On strict Whitney arcs and \(t\)-quasi self-similar arcs (Q1670787)

The authors prove that a self-similar arc of Hausdorff dimension \(s > 1\) in \(\mathbb{R}^N\) is a strict Whitney set with criticality \(s\). Here, a strict Whitney set is a connected compact subset \(E\subset \mathbb{R}^N\) for which there exists a \(C^1\)-function \(f:\mathbb{R}^N\to \mathbb{R}\) with \(\nabla f |_E \equiv 0\) but \(f|_E\) is not constant. In addition, so-called regular self-similar arcs are studied and necessary and sufficient conditions are derived for such an arc \(\Lambda\) to be a \(t\)-quasi-arc and for the Hausdorff measure function on \(\Lambda\) to be a strict Whitney function. Moreover, it is proved that if a regular self-similar arc has a strictly positive minimal corner angle then it is a \(t\)-quasi-arc and therefore its Hausdorff measure function on \(\Lambda\) a strict Whitney function. An example of a one-parameter family of regular self-similar arcs with various features is also presented.