Knot Types, Homotopies and Stability of Closed Elastic Rods

DOI10.1112/S0024611599011983MaRDI QIDQ4487579zbMATH OpenFDO

Authors Thomas A. Ivey, David A. Singer

Publication date 22 June 2000

Published in Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/math/9901131

zbMATH Keywords

curvatureelastic curveelastic rodelastic rod centerlineFrenet equationsLagrange multiplierspace curvetorsiontorus knot

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Curves in Euclidean and related spaces (53A04) Rods (beams, columns, shafts, arches, rings, etc.) (74K10)

Abstract: The energy minimization problem associated to uniform, isotropic, linearly elastic rods leads to a geometric variational problem for the rod centerline, whose solutions include closed, knotted curves. We give a complete description of the space of closed and quasiperiodic solutions. The quasiperiodic curves are parametrized by a two-dimensional disc. The closed curves arise as a countable collection of one-parameter families, connecting the m-fold covered circle to the n-fold covered circle for any m,n relatively prime. Each family contains exactly one self-intersecting curve, one elastic curve, and one closed curve of constant torsion. Two torus knot types are represented in each family, and all torus knots are represented by elastic rod centerlines.

Review text

An elastic rod centerline is a space curve \(\gamma\) which is an extremal of an equation of the form \[ {\mathcal F}[\gamma]=\lambda_1\int_{\gamma} ds + \lambda_2\int_{\gamma} \tau ds+ \lambda_3\int_{\gamma} \kappa^2 \,ds, \] where \(\kappa\) and \(\tau\) (curvature and torsion) are the coefficients of the Frenet equations for a canonical frame along \(\gamma\), and where \(\lambda_1\), \(\lambda_2\) and \(\lambda_3\) are Lagrange multipliers. In this paper, the authors prove the following: Theorem 1: Every torus knot type is realized by a smooth closed elastic rod centerline. Theorem 2: The similarity classes of quasiperiodic elastic rod centerlines are parametrized by the closed unit disk. (Quasiperiodic centerlines are those which are either closed or wind densely around a torus.) The closed rod centerlines form a countable family of curves in the disk. Each such curve represents a regular homotopy of closed curves within the set of smooth closed elastic rod centerlines. For any relatively prime positive integers \(k\) and \(n\), there exists a regular homotopy between the \(k\)-times-covered circle and the \(n\)-times-covered circle. The homotopy includes exactly one elastic curve, one self-intersecting elastic rod centerline, and one closed curve of constant torsion.

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Cited in

(34)

• Elastic knots in Euclidean 3-space
• Kirchhoff elastic rods in a Riemannian manifold
• Kirchhoff elastic rods in the three-sphere
• Explicit formulas, symmetry and symmetry breaking for Willmore surfaces of revolution
• Asymptotic behavior of the maximum of Jacobi's zeta function
• Variational principles for nonlinear Kirchhoff rods
• Numerical solution of a bending-torsion model for elastic rods
• On a nonlinear rod exhibiting only axial and bending deformations: mathematical modeling and numerical implementation
• Evolving a Kirchhoff elastic rod without self-intersections
• The symplectic structure of curves in three dimensional spaces of constant curvature and the equations of mathematical physics
• Finite-gap solutions of the vortex filament equation: isoperiodic deformations
• Twisted elastic rings and the rediscoveries of Michell's instability
• Elastic curves and the Delaunay problem for curves with constant torsion
• On \(p\)-Willmore disks with boundary energies
• Sufficient conditions for a path-connected set of local solutions to an optimal control problem
• Global solutions of the equation of the Kirchhoff elastic rod in space forms
• Extendability of Kirchhoff elastic rods in complete Riemannian manifolds
• Magnetic vortex filament flows
• A conformal variational approach for helices in nature
• Knotted Elastic Curves in R ³
• Kirchhoff elastic rods in five-dimensional space forms whose centerlines are not helices
• Knot types of generalized Kirchhoff rods
• A new approach for magnetic curves in 3D Riemannian manifolds
• Pseudo null curve variations for Bishop Frame in 3D semi-Riemannian manifold
• The elastic trefoil is the doubly covered circle
• Equilibria of elastic cable knots and links
• Stability results for constrained calculus of variations problems: an analysis of the twisted elastic loop
• Kirchhoff elastic rods in higher-dimensional space forms
• Straightening soliton curves
• Nonlinear dynamic analysis of shear- and torsion-free rods using isogeometric discretization and outlier removal
• Kirchhoff elastic rods in three-dimensional space forms
• Spectral stability analysis for periodic traveling wave solutions of NLS and CGL perturbations
• Fourth order elastic chiral filament model and the centerline of uniform Kirchhoff elastic rod
• Matched asymptotic expansions for twisted elastic knots: a self-contact problem with non-trivial contact topology

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