Variational interpolation of subsets (Q1885347)

Let \(X_0,\dots,X_n\) be subsets of the Euclidean space \(\mathbb{R}^d\). Given real-valued parameters \(u_0< \cdots<u_n\), the authors consider the space of curves \(c:I=[u_0,u_n] \mapsto\mathbb{R}^d\), such that \(c'\in AC(I)\) and \(c''\in L^2(I)\). Among the curves satisfying the interpolation constraints \(c(u_i)\in X_i\), \(0\leq i\leq n\), the authors are looking for those which minimize the functional \[ F(c): =\int^{u_n}_{u_0}\| c'' \|^2. \] If the subsets in question are smooth, the authors consider curves which make the above functional stationary, without necessarily minimizing it. If each subset is a singleton, then it is well-known that the minimizing interpolant is a piecewise cubic \(C^2\)-curve, which is uniquely determined if imposing \(c''(u_0)= c''(u_n)=0\). The authors investigate geometric boundary conditions arising for various types of subsets such as subspaces, polyhedra and submanifolds, and indicate how solutions can be computed in the case of convex polyhedra.