Distinct distances on curves via rigidity (Q2249479)

The paper investigates the number of distinct distances among \(N\) points on a real algebraic curve of degree \(n\) in \(\mathbb{R}^d\). The main result of the paper is that there are (essentially) \( N^{1+\frac{1}{4}}\) distinct distances unless the curve is a straight line or the closed geodesic of a flat torus. In these exceptional cases the number of distinct distances may fall down essentially to the first power of \(N\).