The \(\infty\)-elastica problem on a Riemannian manifold (Q6158263)

The purpose of this paper is to extend some of the theory from [\textit{R. Moser}, Am. J. Math. 144, No. 5, 1299--1329 (2022; Zbl 1523.49048)] from Euclidean space \(\mathbb{R}^n\) to an arbitrary complete Riemannian manifold. More precisely, the authors consider the following problem: on any given complete Riemannian manifold \((M,g)\), among all curves which have fixed length as well as fixed endpoints and tangents at the endpoints, minimise the \(L^\infty\) norm of the curvature. It is proved that solutions of this problem, as well as a wider class of curves, must satisfy a second order ODE system. From this system, some geometric information about the behaviour of the curves is obtained.