Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    An Introduction to Differential Geometry
    An Introduction to Differential Geometry
    An Introduction to Differential Geometry
    Ebook558 pages5 hours

    An Introduction to Differential Geometry

    By T. J. Willmore

    4/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    A solid introduction to the methods of differential geometry and tensor calculus, this volume is suitable for advanced undergraduate and graduate students of mathematics, physics, and engineering. Rather than a comprehensive account, it offers an introduction to the essential ideas and methods of differential geometry.
    Part 1 begins by employing vector methods to explore the classical theory of curves and surfaces. An introduction to the differential geometry of surfaces in the large provides students with ideas and techniques involved in global research. Part 2 introduces the concept of a tensor, first in algebra, then in calculus. It covers the basic theory of the absolute calculus and the fundamentals of Riemannian geometry. Worked examples and exercises appear throughout the text.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDover Publications
    Release dateMay 13, 2013
    ISBN9780486282107
    An Introduction to Differential Geometry

    Related to An Introduction to Differential Geometry

    Titles in the series (100)

    View More
    View More

    Related ebooks

    Mathematics For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The Math That Takes Newton Into the Quantum World

      Feb 28, 2019

      In my 50s, too old to become a real expert, I have finally fallen in love with algebraic geometry. As the name suggests, this is the study of geometry using algebra. Around 1637, René Descartes laid the groundwork for this subject by taking a plane,

      9 min read

    • Article

      The Universe Began With a Big Melt, Not a Big Bang

      Oct 5, 2017

      There are two tantalizing mysteries about our universe, one dealing with its final fate and the other with its beginning, that have intrigued cosmologists for decades. The community has always believed these to be independent problems—but what if the

      10 min read

    • Article

      A Supermassive Lens On The Constants Of Nature

      Nov 25, 2020

      The 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics went to three researchers who confirmed that Einstein’s general relativity predicts black holes, and established that the center of our own galaxy houses a supermassive black hole with the equivalent of 4 million suns

      9 min read

    • Article

      Roger Penrose

      Oct 6, 2022

      Roger Penrose
      1 min read

    • Article

      The Sacred, Spherical Cows of Physics: Theoretical physics milks symmetry to power its newest tool.

      May 1, 2014

      Early in their training, many physics students come across the idea of spherical cows. Cows in the real world—even at their most plump and well-fed—are hardly spherical, and this makes it tricky to calculate things like, say, how their volume or surf

      11 min read

    • Article

      A Universe Made of Tiny, Random Chunks: The space-time that makes up our universe is inherently uncertain.

      Jun 6, 2013

      One of science’s most crucial yet underappreciated achievements is the description of the physical universe using mathematics—in particular, using continuous, smooth mathematical functions, like how a sine wave describes both light and sound. This is

      6 min read

    • Article

      The Theory Of Gravity

      Jan 20, 2022

      The Theory Of Gravity
      1 min read

    • Article

      Book Reviews

      Mar 5, 2020

      Book Reviews
      3 min read

    • Article

      Books

      Jan 20, 2022

      Dr Sten Odenwald Arcturus £14.99 • HB Discovering the Universe is designed to be a book for beginners, providing an introduction to different aspects of the Universe via eight chapters that include ‘How to build a Universe’, ‘Stellar evolution’ and ‘

      4 min read

    • Article

      How Math’s Most Famous Proof Nearly Broke: Andrew Wiles thought he had a solution to an age-old puzzle. Until it began to unravel.

      May 28, 2015

      Andrew Wiles gave a series of lectures cryptically titled “Modular Forms, Elliptic Curves, and Galois Representations” at a mathematics conference in Cambridge, England, in June 0f 1993. His argument was long and technical. Finally, 20 minutes into t

      8 min read

    • Article

      How Math’s Most Famous Proof Nearly Broke

      Dec 20, 2018

      Andrew Wiles gave a series of lectures cryptically titled “Modular Forms, Elliptic Curves, and Galois Representations” at a mathematics conference in Cambridge, England, in June 0f 1993. His argument was long and technical. Finally, 20 minutes into t

      8 min read

    • Article

      How Physics Is Like Three-Chord Rock: Like a set of common chords, the same math appears in diverse fields of physics.

      Jun 12, 2014

      A few years back, 12 million of us clicked over to watch the “Pachelbel Rant” on YouTube. You might remember it. Strumming repetitive chords on his guitar, comedian Rob Paravonian confessed that when he was a cellist, he couldn’t stand the Pachelbel

      6 min read

    • Article

      Will Quantum Mechanics Swallow Relativity?: The contest between gravity and quantum physics takes a new turn.

      Oct 29, 2015

      It is the biggest of problems, it is the smallest of problems. At present physicists have two separate rulebooks explaining how nature works. There is general relativity, which beautifully accounts for gravity and all of the things it dominates: orbi

      17 min read

    • Article

      Will Quantum Mechanics Swallow Relativity?

      Jun 8, 2017

      It is the biggest of problems, it is the smallest of problems. At present physicists have two separate rulebooks explaining how nature works. There is general relativity, which beautifully accounts for gravity and all of the things it dominates: orbi

      17 min read

    • Article

      Babbage And Running His Many Engines

      Nov 16, 2021

      Mike Bedford Like most of us, Mike tended to think of the likes of Alan Turing and John von Neumann as the pioneers of computing, so delving further into Charles Babbage’s creations was truly inspiring. Discussion about the first ever computer often

      11 min read

    • Article

      Do We Have the Big Bang Theory All Wrong?: One physicist’s radical reinterpretation of the cosmic microwave background.

      Jul 31, 2014

      All that Hans-Jörg Fahr wants is for someone to prove him wrong. A professor of astrophysics at the University of Bonn in Germany, he has taken a stand against nearly the entire field of cosmology by claiming that the diffuse glow of background micro

      7 min read

    • Article

      Schrödinger’s Cat When Nobody Is Looking

      Aug 26, 2020

      Some of the most perplexing topics in physics revolve around quantum theory. The quandary is seen most famously in the Schrödinger’s cat question and the issue of information loss in black hole evaporation. Richard Feynman said, “I think that I can s

      13 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for An Introduction to Differential Geometry

    4/5

    9 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      An Introduction to Differential Geometry - T. J. Willmore

      INDEX

      Part 1

      THE THEORY OF CURVES AND SURFACES IN

      THREE-DIMENSIONAL EUCLIDEAN SPACE

      I

      THE THEORY OF SPACE CURVES

      1. Introductory remarks about space curves

      IN the theory of plane curves, a curve is usually specified either by means of a single equation or else by a parametric representation. For example, the circle centre (0, 0) and radius a is specified in Cartesian coordinates (x, y) by the single equation

      x²+y² = a²,

      or else by the parametric representation

      In the theory of space curves similar alternatives are available. However, in three-dimensional Euclidean space E3, a single equation generally represents a surface, and two equations are needed to specify a curve. Thus the curve appears as the intersection of the two surfaces represented by the two equations. Parametrically the curve may be specified in Cartesian coordinates by equations

      where X, Y, Z are real-valued functions of the real parameter u which is restricted to some interval. Alternatively, in vector notation the curve is specified by a vector-valued function

      r = R(u).

      Suppose a curve is defined by equations F(x, y, z) = 0, G(x, y, z) = 0, and it is required to find parametric equations for the curve. If F and G have continuous first derivatives and if at least one of the Jacobian determinants

      is not zero at a point (x0, y0, z0) on the curve, it is known from the theory of implicit functions that the equations F = 0, G = 0 can be solved for two of the variables in terms of the third. For example, when the first Jacobian is non-zero, the variables y and z may be expressed as functions of x, say y = Y(x), z = Z(x), which leads to the parametrization x = u, y = Y(u), z = Z(u). However, this solution is valid only for a certain range of x and it will not in general give a parametrization of the whole curve.

      Conversely, suppose a curve is given parametrically by equations (1.1) and it is required to find two equations which specify the curve. The straightforward method of solving the first equation to obtain u = f(x) and substituting in the other two equations gives y = Y(f(x)), z = Z(f(x)), but this solution may be valid only over a restricted range. Other methods of elimination may produce new difficulties as may be seen from the following example of the cubic curve given parametrically by

      Eliminate u to obtain the equations xz = y², xy = z. These equations represent two quadric surfaces which intersect not only along the given cubic but also along the x-axis.

      A parametric representation of a curve specifies not only the curve but also a particular manner in which the curve is described. This is readily seen if the parameter u is interpreted as the time and the curve is considered as the locus of a moving point. The same curve may be parametrized in other ways, and some of the properties of a particular parametric representation may be peculiar to the parametrization and therefore not an intrinsic property of the curve. In this sense, a parametric representation of the curve specifies too much.

      On the other hand, the specification of a curve by two equations gives too little information for the purpose of a differential geometer. Quite apart from the fact that, as has been seen, several different curves may be determined by the same pair of equations, there are other disadvantages in specifying a curve in this manner. For example, when considering the distance along a curve from a point P to a point Q, it is often necessary to specify the sense in which the curve has been described. To the differential geometer, a curve is not merely a set of points but it must have a sense of description. A parametric representation is not only a convenient way of giving a sense of description but it is also a useful tool for the further study of properties of the curve. A curve will therefore be specified by all its possible parametric representations which are equivalent in that they all describe the same curve with the same sense.

      When a curve is regarded as a set of points, it is necessary to decide to what extent a set of points must be restricted before it can be regarded as a curve. Since we shall use parametric representations, it is similarly necessary for us to decide how general a manner of description is to be considered. Since our subject is differential geometry, we restrict the manner of description accordingly. As a result, the previous question becomes trivial, for any set of points which can be parametrized in the manner we require becomes a suitable object of study.

      We are now in a position to make precise technical definitions.

      2. Definitions

      Functions of class m

      Let I be a real interval and m a positive integer. A real-valued function f defined on I is said to be of class m, or to be a Cm-function if f has an mth derivative at every point† of I and if this derivative is continuous on I.

      Briefly we can say that a Cm-function has a continuous mth derivative. When a function is infinitely differentiable we say it is of class ∞, or a Cor a C -function.

      The extension of the concept of class to real-valued functions of several real variables is evident, and we leave the formulation of the precise definition to the reader. Briefly we can say that a Cm-function of several variables admits all continuous partial derivatives of the mth order.

      A vector-valued function R = (X, Y, Z) defined on I is said to be of class m if it has an mth derivative at every point and if this derivative is continuous on I; or equivalently, if each of its components X, Y, Z is of class m. Such a function is frequently specified by the vector equation R = (X, Y, Z) or equivalently by the three equations for the Cartesian components

      never vanishes on Inever vanish simultaneously—the function is said to be regular. A regular† vector-valued function of class m is called a path of class m.

      Two paths R1, R2 of the same class m on I1, I2 are called equivalent of class m which maps I1 onto I2 and is such that R1 = R. The condition R1 = Ris equivalent to the three conditions

      admits an inverse function of the same class m.

      Any equivalence class of paths of class m determines a curve of class m. Any path R determines a unique curve and is called a parametric representation of the curve, the variable u being then called the parameter. The equations (1.1) are called parametric equations which relates two equivalent paths is called a change of parameter. It produces a change in the manner of description of the curve whilst preserving the sense.

      We now formally define a curve of class m in E3 as a set of points in E3 associated with an equivalence class of regular parametric representations of class m involving one parameter.

      As an example of two equivalent representations, consider the circular helix given by

      (i)

      (ii)

      The change in parameter in this case is

      It should be emphasized that not every property of a path is a property of the curve it represents, because some properties are peculiar to the particular parameter chosen. The properties of the curve are those which are common to all parametric representations, i.e. properties which are invariant under a change of parameter. The verification of this invariance will frequently be left to the reader.

      We note that when the function R(u) is linear, the equation r = R(u) represents a straight line.

      3. Arc length

      The distance between two points r1 = (x1, y1, z1), r2 = (x2, y2, z2) in Euclidean space is the number

      .

      If we are given a path r = R(u) and two numbers a, b (a < bis an arc of the original path joining the points corresponding to a and b. To any subdivision Δ of the interval (a, b) by points

      a = u0 < u1 < u2 < … < un = b

      there corresponds the length

      of the polygon ‘inscribed’ to the arc by joining successive points on it. Addition of further points of subdivision increases the length of the polygon (because two sides of a triangle are together greater than the third). It is therefore reasonable to define the length of the arc to be the upper bound of LΔ taken over all possible subdivisions of (a, b). This upper bound is always finite, because for any Δ

      and the right-hand member is finite and independent of Δ. (Note that we used the fact that R is at least C¹ in the first step. The inequality used in the second step follows as an easy consequence of the Schwarz inequality.)

      We now show that this upper bound is actually equal to the right-hand term of (3.1), so that this term gives a formula for the arc length. The definition of arc length implies that if a < c < b, then the arc length from a to b is the sum of the arc lengths from a to c and from c to b. We denote by s = S(u) the arc length from a to any point u. Then the arc length from u0 to u is S(u)—S(u0). We have just seen that

      and it follows from the definition of arc length that

      Hence

      This formula is equally valid if u < u0. As u tends to u. Since this is true for any u0 in the range I of the parameter, it follows that S is a function of the same class as the curve, and that

      In terms of a Cartesian parametric representation, this formula becomes

      may be written

      or, in terms of differentials,

      ds² = dx²+dy²+dz².

      never vanishes, s can be used as a new parameter. The function S is the change of parameter from s to u. In order to change from u to s, S is inverted to obtain, say, u (s); then the curve parametrized with respect to s is r = R(s)).

      The verification that s is independent of the parametrization follows immediately from the rule for changing the variable of an integral. The above argument is similar to that used by W. F. Newns (1957) in obtaining the formula for the arc length of a plane curve.

      EXAMPLE 3.1. Obtain the equations of the circular helix r = (a cos u, a sin u, bu), —∞ < u < ∞ where a > 0, referred to s c.

      , so the required equations are

      r = (a cos (s/c), a sin(s/c), bs/c).

      The range of u c.

      EXAMPLE 3.2. Find the length of the curve given as the intersection of the surfaces

      from the point (a, 0, 0) to the point (x, y, z).

      Write the equation of the curve in the parametric form

      Then from (3.6) we get

      4. Tangent, normal, and binormal

      From now on the same symbol r will be used to denote the position vector of a point on a curve and also as the function symbol of a path which represents the curve. With this convention, a curve may be represented by the equation r = r(u). The object of the convention is to free the symbol R, which will now be used to denote the position vector of a current point in space not necessarily lying on the curve.

      and let P, Q be two neighbouring points on the curve. By ‘neighbouring points’ we do not mean that the points P, Q are near in space but that the points have neighbouring values of the parameter.

      be represented by the equation r = r(u), and let P and Q. have parameters u0 and u,

      as u →u0. Hence

      i.e. the unit vector along the chord PQ tends to a unit vector at P as Q → P. This is called the unit tangent vector at P, and is denoted by t. Using (3.4) we have

      Observe that t, like the curve, is oriented in that it points in the direction of increasing s. The line through P parallel to t is called the tangent line at P. If R is any point on this line, the vector from the point of contact P to R is called a tangent vector at P.

      An alternative approach to the definition of tangent line is to note that there is a unique line which approximates to the curve to the first order near P—more precisely, there is a unique linear function L(u) such that

      From (4.1) it can be seen that

      The line determined by L(uat P.

      It is convenient to denote differentiation with respect to arc length by a prime; with this convention the unit tangent vector becomes

      Osculating plane

      , and let P, Q . Then the limiting position as Q → P of that plane which contains the tangent line at P and the point Q is called the osculating plane at P.

      is parametrized with respect to arc length and that the parameters of P, Q are 0 and s respectively. The equation of the plane through the tangent line at P and the point Q is

      Also we have

      Using equations (4.5), (4.6) we find that the equation of the osculating plane is

      provided that the vectors r′(0), r″(0) are linearly independent. Since t² = 1, i.e. r′2 = 1, differentiation gives r′ .r″ = 0, and it follows that the vectors r′(0), r″(0) are linearly independent unless r″(0) = 0. A point P where r″ = 0 is called a point of inflexion, and the tangent line at P is called inflexional.

      When P is not a point of inflexion, it follows from (4.7) that any vector lying in the osculating plane can be expressed as

      rr″

      . In particular, the vector r″ lies in the osculating plane.

      The question now arises, what happens at a point of inflexion? We now show that when a curve is analytic, we still obtain a definite osculating plane at a point of inflexion P unless the curve is a straight line. To prove this we differentiate the relation r′ .r″ = 0 to get r= 0, since r″ = 0 at P. Hence r= 0. Repetition of this argument leads to the result that r′ .r(k) = 0, where r(k) is the first non-zero derivative of r . If r(k) = 0 , then since the curve is analytic we conclude that t is constant and the curve is a straight line. If r(k) ≠ 0, then (4.6) gives

      as s → 0, and the equation of the osculating plane is

      defined by

      is a curve of class ∞ with the property that r(k)(0) = 0 .

      The osculating plane at all points with parameter u < 0 is Z = 0, while the osculating plane at all points with parameter u > 0 is Y = 0. The osculating plane at u = 0 is clearly indeterminate. Thus we see that at a point of inflexion, even a curve of class ∞ need not possess an osculating plane.

      We have dealt with the equation of the osculating plane at P at some length because it enables us to illustrate the type of difficulties which occur at a very early stage, and to express our attitude towards these difficulties in the future. A differential geometer is interested primarily in properties of curves and surfaces which hold for a ‘general’ point, and tends to ignore what happens at ‘special’ points. An analyst, however, is interested in what happens at ‘special’ points, and is particularly interested in giving examples which contradict the general statement which the geometer wishes to assert. Usually a geometer is not interested in the precise class of a curve under discussion provided that it is sufficiently high to enable him to discuss relevant properties of the curve. However, an analyst cannot be uninterested in the problem of determining the smallest class of the curve or relevant functions which enter in the hypothesis of a theorem, and the differential geometer cannot afford to ignore these questions completely. For example, we have seen that the osculating plane may not exist at a point of inflexion on a C∞-curve.

      Throughout this book we shall be concerned essentially with properties at ‘general’ points, and we shall place considerably less emphasis on what happens at ‘special’ points. Our viewpoint is that in an introductory work of this kind the reader should not be side-tracked along paths whose interest is analytical rather than geometrical. Moreover, in many cases, the reader himself will be able to supply qualifications to the general argument which may be necessary to deal with ‘special’ cases.

      EXAMPLE 4.1. Show that if a curve is given in terms of a general parameter u, then the equation of the osculating plane corresponding to (4.7) is

      . Substitution in (4.7) gives the required result.

      EXAMPLE 4.2. Find the equation of the osculating plane at a general point on the cubic curve given by r = (u, u², u³) and show that the osculating planes at any three points of the curve meet at a point lying in the plane determined by these three points.

      The equation of the osculating plane is

      which reduces to

      3u²X—3uY+Z—u³ = 0.

      If u1, u2, u3 are three distinct values of the parameter, the osculating planes at these points are linearly independent and the planes meet at a point (X0, Y0, Z0). The parameters u1, u2, u3 therefore satisfy the condition

      u³—3u²X0+3uY0—Z0 = 0.

      If lX+mY+nZ+p = 0 is the equation of the plane passing through the three points, then the parameters must also satisfy the condition

      lu+mu²+nu³+p = 0.

      Since this equation has three distinct roots we have n ≠ 0; comparing coefficients in the two cubic equations gives

      The equation of the plane is thus

      3Y0X—3X0Y+Z—Z0 = 0,

      and since this is satisfied by (X0, Y0, Z0) the result follows.

      The normal plane at a point P on a curve is that plane through P which is orthogonal to the tangent at P.

      The principal normal at P is the line of intersection of the normal plane and the osculating plane at P. A unit vector along the principal normal is denoted by n; its sense may be selected arbitrarily provided that it varies continuously along the curve.†

      Curvature

      The arc-rate at which the tangent changes direction as P moves along the curve is the curvature | = |t′| but the sign is not determined. To find a suitable convention, we recall that t′ = r″ lies in the osculating plane and is also normal to t. It is therefore proportional to n, i.e. tn. We make the convention

      If n is chosen to vary continuously with sis determined in magnitude and sign by (4.10), but this value may change from positive to negative as P moves along the curve. It should be noted that the ambiguity of the sense of n does not apply to the vector t′ = r″ which is sometimes called the curvature vector, the curvature vector rn varies continuously along the curve, but this does not imply that n varies continuously along the curve (cf. footnote, p. 11).

      A necessary and sufficient condition that a curve be a straight line is that = 0 at all points. Any straight line has equation of the form r = as+b, where a and b are constant vectors. Hence t = a and t′ = 0= 0 identically, then r″ = 0 which gives on integration r = as+b, which is the equation of a straight line. Thus the condition is also sufficient.

      The binormal line at P is the normal in a direction orthogonal to the osculating plane. The sense of the unit vector b along the binormal is chosen so that the triad t, n, b form a right-handed system of axes, i.e.

      Torsion

      As P moves along a curve the arc-rate at which the osculating plane turns about the tangent is called the torsion . We now obtain the relation

      Since b² = 1 it follows that b .b′ = 0 and b′ lies in the osculating plane. Also b .t = 0 implies that b′ .t+b .t′ = 0; but as b .t′ = bn) = 0 it follows that b′ is orthogonal to t. But as b′ lies in the osculating plane it must be parallel to n. Thus the equation |b| is the absolute magnitude of the torsion. The negative sign in (4.12) is introduced since, as a convention, torsion is regarded as positive when the rotation of the osculating plane as s increases is in the direction of a right-handed screw travelling in the direction of tis determined only in magnitude.

      Let be a curve for which b varies differentiably with arc length. Then a necessary and sufficient condition that be a plane curve is that = 0 at all points= 0, then b must be a constant vector. In this case the identity r′ .b = 0 implies (r .b)′ = 0, from which r .b = constant, showing that the curve is plane. Note that the C∞-curve considered on p. 9 is not a plane curve but the torsion is zero where it exists.

      EXAMPLE 4.3. Prove that [r′, r. Equations (4.10) and (4.11) give r′ × rb. Differentiate and use (4.12) to get r′bn. Scalar multiplication by r″ then gives the required result.

      is a necessary and sufficient condition that the curve be plane. Evidently

      = 0 always . The condition is thus necessary and sufficient.

      EXAMPLE 4.5. Calculate the curvature and torsion of the cubic curve given by r = (u, u², u³).

      Evidently

      Differentiate to get

      Take the vector product of (ii) and (i) to get

      Differentiate to get

      Take the scalar product of (ii) and (iv) to get

      ,

      for any given curve can be calculated by mere substitution, but it is advisable to use the method given and to treat each curve on its merits.

      Serret-Frenet formulae

      The relations

      are known as the Serret-Frenet formulae, and these underlie many investigations in the theory of curves and surfaces. The reader is well advised to commit them to memory.

      The first and third relations have already been obtained. The second relation follows from differentiating the identity n = b × t to get nn × t+b n bt.

      The behaviour of a curve in the neighbourhood of one of its points may be investigated by means of relations (4.13). At a point P on the curve let axes Ox, Oy, Oz be taken along t, n, and b, and let X, Y, Z be the coordinates of a neighbouring point Q and if s denotes the small arc length PQ, then, using Taylor’s theorem,

      When the derivatives of r are substituted from (4.13) this becomes

      the coefficients being evaluated at P. It follows that as a first-order approximation the chord PQ is along the tangent: its projection on the principal normal is a magnitude of the second order, and its projection on the binormal is of the third order.

      From equation (4.14) two relations can be deduced which are analogous to Newton’s formula for the curvature of plane curves. These are

      Moreover, it is easy to show that

      ≠ 0, the arc length PQ differs from the chord PQ by terms of the third order in s.

      It is convenient to refer to the plane determined by the tangent and binormal at P as the rectifying plane.

      EXAMPLE 4.6. Show that the projection of the curve near P .

      These results follow immediately from equations (4.14) by retaining only the lowest powers of s in each equation and then eliminating s from the equations in pairs.

      EXAMPLE 4.7. Show that the length of the common perpendicular d of the tangents at two near points distance s apart is approximately given by

      Let P, Q have parameters 0 and s respectively. The unit tangent vectors at P and Q are r′(0), r′(s),

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1