Finite and infinitesimal flexibility of semidiscrete surfaces (Q5964206)

In this paper the author studies infinitesimal and finite flexibility for regular semidiscrete surfaces, but to avoid behavior related to noncompactness of these surfaces, he restricts his study to the particular case of \(n\)-ribbon surfaces defined by a mapping \(f:[a,b]\times\{0,1,\cdots,n\} \rightarrow \mathbb{R}^3, \quad (t,i)\to f_i(t),\) where the dependence on the continuous parameter is smooth. The main results here are: ``Every regular \(2\)-ribbon surface (as ruled surface) is flexible and has one degree of infinitesimal and finite flexibility in the regular case'', ``A regular \(n\)-ribbon surface (\(n \geq 3\)) has at most one degree of finite and infinitesimal flexibility'', ``A regular \(n\)-ribbon surface (\(n \geq 4\)) is infinitesimally or finite flexible if and only if its 3-ribbon subsurfaces are infinitesimally or finite flexible''. The author finds also a system of differential equations for the deformation of \(2\)-ribbon surfaces and a necessary condition of \(3\)-ribbon infinitesimal flexibility. Finally, he analyzes the relation between general semidiscrete surface flexibility and \(3\)-ribbon subsurface flexibility.