The total absolute curvature of open curves in \(E^{3}\) (Q1022560)

\textit{W. Fenchel} [Math. Ann. 101, 238--252 (1929; JFM 55.0394.06)] proved a famous theorem for closed curves in \(\mathbf E^3\): the total absolute curvature of any closed curve in \(\mathbf E^3\) is not less than \(2\pi\) and the infimum is attained by a plane convex curve. This result has been extended in many directions for closed curves in \(\mathbf E^3\). In this paper, the authors consider the total absolute curvature in \(\mathbf E^3\) for open curves. For curves which attain the infimum of the total absolute curvature in the set of curves with fixed endpoints, end-directions, and length, they prove that if the total absolute curvature of a sequence of curves in this set tends to the infimum, the limit curve must lie in a plane. Furthermore, the limit curve is either a subarc of a closed plane convex curve or a piecewise linear curve with at most three edges. They discuss also the uniqueness of the curves minimizing the total absolute curvature.