Differential Geometry
Andrew Kobin Spring 2015 Contents Contents
Contents
0 Introduction 1
1 Curves 3 1.1 Parametrized Differentiable Curves ...... 3 1.2 Finding a Parametrization ...... 6 1.3 Parametrization by Arc Length ...... 10 1.4 Curvature ...... 11 1.5 Curvature in R3 ...... 14 2 Surfaces 21 2.1 The Unit Sphere ...... 21 2.2 Regular Surfaces ...... 23 2.3 Differentiable Functions on Surfaces ...... 30 2.4 Tangent Spaces ...... 33 2.5 First Fundamental Form ...... 37
3 Curvature of Surfaces 40 3.1 The Gauss Map ...... 40 3.2 Types of Curvature ...... 44 3.3 Second Fundamental Form ...... 46 3.4 Gaussian Curvature and Area ...... 50
4 Intrinsic Geometry 51 4.1 Isometries ...... 51 4.2 Christoffel Symbols and Gauss’ Theorema Egregium ...... 58 4.3 Geodesics and the Covariant Derivative ...... 62 4.4 The Gauss-Bonnet Theorem ...... 71
i 0 Introduction
0 Introduction
The notes contained in this document survey a course on differential geometry taught by Dr. Stephen Robinson in the Spring of 2015 at Wake Forest University. The main text used in the course is Differential Geometry of Curves and Surfaces by Manfredo P. Do Carmo. We begin with two motivating questions:
1 What constitutes a “straight line” on the surface of a sphere?
2 If one draws a triangle on a sphere, what is the sum of the interior angles?
The answer to 1 is a great circle, which is an example of a geodesic, or shortest path between two points on a surface.
The intuition is that any local “snapshot” of the great circle appears as a line segment. How does this relate to 2 ? Consider the following triangle with angles labelled θ1, θ2 and θ3. What is θ1 + θ2 + θ3?
θ3 θ2 θ1
If the triangle were in the plane, the angles would sum to π = 180◦. To get a better handle on the spherical situation, let’s look at a special case. Mark the north pole N and draw two great circles passing through N, which must intersect the equator in right angles. This gives us a triangle:
N
θ1
1 0 Introduction
The sum of the angles here is 180 + θ1 and θ1 can vary from 0 (a degenerate triangle) to 2π (another degenerate triangle), so we see that π < θ1 + θ2 + θ3 < 3π. One thing to notice is that the size of the angles is proportional to the area of the triangle. Another way to view the problem is in terms of area. Look at the wedge shape formed by extending the lines on either side of θ1.
θ3
θ1 θ2
The proportion of the total surface area of the sphere covered by this wedge region is A1 = θ1 2 2 π · 4πR = 4R θ1 where R is the radius of the sphere. Likewise, we can form two more wedges with areas 2 2 A2 = 4R θ2 and A3 = 4R θ3. Adding up all the wedges gives the area of the sphere, but we have counted the area A of 2 2 the triangle θ1θ2θ3 three extra times. Therefore 4πR + 4A = 4R (θ1 + θ2 + θ3). Solving for the sum of the angles gives us a nice formula in terms of the area of the triangle and radius of the sphere: 1 θ + θ + θ = π + A. 1 2 3 R2 This will work for any triangle on the surface of a sphere. Notice that as A gets small (a “local snapshot”) the sum of the angles approaches π as one would see in the plane. On the other hand, as the sphere gets bigger in relation to the size of the triangle, the sum also approaches π. This expresses the property of the sphere having ‘local flatness’. The above result is a special case of the Gauss-Bonnet Formula:
n n X Z si+1 ZZ X kg(s) ds + K dσ + θi = 2π. i=0 si R i=0 It will be our goal to study and prove this result towards the end of the notes. Another special case of Gauss-Bonnet is the formula ZZ K dσ = 2πχ(S) S where S is a surface, K is curvature and χ(S) is the Euler characteristic of the surface. In order to reach a point of understanding these formulas, we will study the following topics: curves, surfaces and their curvature; tangent spaces; the first and second fundamental form; the Gauss map; and finally isometries and the intrinsic geometry of surfaces.
2 1 Curves
1 Curves
1.1 Parametrized Differentiable Curves
In this chapter we will consider three-dimensional Euclidean space, R3, and in particular certain one-dimensional subsets of R3. Definition. A parametrized differentiable curve is a map α : I → R3, where I = (a, b) is an interval of R, such that α is differentiable. We are treating the word differentiable rather loosely — in practice one may assume these differentiable functions to be infinitely differentiable, or at the very least the curves should have enough derivatives to perform the desired computations. A parametrized differentiable curve in R3 is given by three differentiable component functions, α(t) = (x(t), y(t), z(t)), and an interval (a, b) over which t ranges. At various times we may want to compute: Velocity: α0(t) = (x0(t), y0(t), z0(t)).
Speed: |α0(t)| = px0(t)2 + y0(t)2 + z0(t)2.
Acceleration: α00(t) = (x00(t), y00(t), z00(t)). It may also be helpful at times to express acceleration as the linear combination of position α(t) and velocity α0(t).
Z b Arc length: |α0(t)| dt. It is typical to use ds for arc length integrals. a Definition. If a curve α(t) has constant speed |α0(t)| = 1, we say α is parametrized by arc length. Examples.
1 Consider α(t) = (cos t, sin t, t), −∞ < t < ∞, the standard helix in R3. Velocity and speed are calculated to be p √ α0(t) = (− sin t, cos t, 1) and |α0(t)| = sin2 t + cos2 t + 1 = 2.
The helix is thus our first example of a curve with constant speed. This is especially nice for computing arc length: Z 2π Z 2π√ √ |α0(t)| dt = 2 dt = 2 2π. 0 0 √ If we normalize the curve (e.g. by dividing the components by 2), the helix would be parametrized by arc length. The reason for this is that if |α0(t)| = 1 for all t, then arc length is found by simply subtracting the starting and ending points of the parametric interval: Z b Z b |α0(t)| dt = 1 dt = b − a. a a
3 1.1 Parametrized Differentiable Curves 1 Curves
Next, acceleration is computed to be
α00(t) = (− cos t, − sin t, 0).
Notice that α0(t) and α00(t) are always orthogonal, so that acceleration is only ever measuring the turn of the helix. This will be the case for any curve with constant speed.
2 Let α(t) = (t3, t2), −1 < t < 1. This traces out the curve y = x2/3 in the xy-plane (in the future, trace will refer to the shape in the plane created by running through the values of t for a curve).
Notice that this has a cusp at the origin, but α(t) is differentiable in its given parametric form. How can this be? Intuitively, α0(t) measures the velocity of a particle travelling along the curve and as the particle approaches the origin, it does so at a slower and slower rate, so (x0(t), y0(t)) approaches (0, 0). This illustrates the difference between parametrized differential curves and functions from regular calculus, which here are realized as the trace of pdc’s.
3 Consider α(t) = (cos t, sin t) for 0 < t < π, which traces out the upper half of the unit circle in a counterclockwise direction.
Another possible parametrization for the upper semicircle is √ α(t) = (t, 1 − t2) − 1 < t < 1
but this parametrized differential curve has clockwise orientation, so these are formally not the same curve. However, their traces are the same.
4 1.1 Parametrized Differentiable Curves 1 Curves
4 Let α(t) = (t3 − 4t, t2 − 4), −∞ < t < ∞.
This curve has two self-intersections, at t = ±2. We typically avoid these types of curves and stick to working with simple curves (defined below).
5 Let α(t) be a parametrized curve which does not pass through the origin. If α(t0) 0 is the point of the trace of α closest to the origin and α (t0) 6= 0, then the position 0 2 vector α(t0) is orthogonal to the tangent vector α (t0). To prove this for R (the proof n generalizes to R ), let t0 be the value such that |α(t0)| is minimized. From calculus, we know that the derivative of this term is 0, which may be expanded in the following manner d d 0 = |α(t)| = px(t)2 + y(t)2 dt dt 1 = (x(t)2 + y(t)2)−1/2 · [2x(t)x0(t) + 2y(t)y0(t)] 2 x(t)x0(t) + y(t)y0(t) = . px(t)2 + y(t)2 Since the curve does not pass through the origin, we know the denominator is nonzero. 0 0 Therefore the above shows that x(t)x (t) + y(t)y (t) = 0 (when t = t0), but this is 0 precisely the same as the dot product α(t0) · α (t0) = 0. Hence the position and tangent vectors are orthogonal at t = t0.
6 Let α : I → R3 be a parametrized curve with α0(t) 6= 0 for all t ∈ I. Then |α(t)| is a nonzero constant if and only if α(t) is orthogonal to α0(t) for all t ∈ I: d |α(t)|= 6 0 is constant ⇐⇒ |α(t)| = 0 dt d ⇐⇒ px(t)2 + y(t)2 + z(t)2 = 0 dt ⇐⇒ x(t)x0(t) + y(t)y0(t) + z(t)z0(t) = 0 as above ⇐⇒ α(t) · α0(t) = 0 ⇐⇒ α(t) and α0(t) are orthogonal for all t.
5 1.2 Finding a Parametrization 1 Curves
Two important characteristics of parametrized differential curves are defined below. Definition. A curve α(t) is regular if α0(t) 6= 0 for all t ∈ I. A regular curve will never have corners or cusps like the curve in 2 . Definition. A curve is simple if it has no self-intersections. The curve in 4 is not simple. In general we prefer to work with simple, regular curves. The fundamental theorems described in Sections 1.4 and 1.5, for example, will fully charac- terize regular curves in R2 and R3.
1.2 Finding a Parametrization
In general, it is hard to find a parametrization of an arbitrary curve in Rn. There are some basic curves that are good starting places for finding the parametrization of more complicated curves. These include:
Lines: `(t) = p0 + (p1 − p0)t, −∞ < t < ∞. For example, `(t) = (3, 4, 6) + (−1, −2, 4)t is a line in R3.
Circles: α(t) = p0 + (r cos t, r sin t) for a circle of radius r, for 0 < t < 2π. The most important example is the unit circle S1: α(t) = (cos t, sin t), 0 < t < 2π. Ellipses: a ‘stretched’ circle, obtained by adjusting the coefficients of each component: α(t) = (a cos t, b sin t), 0 < t < 2π. For example, the ellipse below may be parametrized by α(t) = (3 cos t, 2 sin t).
1
1 2
Helix: α(t) = (cos t, sin t, t) and other variants. z
y x
6 1.2 Finding a Parametrization 1 Curves
Examples.
1 A cycloid is formed by tracing a point on a circle as the circle ‘rolls’ along the x-axis. For example, consider the cycloid formed by the unit circle.
t = 0
To obtain a parametrization, consider adding the following triangle to the diagram of the circle at any given time t.
t
(x, y)
t
We are looking for a formula for (x, y) at any time t; to determine this, notice that the angle formed by the two radii above is equal to the arc length which the circle has rolled so far, that is, t. Since the radius of the circle is 1, trigonometry tells us that the legs of the triangle are sin t and cos t, for the horizontal and vertical legs, respectively. Thus the parametric form of this curve is
α(t) = (t − sin t, 1 − cos t), −∞ < t < ∞.
If we want to compute the arc length of the cycloid through, say, one full rotation of
7 1.2 Finding a Parametrization 1 Curves
the circle, consider Z 2π Z 2πq |α0(t)| dt = (1 − cos t)2 + sin2 t dt 0 0 Z 2πp = 1 − 2 cos t + cos2 t + sin2 t dt 0 Z 2π√ = 2 − 2 cos t dt 0 Z 2π t = 2 sin dt by a half-angle identity 0 2 t 2π = −4 cos = −4 cos(π) + 4 cos(0) = 8. 2 0 Notice that the cycloid α(t) = (t − sin t, 1 − cos t) is differentiable, but the trace it produces has corners:
In general, cycloids are examples of differentiable curves that are not regular. 2 The cissoid of Diocles is formed by the following procedure. Let 0A = 2a be the diameter of a circle S1 and 0Y and AV be the tangents to S1 at 0 and A, respectively. A half-line r is drawn from 0 which meets the circle S1 at C and the line AV at B. On 0B mark off the segment 0p = CB. If we rotate r about 0, the point p will describe the cissoid of Diocles. This is pictured below.
B C K
p
0 A J M
8 1.2 Finding a Parametrization 1 Curves
Fill in the triangles 0CM and CBK; the whole figure is enlarged below. If θ is the angle made by 0B and 0A, then the segment AB has length 2a tan θ.
B C K
p
0 θ A J M
By construction the triangles 0pJ and CBK are equal. Set C = (p, q) and t = tan θ; then by the previous statement we have
x = 2a − p and y = 2at − q.
Therefore we will obtain a parametrization for p = (x, y) if we can solve for p and q in terms of t and a. Notice that (p, q) lies on the circle, so
a2 = (p − a)2 + q2.
Expanding this, we have
a2 = p2 − 2ap + a2 + q2 =⇒ 0 = p2 − 2ap + q2.
Also observe that by our choice of t, the slope of the line 0B is t. This means that q = tp, and we can plug this into the circle equation above to solve for p:
0 = p2 − 2ap + (tp)2 = (1 + t2)p2 − 2ap = p[(1 + t2)p − 2a].
2a 2a 2at2 This gives us p = 0 or p = , and consequently x = 2a − = . Using 1 + t2 1 + t2 1 + t2 2at3 the fact that y = tx, we also deduce that y = . Hence the parametrization for 1 + t2 the cissoid of Diocles is 2at2 2at3 α(t) = , , t ∈ . 1 + t2 1 + t2 R
9 1.3 Parametrization by Arc Length 1 Curves
1.3 Parametrization by Arc Length
The main question in this section is: Is it possible to parametrize every regular curve by arc length? Recall that this means |α0(t)| = 1 for all t. In practice, this is difficult but we will show that it is theoretically possible. Parametrizing by arc length is useful because the geometry of the trace of a curve does not depend on the speed of a particle travelling along the curve, so calculations will be made easier by the assumption that |α0(t)| ≡ 1. 3 Assume α :(a, b) → R is a parametrized differentiable curve and choose t0 ∈ (a, b).
α(t0)
t = a α(t) s(t) t = b
To measure arc length s(t) from the point α(t0), we have Z t s(t) = |α0(τ)| dτ. t0
We know that s(t) is nonnegative (when moving forward in time) and s(t0) = 0. Also notice ds 0 ds that dt = |α (t)| by the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus, and since α is regular, dt 6= 0 for any t. Thus s(t) is always increasing. This allows us to think of t as a function of s, and this function t(s) is differentiable with dt 1 = . ds |α0(t)| (This is a single variable version of the Inverse Function Theorem.) Considerα ¯(s), a potential parametrization of α by arc length. This should beα ¯(s) = α(t(s)) on the interval (s(a), s(b)). This really does reproduce the entire curve, and by the Chain Rule, dα¯ dα dt 1 α0(t) = = α0(t) = . ds dt ds |α0(t)| |α0(t)| Thus eachα ¯0 vector is unit length; we have successfully parametrized α by arc length. Example 1.3.1. In practice it may be difficult to come up with such a parametrization, since the integral defining s(t) may not have a closed form. However, the standard helix is a nice curve in the sense that it is easy to parametrize by arc length using the above procedure. Let √α(t) = (cos t, sin t, t), −π < t < π. Speed, one will recall, is constant for the 0 helix: |α (t)| = 2. Choose t0 = 0. Then Z t√ √ s(t) = 2 dt = 2t. 0 Inverting the function gives us t(s) = √1 s so the new parametrization is 2 1 1 1 √ √ α¯(s) = α(t(s)) = cos √ s , sin √ s , √ s − 2π < s < 2π. 2 2 2
10 1.4 Curvature 1 Curves
To see that this parametrizes α by arc length, consider 1 s s α¯0(s) = √ − sin √ , cos √ , 1 2 2 2 s 1 s s =⇒ |α¯0(s)| = √ sin2 √ + cos2 √ + 1 2 2 2 √ 2 = √ = 1. 2
1.4 Curvature
Given a regular parametrized differential curve, parametrized by arc length, how do we quantify the curves and slope of its trace? Our goal will be to prove
Theorem 1.4.1. In R2, a regular curve is completely characterized by its curvature. Let α(s) = (x(s), y(s)) be a regular curve in the plane.
N(s) = (−y0(x), x0(s))
T (s) = α0(s) = (x0(s), y0(s))
We will denote the tangent vectors by T (s). We also have a normal vector N(s) = (−y0(s), x0(s)) which is unit length and orthogonal to T (s) for every s. Notice that (T · T )0 = 0 so by the chain rule, T 0 · T + T · T 0 = 0 =⇒ T 0 · T = 0. Hence T 0 is parallel to N, i.e. T 0 = kN for some constant k. Definition. The curvature of a regular parametrized differential curve at s is the constant k(s) for which T 0(s) = k(s)N(s). The reason for the construction using T and N is that at any point (x(s), y(s)), {T,N} forms a local, orthonormal basis for the vectors near α(s). Conventionally, a basis is called positively-oriented if the determinant of the matrix whose columns are the basis vectors (alternatively, the change of basis matrix from the standard Euclidean basis) is positive, and negatively-oriented if the determinant is negative. By this convention, the standard basis is always assumed to have positive orientation. Returning to the above work, notice that k = T 0 · N by taking dot products of both sides of the equation in the curvature definition. Also note that since N and T are orthonormal,
11 1.4 Curvature 1 Curves
the rate of change of N is equal to the rate of change of T , but with a sign change: N 0 = −kT . Rigorously, N · T = 0 =⇒ N 0 · T + N · T 0 = 0 =⇒ N 0 · T = −k and by normality of N,
N · N = 1 =⇒ N 0 · N = 0 by the same logic as above so N 0 = aT for some constant a. Taking dot products on both sides again gives us N 0 ·T = a, so it must be that a = −k and we conclude N 0 = −kT . To summarize, we have two important equations T 0 = kN and N 0 = −kT. This is a system of first order differential equations called the Fren´etequations (for R2). Given the orientation chosen (positive via the right-hand rule), k > 0 corresponds to a left turn and k < 0 corresponds to a right turn.
N(s)
θ
T (s)
Let θ(s) denote the angle between T (s) and the fixed vector (1, 0). Then x0 = cos θ and y0 = sin θ. We can differentiate these:
x00 = − sin θ · θ0 and y00 = cos θ · θ0.
Notice that (x00, y00) = T 0 = kN = k(−y0, x0) = (−ky0, kx0). Thus
x00 = − sin θ · θ0 = −y0θ0 and y00 = cos θ · θ0 = x0θ0.
This implies −y0θ0 = −ky0 and x0θ0 = kx0, so we have discovered that curvature describes the rate of change of the angle θ: θ0 = k. This gives a physical interpretation of our intuition about the idea of curvature. This process can be reversed: given a function k(s), a starting point and initial angle θ, there is one and only one function α(s) with k as its curvature and these initial conditions. Thus k(s) can be used to reconstruct α. This discussion leads to the so-called fundamental theorem of curves for R2: Theorem 1.4.2 (Fundamental Theorem of Curves in the Plane). Given a differentiable function k : I → [0, ∞), a point p0 and an angle θ0, there is a unique, regular, parametrized 2 0 differential curve α : I → R with k(s) as its curvature, α(0) = p0 and α (0) = (cos θ0, sin θ0).
12 1.4 Curvature 1 Curves
Example 1.4.3. What if we want to compute some curvature functions for actual parametrized differential curves? Consider 1 The circle α(t) = (R cos t, R sin t), −∞ < t < ∞ is not parametrized by arc length, so our procedure above will not work. Fortunately it is rather simple to parametrize α(t) by arc length, but we will deduce a nicer formula for curvature in a moment. 2 The cycloid α(t) = (t − sin t, 1 − cos t), −∞ < t < ∞ is much harder to parametrize by arc length, so k(s) is difficult to compute until we develop the next formula. We want a practical formula for curvature that does not rely on a complicated reparametriza- tion of α. Given α(t) = (x(t), y(t)) a regular parametrized differential curve, we have
dα dx dy ! dt dt dt T = dα = dα , dα | dt | dt dt dy dx ! − dt dt and N = dα , dα . dt dt Recall from Section 1.3 that in theory any regular curve can be parametrized by arc length, 0 1 0 and t (s) = dα . Since T · N = k, consider dt dT dT dt dT 1 = = · ds dt ds ds dα dt dα d2x dx d dα dα d2y dy d dα ! 2 − · 2 − · 1 = dt dt dt dt dt , dt dt dt dt dt · . dα 2 dα 2 dα dt dt dt Taking the dot product with N looks like
2 2 0 1 dy dα d x dy dx d dα dx dα d y dx dy d dα T · N = − + + − dα 4 dt dt dt2 dt dt dt dt dt dt dt2 dt dt dt dt dt 1 dy d2x dx d2y = − + . dα 3 dt dt dt2 dt2 dt In condensed notation, this is x0y00 − y0x00 k = . |α0|3 Example 1.4.4. With this formula in hand we can compute curvature for the earlier exam- ples. 1 For the circle, we have
α(t) = (R cos t, R sin t) α0(t) = (−R sin t, R cos t) α00(t) = (−R cos t, −R sin t).
13 1.5 Curvature in R3 1 Curves
Then curvature is calculated via the formula: (−R sin t)(−R sin t) − (R cos T )(−R cos t) R2(sin2 t + cos2 t) 1 k = = = . R3 R3 R It turns out that circles are the only regular curves in the plane with constant (nonzero) curvature. Lines are the only curves with zero curvature everywhere; in geometric terms, a line can be thought of as a special case of a circle with infinite radius, so together this extended notion of circles describe all constant-curvature curves in R2. 2 For the cycloid,
α(t) = (t − sin t, 1 − cos t) α0(t) = (1 − cos t, sin t) α00(t) = (sin t, cos t)
which allows us to calculate curvature: (1 − cos t) cos t − (sin t)(sin t) cos t − cos2 t − sin2 t = 3 p 3 p(1 − cos t)2 + sin2 t 1 − 2 cos t + cos2 t + sin2 t cos t − 1 = (2 − 2 cos t)3/2 −1 = √ 23/2 1 − cos t −1 = q by half-angle formula 3/2 2 t 2 2 sin 2 −1 = t . 4 sin 2 In particular, the curvature of α is always negative.
1.5 Curvature in R3
How do we extend the notion of curvature to R3? Assume α(s) is a regular curve parametrized by arc length that satisfies α00(s) 6= 0 for all s. Again consider the tangent vector T = α0. In three dimensions, there are an infinite number of vectors orthogonal to T , so there’s no unique choice of N as before. However, we still can exploit the fact that T · T = 1, which as in Section 1.4 implies T 0 ⊥ T . This gives us a natural choice for N an orthonormal vector to T : T 0 N = . |T 0| If we define k = |T 0| we have the same Fren´etequation: T 0 = kN. Notice that in R3, curvature is always positive, i.e. there is no notion of “clockwise” or “counterclockwise”. Define B = T × N, which is a unit vector orthogonal to both T and N.
14 1.5 Curvature in R3 1 Curves
Definition. For any s, the triple {T (s),N(s),B(s)} is called the Fren´ettrihedron at s. As in the plane, the system {T,N,B} gives us a local description of α at any point α(s) on the curve. We also know that N · N = 1 =⇒ N 0 ⊥ N =⇒ N 0 lies in the T,B plane. In other words, N 0 = aT + bB for some a, b ∈ R. By orthogonality, N 0 · T = a(T · T ) + b(B · T ) = a · 1 + b · 0 = a and N 0 · B = a(T · B) + b(B · B) = a · 0 + b · 1 = b.
We know N · T = 0, so
0 = N 0 · T + N · T 0 = a + N · kN = a + k.
Thus a = −k and we obtain another Fren´etequation:
N 0 = −kT + bB.
We are still left with the mysterious b coefficient, which we turn to now. Proceeding in the same fashion,
B0 = T 0 × N + T × N 0 = kN × N + T × (−kT + bB) = k(N × N) − k(T × T ) + b(T × B) = k · 0 − k · 0 + bN = N.
Hence b is determined by B0 = −bN. To standardize this, we define Definition. The torsion of α at s is the constant τ satisfying B0 = τN, that is, τ = −b from above.
We summarize the Fren´etequations for R3 here. Theorem 1.5.1 (Fren´etEquations). For a regular curve α : I → R3 parametrized by arc T 0 length, let T denote the tangent vector, N = |T 0| the normal vector and B = T × N the binormal vector. Then
T 0 = kN N 0 = −kT − τB B0 = τN.
The tangent-normal plane to α(s) (the plane tangent to the curve formed by T and N) is sometimes called the osculating plane at s. Then B is the normal vector to the osculating plane and torsion describes how this plane changes in relation to s. Theorem 1.5.2 (Fundamental Theorem of Curves). Given differentiable functions k(s) > 0 and τ(s), s ∈ I, there exists a regular curve α : I → R3, parametrized by arc length, such that s is the arc length, k(s) is the curvature and τ(s) is the torsion of α. Moreover, any other α¯ satisfying the same conditions differs from α by a rigid motion; that is, α is unique up to initial point, tangent vector and normal vector.
15 1.5 Curvature in R3 1 Curves
Like many theorems in mathematics, the Fundamental Theorem of Curves has both an existence and uniqueness portion. We won’t prove existence, but it suffices to show that the system of differential equations T 0 = kN N 0 = −kT − τB B0 = τN has a solution. (This is provided by the so-called existence and uniqueness theorem in the study of linear differential equations.) Rigid motions are formally defined as orthogonal linear transformations ρ : R3 → R3 with positive determinant. They are isometries (distance-preserving) and each ρ can be decomposed into a rotation and translation of R3. For a curve α : I → R3, denote its tangent, normal and binormal vectors at t = 0 by T0,N0 and B0. Likewise, given another curveα ¯, denote these vectors by T 0, N 0 and B0. We would like to find a rigid motion ρ such that ρ(T 0) = T0, ρ(N 0) = N0 and ρ(B0) = B0. Moreover, we want ρ to preserve the local structure of α, that is
ρ(aT 0 + bN 0 + cB0) = aT0 + bN0 + cB0
for any a, b, c ∈ R. We will show that such a rigid motion can be found that preserves dot and cross products: ρ(u) · ρ(v) = u · v and ρ(u) × ρ(v) = ρ(u × v), which will imply that angles, distances and orientation are all preserved under ρ.
Proof of Uniqueness. Start with α andα ¯, two curves parametrized by arc length with the same curvature and torsion. We will construct a rigid motion with the desired properties in two steps: first we reorientα ¯ so that it matches the orientation of α, and then we translate it to α. For any a, b, c ∈ R, set ρ(aT 0 + bN 0 + cB0) = aT0 + bN0 + cB0. Claim. For any u, v ∈ R3, (i) ρ(u) · ρ(v) = u · v. (ii) ρ(u) × ρ(v) = ρ(u × v). (iii) (ρ ◦ α¯)0 = ρ ◦ α¯0 and (ρ ◦ α¯)00 = ρ ◦ α¯00.
Proof. (i) Consider the vectors u = a1T 0 + b1N 0 + c1B0 and v = a2T 0 + b2N 0 + c2B0. Using orthonormality, we can expand the dot product:
u · v = (a1T 0 + b1N 0 + c1B0) · (a2T 0 + b2N 0 + c2B0)
= a1a2 + b1b2 + c1c2. On the other hand,
ρ(u) · ρ(v) = (a1T0 + b1N0 + c1B0) · (a2T0 + b2N0 + c2B0)
= a1a2 + b1b2 + c1c2.
16 1.5 Curvature in R3 1 Curves
Hence ρ(u) · ρ(v) = u · v. (ii) In a similar fashion,
ρ(u) × ρ(v) = (a1T0 + b1N0 + c1B0) × (a2T0 + b2N0 + c2B0)
= a1b2(T0 × N0) + a1c2(T0 × B0) + b1a2(N0 × T0) + b1c2(N0 × B0)
+ c1a2(B0 × T0) + c1b2(B0 × N0)
= a1b2B0 − a1c2N0 − b1a2B0 + b1c2T0 + c1a2N0 − c1b2T0
= (b1c2 − c1b2)T0 + (c1a2 − a1c2)N0 + (a1b2 − b1a2)B0,
and
ρ(u × v) = ρ[(a1T 0 + b1N 0 + c1B0) × (a2T 0 + b2N 0 + c2B0)]
= ρ[a1b2B0 − a1c2N 0 − b1a2B0 + b1c2T 0 + c1a2N 0 − c1b2T 0]
= ρ[(b1c2)T 0 + (c1a2 − a1c2)N 0 + (a1b2 − b1a2)B0]
= (b1c2 − c1b2)T0 + (c1a2 − a1c2)N0 + (a1b2 − b1a2)B0.
Hence ρ(u) × ρ(v) = ρ(u × v). (iii) For any s ∈ I we can writeα ¯(s) = a(s)T 0 + b(s)N 0 + c(s)B0 where a, b, c are real-valued functions of s. Then
0 0 0 0 ρ(¯α ) = ρ a T 0 + b N 0 + c B0 0 0 0 = a T0 + b N0 + c B0 0 = (aT0 + bN0 + cB0) 0 = ρ aT 0 + bN 0 + cB0 = (ρ(¯α))0.
The proof with second derivatives follows exactly the same course. The immediate consequence of this claim is that, as mentioned above, angles, distances and orientation are preserved by ρ. To perform the translation ofα ¯, we set
α¯ = ρ ◦ α¯ + α(0) − ρ ◦ α¯(0).
We will show that α ≡ α¯, that is, they are the same curve. From the way we have defined α¯, we have the following implications.
α¯(0) = ρ ◦ α¯(0) + α(0) − ρ ◦ α¯(0) = α(0) so α¯ starts at the same point as α.
|α¯0| = 1 so α¯ is parametrized by arc length.
T 0 = T0, N 0 = N0 and B0 = B0. α¯ and α have the same curvature and torsion.
17 1.5 Curvature in R3 1 Curves
To show that α¯ and α are the same curve, we differentiate:
d 2 2 2 T − T + N − N + B − B = ds d T − T · T − T + N − N · N − N + B − B · B − B ds 0 0 0 = 2 T − T · T − T + N − N · N − N + B − B · B − B = 2 kN − kN · T − T + −kT − τB + (−kT − τB) · N − N + τN − τN · B − B = 2 kN · (−T ) + (−kN) · T + (−kT ) · (−N) + (−τB) · (−N) + (−kT ) · N +(−τB) · N + (τN) · (−B) + (−τN) · B = 2(0) = 0 after cancellation.
2 2 2
So T − T + N − N + B − B is equal to some constant, and since this sum of squared differences is 0 at t = 0, the difference is 0 at every time t. Finally, this gives us
α(0) = α¯(0) and α0(s) = α¯0(s) for all s ∈ I,
so it must be that α(s) = α¯(s) for all s as well. This completes the proof of the uniqueness portion of the Fundamental Theorem of Curves. Examples.
1 Suppose a regular parametrized curve α : I → R3 has the property that all its tangent lines pass through a fixed point. We may assume α is parametrized by arc length s. Then given any point α(s), the first statement says the line determined by T = α0(s) passes through a fixed point c for all s; that is,
α(s) + f(s)T (s) = c
for some constant f(s) that depends on s. Differentiating yields
0 = α0 + f 0T + fT 0 = T + f 0T + fkN = (1 + f 0)T + (fk)N,
but since T and N are orthogonal, we must have 1 + f 0 = 0 and fk = 0. From these we can conclude that k = 0 (so α00 is identically 0). By the characterization of curves in R3, the only curves with k = 0 are straight lines so α must in fact be a straight line.
18 1.5 Curvature in R3 1 Curves
2 Suppose α is a regular parametrized curve with the property that all normal lines pass through a fixed point c. This means α(s) + f(s)N(s) = c for a constant f(s) which depends on s. Differentiating and using the Fren´etequations, we have 0 = α0 + f 0N + fN 0 = T + f 0N + f(−kT − τB) = (1 − fk)T + f 0N − fτB. Since T,N and B are linearly independent, we must have 1 − fk = 0 f 0 = 0 and − fτ = 0 which tell us that fk = 1 and f is a constant. This implies that f is a nonzero constant 1 equal to k , so curvature is constant for α. Moreover, fτ = 0 implies that τ = 0 so by the fundamental theorem for curves (1.5.2), α must be a circle.
c
3 Let α : I → R2 be a regular parametrized plane curve. Assume that k(t) 6= 0 for all t ∈ I. The curve 1 β(t) = α(t) + N(t) k(t) is called the evolute of α. Since α is regular, we may rewrite this formula with arc length s as the parameter. Claim. The tangent at s of the evolute of α is (parallel to) the normal to α at s.
Proof. Since α is parametrized by arc length s we can take advantage of the Fren´et equations. In particular, dβ 10 1 = α0(s) + N + N 0 ds k k 10 1 = T + N + (−kT ) k k 10 10 = T + N − T = N. k k
dβ 1 Therefore ds is parallel to N since the derivative of k is a constant for any s.
19 1.5 Curvature in R3 1 Curves
Consider the normal lines of α at two neighboring points s1 and s, s1 6= s.
α(s1) α(s)
L1 L2
p
Claim. As s approaches s1, the intersection points of the normals converge to a point on the trace of the evolute of α.
Proof. Fix s1 ∈ I and let L1 and L2 be the normal lines at α(s1) and any other α(s), respectively. These lines are parametrized by
L1 = α(s1) + b(s)N(s1) and L2 = α(s) + c(s)N(s) for values b and c that depend on s. The point of intersection of these lines, say p, satisfies α(s1) + b(s)N(s1) = α(s) + c(s)N(s). Differentiating with respect to s, we have
0 0 0 0 b (s)N(s1) = α (s) + c (s)N(s) + c(s)N (s) = T (s) + c0(s)N(s) + c(s)(−kT (s)) 0 0 =⇒ b (s)N(s1) − c (s)N(s) = (1 − c(s)k(s))T (s). Now using the fact that T and N are orthonormal, we can take the dot product of both sides of the equation above with T to yield
0 T (s) · (b (s)N(s1)) − 0 = (1 − c(s)k(s))(T (s) · T (s)) 0 (T (s) · N(s1))b (s) = 1 − c(s)k(s).
Now as s → s1, T (s) · N(s1) → 0 so 1 lim 1 − c(s)k(s) = 0 =⇒ c(s) → . s→s1 k(s)
1 Thus as s approaches s1, L2 becomes α(s1) + N(s1), precisely the formula for a k(s1) point on the evolute of α.
We have brushed over one important detail: as s → s1, we might be worried that b0(s) → ∞. However, the condition that k(s) 6= 0 for all s ∈ I guarantees that this coefficient remains bounded and therefore we are allowed to take the limit above and conclude the left side approaches 0.
20 2 Surfaces
2 Surfaces
2.1 The Unit Sphere
The unit sphere S2 gives us a nice example of a regular surface that is easy to work with.
S2
The simplest mathematical description of S2 is as a level surface of a function in three variables: x2 + y2 + z2 = 1. Although S2 is not a graph (e.g. it fails the vertical line test in R3), the sphere can be locally described as a graph. This will be one of the defining properties of surfaces in general. For example, the upper hemisphere of S2 can be parametrized by z = p1 − x2 − y2; similarly, the lower hemisphere is represented by z = −p1 − x2 − y2 and other hemispheres can be described by functions of other variables. A third way of creating the sphere is by rotating a function of x and z about the z-axis: z
π π (cos u, sin u), − 2 < u < 2
x
Rotation in the x, y coordinates gives us a circle of radius cos u, which can be parametrized by ~x(u, v) = (cos u cos v, cos u sin v, sin u) for 0 < v < 2π. Notice that we have defined our parameters with open intervals, so the parametrization ~x captures almost the entire sphere. It is easy to imagine modifying the formula so that the two parametrizations cover S2. This spherical coordinate system was originally conceived as a way of keeping track of one’s location on the surface of the Earth: longitude and latitude! Notice that in this construction, S2 is the image of a rectangle in the uv-plane: v 2π
u π π − 2 2
21 2.1 The Unit Sphere 2 Surfaces
This will be our prototype for a surface: they will be the image of some rectangular region in Euclidean coordinates. We can use any of the three methods described above in computations. For example, to √ √ 2 6 6 1 find a tangent plane to S at a point, say ~x = 4 , 4 , 2 , we need a normal vector. Recall that the gradient of a function F (x, y, z) is always normal to the level surfaces of F . Since the sphere is a level surface of F = x2 + y2 + z2 (for F = 1), we calculate
∇F = h2x, 2y, 2zi
√ √ 2 6 6 so a normal vector to S at ~x is ~n = 2 , 2 , 1 . Thus the tangent plane at this point is given by the equation
√ √ √ √ 6 6 6 6 1 2 , 2 , 1 · x − 4 , y − 4 , z − 2 = 0
√ √ 6 6 which can be written 2 x + 2 y + z − 2 = 0. Alternatively, since S2 can be locally described in terms of a function of x and y, the partial derivatives in the x and y directions will span the tangent plane at ~x. We have ∂z 1 −x = · (−2x) = ∂x 2p1 − x2 − y2 p1 − x2 − y2 ∂z 1 −y = · (−2y) = . ∂y 2p1 − x2 − y2 p1 − x2 − y2
√ √ 6 6 1 At ~x = 4 , 4 , 2 , these partials are √ √ ∂z 6 ∂z 6 = − and = − . ∂x 2 ∂y 2
Then a local approximation of S2 by the tangent plane at ~x is
√ √ √ √ 1 6 6 6 6 z = 2 − 2 x − 4 − 2 y − 4 .
It is clear that this is the same plane as above. Given the parametrization ~x(u, v) = (cos u cos v, cos u sin v, sin u), we can compute a tan- gent plane at ~x using the tangent vectors in the u and v directions. Fixing a value for u, the derivative in the v direction is
~xv = (− cos u sin v, cos u cos v, 0).
Similarly, holding v fixed and differentiating with respect to u gives us
~xu = (− sin u cos v, − sin u sin v, cos u).
22 2.2 Regular Surfaces 2 Surfaces
Then taking the cross product of these two vectors will produce a vector normal to the π π tangent plane at ~x. In our example above, u = 6 and v = 4 , so we have