Slant helices in three dimensional Lie groups (Q905351)

A curve of constant slope or general helix in Euclidean space \(\mathbf E^3\) is defined by the property that the tangent vector has a constant angle with a fixed straight line (the axis of general helix). General helices are characterized by the fact that the ratio of torsion and curvature is constant along the curve. A space curve in \(\mathbf E^3 \) is a slant helix if its principal normal vector along the curve has a constant angle with a fixed direction. In this paper, slant helices in three-dimensional Lie groups with a bi-invariant metric are considered. Such groups are \(\mathrm{SU}(2)\), \(\mathrm{SO}(3)\) or the abelian groups (\(\mathbb R^3\), \(S^1 \times \mathbb R\), \(T^2=S^1 \times S^1\)). The characterizations of such slant helices are obtained (some functions of geometric invariants are constant). Also, some relations between slant helices and their involutes and spherical images are given.