Properties of Sobolev-type metrics in the space of curves (Q998911)

The authors are interested to study the differential geometry of \(B_i\equiv \text{Imm}(S^1;{\mathbb R}^n)/ \text{Diff}(S^1)\), \(n\geq 2\), where \(\text{Imm}(S^1;{\mathbb R}^n)\) is the space of immersions of the unit circle \(S^1\subset{\mathbb R}^2\) in \({\mathbb R}^n\). In particular they aim to identify a ``good metric distance function'' \(d:B_i\to{\mathbb R}\). In fact, the usual distance used in a Riemannian manifold \((M,g)\), i.e., \(d(a,b)=\text{inf}\int_{[0,1]}\sqrt{g(\dot\gamma(t),\dot\gamma(t))}\,dt\), \(\gamma\in C^1([0,1],M)\), with \(\gamma(0)=a\), and \(\gamma(1)=b\), trivially degenerates in quotient spaces like \(B_e\equiv \text{Emb}(S^1;{\mathbb R}^n)/ \text{Diff}(S^1)\), when one considers on \(M\equiv \text{Emb}(S^1;{\mathbb R}^n)\) the usual Riemannian metric \(g(c)(h,k)=\int_{S^1}\gamma\circ c(h,k)\,dt\), with \(h,k\in C^\infty(S^1,{\mathbb R}^n)\). (Here, \(M\) is an affine manifold with space of free vectors \({\mathbf M}\equiv C^\infty(S^1,{\mathbb R}^n)\), hence for the tangent space \(T_cM\), one has the canonical isomorphism \(T_cM\cong {\mathbf M}\). Furthermore, \(\gamma:{\mathbb R}^n\to S^0_2({\mathbb R}^n)\) is the standard Riemannian metric on \({\mathbb R}^n\).) For immersions \(S^1\to {\mathbb R}^n\), the situation is more complex, even if the philosophy is the same. In fact, \(B_e\equiv \text{Emb}(S^1;{\mathbb R}^n)/ \text{Diff}(S^1)\) is a Fréchet manifold, and \(\text{Emb}(S^1;{\mathbb R}^n)\to B_e\) is a principal bundle with a canonical principal connection. But \(B_i\equiv \text{Imm}(S^1;{\mathbb R}^n)/ \text{Diff}(S^1)\) is not. It is an Hausdorff orbit space with singularities. The projection \(\text{Imm}(S^1;{\mathbb R}^n)\to B_i\) is not a principal fiber bundle. The solution proposed by Michor and Mumford in some previous works for \(B_e\) is to define a new family of Riemannian metrics on \(B_e\) that depends on the curvature and on a parameter \(A\). Then the corresponding metric distances regularize, in some sense, the usual one. In this paper, the authors propose a similar regularization for immersions. In fact, they introduce Sobolev-type Riemannian metrics \(H^j\). For \(j=1,2\), they characterize the completion of the space of smooth curves and get existence of geodesics with respect to these metrics. Then the Fréchet distance of curves coincides with the one induced by the ``Finsler \(L^\infty\) metric'' previously considered by the first two authors. (In the references related previous papers are quoted.) Reviewer's remark. Let us emphasize that embeddings and immersions can be characterized in the framework of the geometric theory of PDE's. Then one can see, for example, that embeddings or immersions \(S^1\to\mathbb R^n\), can be encoded by means of equations of first order on the trivial fiber bundle \(\pi:W\equiv S^1\times\mathbb R^n\to S^1\). Formal properties, besides symmetry properties, allow to understand the relations between the original equations and their prolonged ones, as well as the corresponding reduced ones by means of symmetries. Then, for example, one can understand that Sobolev-type metrics are naturally originate in this PDE's geometric framework. [For related subjects about this see, e.g., \textit{A. Prástaro}, Boll. Unione Mat. Ital., VII. Ser., B 5, No.~4, 977--1001 (1991; Zbl 0746.57015)].