the lengths of all geodesi…
Given a closed Riemannian manifold and a pair of multi-curves in it, we give a formula relating the linking number of the later to the spectral theory of the Laplace operator acting on differential one forms. As an application, we compute the linking number of any two multi-geodesics of the flat torus of dimension 3, generalising a result of P. Dehornoy.
In this paper, we investigate the relations between the pitch, the angle of pitch and drall of parallel ruled surface of a closed curve in dual Lorentzian space.
We give optimal lower bounds for the number of sextactic points on a simple closed curve in the real projective plane. Sextactic points are after inflection points the simplest projectively invariant singularities on such curves. Our method is axiomatic and can be applied in other situations.
We use ODEs and symmetry arguments to construct closed constant curvature space curves, first on cylinders, next on tori, at last with the Frenet-Serret equations.
In this paper, we give the generalization of the criterion for a 3-space curve to be closed given by [3] to an n-space curve in Minkowski space-time E_v^n. Furthermore, we apply this criterion for a curve lying on an oriented surface in the Minkowski space E_v^n as an application.
Higher KdV flows on spaces of closed equicentroaffine plane curves are studied and it is shown that the flows are described as certain multi-Hamiltonian systems on the spaces. Multi-Hamiltonian systems describing higher mKdV flows are also given on spaces of closed Euclidean plane curves via the geometric Miura transformation.
We show that for any n real periodic functions f_1,..., f_n with the same period, such that f_i>0 for i<n, and a real number e >0, there is a closed curve in R^{n+1} with curvatures k_1, ..., k_n such that |k_i(t)-f_i(t)| < e for all i and t. This neither holds for closed curves in the hyperbolic space H^{n+1}, nor for parametric families of closed curves in R^{n+1}.
In this paper, we investigate the relations between the pitch, the angle of pitch and drall of parallel ruled surface of a closed spacelike curve with timelike binormal in dual Lorentzian space.
We study the curve diffusion flow for closed curves immersed in the Minkowski plane $\mathcal{M}$, which is equivalent to the Euclidean plane endowed with a closed, symmetric, convex curve called an indicatrix that scales the length of a vector in $\mathcal{M}$ depending on its length. The indiactrix $\partial\mathcal{U}$ (where $\mathcal{U}\subset\mathbb{R}^{2}$ is a convex, centrally symmetric domain) induces a second convex body, the isoperimetrix $\tilde{\mathcal{I}}$. This set is the unique convex set that miniminises the isoperimetric ratio (modulo homothetic rescaling) in the Minkowski …
In this paper, we investigate the relations between the pitch, the angle of pitch and drall of parallel ruled surface of a closed spacelike curve with a spacelike binormal in dual Lorentzian space.
The optimality of the integral inequality $\int\limits_γ\sqrt{k_1^2+k_2^2+k_3^2}ds>2π$ for closed curves with non-vanishing curvatures in $\mathbb R^4$ is discussed. We prove that an arbitrary closed curve of constant positive curvatures in $\mathbb R^4$ satisfies the inequality $\int\limits_γ\sqrt{k_1^2+k_2^2+k_3^2}ds \geq 2\sqrt{5}π$.
For $p\in\mathbb{R}$, we show that non-circular closed $p$-elastic curves in $\mathbb{S}^2$ exist only when $p=2$, in which case they are classical elastic curves, or when $p\in(0,1)$. In the latter case, we prove that for every pair of relatively prime natural numbers $n$ and $m$ satisfying $m<2n<\sqrt{2}\,m$, there exists a closed spherical $p$-elastic curve with non-constant curvature which winds around a pole $n$ times and closes up in $m$ periods of its curvature. Further, we show that all closed spherical $p$-elastic curves for $p\in(0,1)$ are unstable as critical points of the $p$-elast…
A natural parametrization of smooth projective plane curves which tolerates the presence of sextactic points is the Forsyth-Laguerre parametrization. On a closed projective plane curve, which necessarily contains sextactic points, this parametrization is, however, in general not periodic. We show that by the introduction of an additional scalar parameter $α\leq \frac12$ one can define a projectively invariant $2π$-periodic global parametrization on every simple closed convex sufficiently smooth projective plane curve without inflection points. For non-quadratic curves this parametrization, whi…
We study "flat knot types" of geodesics on compact surfaces M^2. For every flat knot type and any Riemannian metric g we introduce a Conley index associated with the curve shortening flow on the space of immersed curves on M^2. We conclude existence of closed geodesics with prescribed flat knot types, provided the associated Conley index is nontrivial.
In this paper we use a gradient flow to deform closed planar curves to curves with least variation of geodesic curvature in the $L^2$ sense. Given a smooth initial curve we show that the solution to the flow exists for all time and, provided the length of the evolving curve remains bounded, smoothly converges to a multiply-covered circle. Moreover, we show that curves in any homotopy class with initially small $L^3\lVert k_s\rVert_2^2$ enjoy a uniform length bound under the flow, yielding the convergence result in these cases.
In this paper we consider the polyharmonic heat flow of a closed curve in the plane. Our main result is that closed initial data with initially small normalised oscillation of curvature and isoperimetric defect flows exponentially fast in the C^infty-topology to a simple circle. Our results yield a characterisation of the total amount of time during which the flow is not strictly convex, quantifying in a sense the failure of the maximum principle.
The energy minimization problem associated to uniform, isotropic, linearly elastic rods leads to a geometric variational problem for the rod centerline, whose solutions include closed, knotted curves. We give a complete description of the space of closed and quasiperiodic solutions. The quasiperiodic curves are parametrized by a two-dimensional disc. The closed curves arise as a countable collection of one-parameter families, connecting the m-fold covered circle to the n-fold covered circle for any m,n relatively prime. Each family contains exactly one self-intersecting curve, one elastic curv…
Let $α$ be a contact form on $S^3$, let $ξ$ be its Reeb vector-field and let $v$ be a non-singular vector-field in $kerα$. Let $C_β$ be the space of curves $x$ on $S^3$ such $\dot x=aξ+bv, \dot a=0, a \gneq 0$. Let $L^+$, respectively $L^-$, be the set of curves in $C_β$ such that $b\geq 0$, respectively $b \leq 0$. Let, for $x \in C_β$, $J(x)=\int_0^1α_x(\dot x)dt$. We establish in this paper that an infinite number of cycles in the $S^1$-equivariant homology of $C_β$,{\bf relative} to $L^+ \cup L^-$ and to some specially designed "bottom set", see section 4, are achieved in the Morse complex…
Given a closed manifold M, we prove the upper bound of (n+d)/2 for the length of a product of systoles that can form a curvature-free lower bound for the total volume of M, in the spirit of M. Gromov's systolic inequalities. Here n is the dimension of M, while d is the is the cohomological dimension of its fundamental group. We apply this upper bound to show that, in the case of a 4-manifold, the Lusternik--Schnirelmann category is an upper bound for such length. Furthermore we prove a systolic inequality on a manifold M with b_1(M)=2 in the presence of a nontrivial self-linking class of the t…
We prove that the set of closed finite gap curves in hyperbolic 3-space $\mathbb{H}^3$ is $W^{2,2}$-dense in the Sobolev space of all closed $W^{2,2}$-curves in $\mathbb{H}^3$. We also show that the set of closed finite gap curves in any 2-dimensional space form $\mathbb{E}^2$ is $W^{2,2}$-dense in the Sobolev space of all closed $W^{2,2}$-curves in $\mathbb{E}^2$.
We show that the spaces of closed finite gap curves in ${\mathbb R}^3$ and ${\mathbb S}^3$ are dense with respect to the Sobolev $W^{2,2}$-norm in the spaces of closed curves in ${\mathbb R}^3$ respectively ${\mathbb S}^3$.
We define a computable topological invariant $μ(γ)$ for generic closed planar regular curves $γ$, which gives an effective lower bound for the number of inflection points on a given generic closed planar curve. Using it, we classify the topological types of locally convex curves (i.e. closed planar regular curves without inflections) whose numbers of crossings are less than or equal to five. Moreover, we discuss the relationship between the number of double tangents and the invariant $μ(γ)$ on a given $γ$.
If $Γ$ is the range of a Jordan curve that bounds a convex set in $\mathbb{R}^2,$ then $\frac{1}{2}(Γ+Γ)=\mathsf{co}(Γ),$ where $+$ is the Minkowski sum and $\mathsf{co}$ is the convex hull. Answering a question of V.N. Ushakov, we construct a simple closed curve in $\mathbb{R}^3$ with range $Γ$ such that $\frac{1}{2}(Γ+Γ)=[0,1]^3=\mathsf{co}(Γ).$ Also we show that such simple closed curve cannot be rectifiable.
For any $α>0,$ we study $k^α$-type length-preserving and area-preserving nonlocal flow of convex closed plane curves and show that these two types of flow evolve such curves into round circles in $C^{\infty}% $-norm.$\ $Other relevant $k^α$-type nonlocal flow is also discussed when $α\geq1.\ $
We calculate the rational equivariant cohomology of the spaces of non-contractible loops in compact space forms and show how to apply these calculations for proving the existence of closed geodesics.
We study the evolution of closed inextensible planar curves under a second order flow that decreases the $p$-elastic energy. A short time existence result for $p \in (1,\infty)$ is obtained via a minimizing movements method. For $p = 2$, that is in the case of the classic elastic energy, long-time existence is retrieved.
We show that in Euclidean 3-space any closed curve which lies outside the unit sphere and contains the sphere within its convex hull has length at least $4π$. Equality holds only when the curve is composed of $4$ semicircles of length $π$, arranged in the shape of a baseball seam, as conjectured by V. A. Zalgaller in 1996.
Flows on (or variations of) discrete curves in $\R^2$ give rise to flows on a subalgebra of functions on that curve. For a special choice of flows and a certain subalgebra this is described by the Toda lattice hierachy. In the paper it is shown that the canonical symplectic structure on $\R^{2N}$, which can be interpreted as the phase space of closed discrete curves in $\R^2$ with length $N,$ induces Poisson commutation relations on the above mentioned subalgebra which yield the tri-hamiltonian poisson structure of the Toda lattice hierachy.
In this first of two papers, we develop a steady-state version of classical electrodynamics on the 3-sphere and in hyperbolic 3-space, including an explicit formula for the vector-valued Green's operator, an explicit formula of Biot-Savart type for the magnetic field, and a corresponding Ampere's Law contained in Maxwell's equations. We then use this to obtain explicit integral formulas for the linking number of two disjoint closed curves in these spaces. All the formulas, like their prototypes in Euclidean 3-space, are geometric rather than just topological, in the sense that their integrands…
We introduce the notion of the projective linking number Link(M,Z) of a compact oriented real submanifold M of dimension 2p-1 in complex projective n-space P^n with an algebraic subvariety Z in P^n - M of codimension p. This notion is related to projective winding numbers and quasi-plurisubharmonic functions, and it generalizes directly from P^n to any projective manifold. Part 1 of this paper establishes the following result for the case p=1. Let M be an oriented, stable, real analytic curve in P^n. Then M is the boundary of a positive holomorphic 1-chain T with Mass(T) < K in P^n if and only…
In this paper we consider the steepest descent $H^{-1}$-gradient flow of the length functional for immersed plane curves, known as the curve diffusion flow. It is known that under this flow there exist both initially immersed curves which develop at least one singularity in finite time and initially embedded curves which self-intersect in finite time. We prove that under the flow closed curves with initial data close to a round circle in the sense of normalised $L^2$ oscillation of curvature exist for all time and converge exponentially fast to a round circle. This implies that for a sufficien…
We uncover some connections between the topology of a complete Riemannian surface M and the minimum number of vertices, i.e., critical points of geodesic curvature, of closed curves in M. In particular we show that the space forms with finite fundamental group are the only surfaces in which every simple closed curve has more than two vertices. Further we characterize the simply connected space forms as the only surfaces in which every closed curve bounding a compact immersed surface has more than two vertices.
We study the existence of closed trajectories of a particle model on null curves in anti-de Sitter 3-space defined by a functional which is linear in the curvature of the particle path. Explicit expressions for the trajectories are found and the existence of infinitely many closed trajectories is proved.
We show that on any Riemannian surface for each $0<c<\infty$ there exists an immersed $C^{1,1}$ curve that is smooth and with curvature equal to $\pm c$ away from a point. We give examples showing that, in general, the regularity of the curve obtained by our procedure cannot be improved.
