Line congruences as surfaces in the space of lines (Q1295480): Difference between revisions

A line congruence in a three-dimensional Euclidean space \(\mathbb{R}^3\) is a two-parameter family of the four-parameter space \({\mathcal L}\) of all straight lines of \(\mathbb{R}^3\). The author views \(C\) as a smoothly immersed surface in \({\mathcal L}\). The author applies the method of moving frames to study \(C\). She finds two first-order invariants \(a\) and \(b\) of \(C\) with two different focal surfaces and establishes their geometric meaning. Further, she investigates the case when both \(a\) and \(b\) are constant. In this case a congruence \(C\) is called pseudospherical. For such \(C\), the two focal loci \(x\) and \(y\) have constant negative Gaussian curvatures, and the transformation from \(x\) to \(y\) is called a Bäcklund transformation. This transformation corresponds to solutions of the sine-Gordon equation. The author proves the Bäcklund theorem on the existence of a unique pseudospherical congruence \(C\) with two given focal loci \(x\) and \(y\) and two given constant invariants \(a > 0\) and \(b\). She also proves the Bianchi permutability theorem: for a given pair of pseudospherical congruences \(C\) and \(\overline{C}\) with focal loci \(x, y\) and \(x, \overline{y}\) and first order invariants \((a, b)\) and \((\overline{a}, \overline{b})\), respectively, there exists a unique pair of pseudospherical congruences \(D\) and \(\overline{D}\) with focal loci \(z, y\) and \(z, \overline{y}\) and first order invariants \((\overline{a}, \overline{b})\) and \((a, b)\), respectively (\(z \neq x\), if \(\overline{b} \neq b\)). In conclusion, the author applies the Bianchi permutability theorem to the case when the common focal locus of \(C\) and \(\overline{C}\) degenerates into a curve, and uses Mathematica to draw examples of surfaces calculated in the paper. Most of the results of the paper are not new but the proofs given are new and simpler than previous proofs.