Commuting Hamiltonian flows of curves in real space forms

DOI10.1017/9781108773287.013MaRDI QIDQ5164772zbMATH OpenOpenAlexFDO

Authors Albert Chern, Felix Knöppel, Franz Pedit, Ulrich Pinkall

Publication date 12 November 2021

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/1809.01394, https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/integrable-systems-and-algebraic-geometry/commuting-hamiltonian-flows-of-curves-in-real-space-forms/7D8E82115768794753E30D513DFE3547

zbMATH Keywords

isoperimetric problemvortex filamenthierarchy of HamiltoniansDarboux transforms

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Completely integrable finite-dimensional Hamiltonian systems, integration methods, integrability tests (37J35) Completely integrable infinite-dimensional Hamiltonian and Lagrangian systems, integration methods, integrability tests, integrable hierarchies (KdV, KP, Toda, etc.) (37K10) Lie-Bäcklund and other transformations for infinite-dimensional Hamiltonian and Lagrangian systems (37K35) Relations of infinite-dimensional Hamiltonian and Lagrangian dynamical systems with algebraic geometry, complex analysis, and special functions (37K20) Relations of finite-dimensional Hamiltonian and Lagrangian systems with algebraic geometry, complex analysis, special functions (37J38) Relations of finite-dimensional Hamiltonian and Lagrangian systems with topology, geometry and differential geometry (symplectic geometry, Poisson geometry, etc.) (37J39)

Abstract: Starting from the vortex filament flow introduced in 1906 by Da Rios, there is a hierarchy of commuting geometric flows on space curves. The traditional approach relates those flows to the nonlinear Schr"odinger hierarchy satisfied by the complex curvature function of the space curve. Rather than working with this infinitesimal invariant, we describe the flows directly as vector fields on the manifold of space curves. This manifold carries a canonical symplectic form introduced by Marsden and Weinstein. Our flows are precisely the symplectic gradients of a natural hierarchy of invariants, beginning with length, total torsion, and elastic energy. There are a number of advantages to our geometric approach. For instance, the real part of the spectral curve is geometrically realized as the motion of the monodromy axis when varying total torsion. This insight provides a new explicit formula for the hierarchy of Hamiltonians. We also interpret the complex spectral curve in terms of curves in hyperbolic space and Darboux transforms. Furthermore, we complete the hierarchy of Hamiltonians by adding area and volume. These allow for the characterization of elastic curves as solutions to an isoperimetric problem: elastica are the critical points of length while fixing area and volume.

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