Return of the plane evolute (Q6946805)

The evolute of a curve in the Euclidean plane is the locus of its centers of curvature. E.g. the evolutes of a parabola and an ellipse are a semi-cubic parabola and an astroid.\N\NThe authors consider the evolutes of plane real-algebraic curves and discuss some of their complex and real-algebraic properties. For a given degree \(d\geq 2\), they provide lower bounds for the following four numerical invariants:\N\N(1) the maximal number of times a real line can intersect the evolute of a real-algebraic curve of degree \(d\);\N\N(2) the maximal number of real cusps which can occur on the evolute of a real-algebraic curve of degree \(d\);\N\N(3) the maximal number of crunodes which can occur on the dual curve to the evolute of a real-algebraic curve of degree \(d\);\N\N(4) the maximal number of crunodes which can occur on the evolute of a real-algebraic curve of degree \(d\).\N\NReal nodes of real-algebraic curves are subdivided into crunodes and acnodes, the former being transversal intersections of two real branches and the latter being transversal intersections of two complex conjugate branches