MSc-MATH-PAPER-III-munotes

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THE EUCLIDE ANSPACES
Unit Structure :
1.0 Introduction
1.1 The Vector Spacen.
1.2 The Inner Product ofn.
1.3 The Metric Topology ofn.
1.4 Orientingn.
1.5 Exercises
1.0 INTRODUCTIO N
Differential geometry makes use of a lot of linear algebra and
multi -variable calculus. We utilize this unit consisting of Chapters
1,2,3 ,of the study material to recollect basic concepts and
elementary results o f both, linear algebra and multi -variable
calculus.
To begin with, in this chapter, we will recapitulate elementary
algebra and geometry of the Euclidean Spaces2,3,4......nn.
We discuss their basic features ab initio in three parts; (i) the real
vector space structure ofn, (ii) the inner product and the resulting
metric topology ofnand (iii) its standard orientation.
InChapter 2 we recall the algebra of linear endomorphisms
ofn, reaching finally the groupnSOof its orientation
preserving linear automorphisms and discuss some of its properties.
Actually we introduce the whole groupnGLand them
concentrate m ore on its sub -groupnOconsisting of all
orthogonal automorphisms ofnand their matrix representations.
We explain here, the total derivativeDf pof a vector valued
functionfxof a multi -variable12, ,....,nxx x x as a linear
transformation elaborating its role as a local linear approximation tofin neighborhoods of the point p(in the domain of)
Chapter 3 is a mix -bag o f some more linear algebra and a rather
long recap of basic concepts and elementary and yet fundamental
results of differential calculus (such as the inverse function theorem,munotes.in

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implicit function theorem the rank theorem….). Throughout we are
emphasizing the role ofDf pas a linear transformation
approximatingfaround p.
In what is to follow, we make use of both -the linear algebra
apparatus and the multi -variable calculus machinery in a crucial
way.For ex ample ,we differentiate a curve at a point to get the
tangent line -a linear (and hence a more amicable) curve
approximating the bending and twisting thecurve.
Similarly we approximate a (continuously bending) surface
by the tangent plane to the surf ace at a point of it.
Approximating the non-linear real world by linear objects is
indeed a fruitful, common practice .Differential geometry
emphasizes this practice.
Actually smooth curves in23and smooth surfaces in3are the main geometric objects of our interest but the analysis of
their geometry often leades us to higher dimensional Euclidean
geometry. Therefore we are treating their generality, emphasizing
particular cases of2and3.
For further details regarding the portion of this unit, the
reader should consult (1) Linear Algen, (2) Undergraduate Analysis,
both books authored by Serg Lang; and of course, the text books
recommended by th e University.
1.1 THE VECTOR SPACEnThroughout this set of notes,denotes the real number
system (aka the “real line” ). Following subsets of it appear here and
there in the text :
1,2,3,..... 00,1, 2,...., ,.....U
n
...., 2, 1,0,1,2,.....Letnbe any integer2.munotes.in

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3nstands for the set of all order ed12, ,...., ,xx xn-tuples of
real numbers. For the sake of notational economy, we denote it byx; thus;12: , ,... ,....knxx x xx the real numberkxoccupying thethkplace in thent u p l e xabove is thethkcoordinate ofx.
For any12, ,....,nxx x x n-tuples and12, ,....,nyy y y and
for any a, we put :11 2 2 : , ,....nnxy x y x y x y
and12 : , ,.......,na x ax ax ax
(again, for the notational simplicity, we will often writeaxin place
ofax)
The declarativesandgive rise to the algebraic operations:
a)addition o f vectors :
:
,nn nxy x yand b) multiplication of vectors by real numbers :
:
,nnax axThe resulting algebraic system,,nis areal vector space
(and therefore we call its elements vectors .I nstead of the complete
triple,,nwe will indicate onlyn, the underlying vector space
operations,being understood.
The dimension of this vector space isn. For, the elements
12 ,, ....,nee eofngiven by
 
1
21,0,....,0
0,1,....,00,....,1,....,00,.......,0k
th
ne
e
ek placee


   
munotes.in

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enable us to write every12, ....,nnxx x x uniquely in the
form :11 2 2 .....nnxx e x e x eand therefore, the set12, ,...,nee econsisting of thenvectors is a vector basis ofn.
We call12, ,...,nee ethestandard vector basis ofn.
It turns out that anyndimensional real vector space can be
identified withn(the identification being by meanse of an
isomorphism of vector spaces). Thus, the Euclidean spaces2,3....nnare prototypes of allfinite dim ensional real vector
spaces.
Let us note at this stage a slight deviation from the classical
vector notations in case of2and3:
In the 2 -dimensional coordinate geometry we identified a
plane with2by meanse of a Cartesian coordinate frameXOYand
then we dealt with the points of the plane in terms of the coordinate
pairs,xyw.r.t. our choice frameXOY.Similarly we used to
identify the physical space with3by meanse of an orthogonal
coordinate fromeOX Y Zand the resulting Cartesian coordinates of
a point were,,xyz. In the present con text, we use the notations12,xxin place of,xyof the planar coordinate geometry and the
triples123,,xxxin place of,,xyz. Also instead of the unit vectors,,ij k(along the axes of theOX Y Zframe) we will bring123,,eeeof
the standard basis.
Also, the arrows,,uvwover the vectors,,uvware banished,
we simply wri te,,uvweven though they are vectors.
One more point : We often consider a lower dimensionalmimbedded in a higher dimensionalnby meanse of the natural
imbedding map :
taking a point12, ,......,mxx xofmto the point
12, ,......, , 0.......0m
nmxx x
   ofn. Thus occasionally we consider the
vector spacemas asubspace of a higher dimensionaln.munotes.in

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1.2 THE I NNER PRODUCT OFn:
For any12, ....,nxx x x and12, ....,nyy y y innwe
consider the sum :11 2 2 ........nnxy xy xy. Denoting it by,xywe
get the map :
,:,,nnxy xy
Note the following properties of the map,:
a)The map,isbilinear iei.e.for any,,xyzinnand for any
a, b, c in, we have
i),,,ax by z a x z b y z
ii),, ,x by cz b x y c x z
b),issymmetric,,,xy yxfor all,xyinnand
c),ispositive definite i.e.,0xxfor allnxand move over
xxwhen and only when0 0 0....0x
The map ,:nnis called the standard inner
product ofn.
In what is to follow, we consider the vector spacenequipped with the inner product,i.ewe consider the
quadruple,, ,,n ; it is thendimensional Euclidean space .
For the usual reason, we adopt and use the shorter notationnfor
the quadruple.
Thus, the Euclidean spacenis not just a barren set, it is a
mathematical space carrying two distinct structures, namely itsndimensional real vector space structure together with the
standard inner product of it. Of course, thes e two structures are
compatible with each other. One manifestation of this compatibility
is the bilineanity of the inner product : the inner product respects the
vector space operations ofn. Several other forms of themunotes.in

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compatibili ty between the algebraic and geometric features ofnwill be witnessed while studying these notes.
We proceed to explain that the inner product ofnis
geometric in nature; it gives rise to a metric i.e . a distance function
onn:
For eachnxwe writexfor,xx.
This gives rise to the function ::0 ,n
xxWe interpretxas the length of the vector x and call the map:0 ,ntheEuclidean norm onn.
The normand the inner product < , > are related by the
following inequality :
Prop osition 1 : For every,xyinnwe have ,xy x yand the
equality holds when and only whenya xfor some a(i.e. when
x and y are parallel vectors).
The above inequality is variously called the Schwarz
inequality , the Cauchy -Schwarz inequality or the CBS inequality
(CBS being the acronym for Cauchy -Buniyakowski -Schwarz, the
mathematicians who invented this inequality independently.)
Proof : The inequality is a trivial equality in case when either of x, y
is a zero vector, say y = 0. For, in that case, we have
,0 ,0 0,0 ,0xxxx

Thus,0 2 ,0xxwhich implies,0 0x. We therefore
proceed to consider0y(and therefore0y.)Now, for any
a, we have,0x ay x aythat is,
2,2 , 0xx a x y a yy .
i.e.22 22, 0xa x y a yfor any a.munotes.in

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In particular, for2,xyaythe above inequality reduces to
22 2
2
24,,20xy xy yx
yy  .
Thus,2
2
2,0xyx
yor equivalenty put, we get22 2,xy x ywhich gives the desired inequalit y.
Next if,xyare parallel, sayya xfor some athen we getya xand then2,x y x ax a yxy

Thus when x and y are parallel vector, the Schwa rz inequality
becomes equality.
Finally supposexy x ywithyoand therefore,0y. Consider2,xyayand then we have
22 222 22
24
2
2
2,2 ,
,,2
,x ay x ay x a x y a yxy xy yx
yy
xyx
y

0by the assumed equality.
Thus, we have0x ay x ayand thereforexa y(with2,xyay)
The CBS inequality leades us to a geometric interpretation of
the inner product : Already we have treated:,xx xas themunotes.in

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length of the vectornx. Note that this interpretation is consist ant
with the usual length (Pythagorean) of a vector in32.
Secondly consider any pair x, y of non zero vector inn.W e
rewrite the CBS inequality in the form,11xy
xy.
This suggest s that we interprete the quantity,xyxyas the
cosine -cos-of the angle -between thevectors x, y.
This consideration inspires us to declare the perpendicularity
relation between vectors inn;xyif,0xy.
Also note that the classical Pythagoream property (about the
lengths of sides of a right angled triangle) continues to hold in the
present (higher dimensional) context : If x, y a re any elements ofnwithxythen222xy x y.
To see this, consider,
2
22,
2
20xy xy xyxx xy yyxy
Thus222xy x yholds for all x, y innwithxy.
Note that the vectors12, ....,nee ein the standard basis12, ,...,nEe e e are pairwise orthogonal and each of them has unit
length. We express this property by saying that the standard basis ofnisorthonormal . More generally a subsetofnisorthonormal
if its elements satisfy the following two conditions :
i)1xfor each xii)If x, y are any two distinct elements ofthenxy(i.e.,0xy).
Note that an orthonormal subset12.....nvv vofnis
linearly independ ent.For ifmunotes.in

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11 2 20mm av av a v…………………………… (*)
holds for some real numbers12, ,....., ,maa athen we deduce that
120m aa a. To get this take the inner product of the equality(*)
with each1vto get.
11 2 2... ... 0ii i i i m m i av v av v av v a v v i.e.200 1 0 0ii maa a awhich gives0iafor each1ii m. This justifies our claim that the orthonormal set1mvvis linearly independent. On t he other hand any linearly
independent subset ofngives rise to an orthonormal subset having
as many elements as those of the linearly independent subset. We
prove this fact in the following proposition :
Proposition 2 : Any line arly independent subset12,.....,mvv v
ofnngives rise to an orthonormal subset12...mff fofnin
which each'1fis a linear c ombination of12,.....,ivv v m.
Proof :1vbeing an element of linearly independent set is non zero.
Therefore10vand therefore111:vfvis a well defined unit
vector.
Next , we consider21 122 1 1 2 2
1vv vvv f f v
v. This vector
also is non -zero. (For, otherwise we would get21 12 2
1vv vv
vwhich
contradicts the linear independence of the elements of the set A. We
put22 1 1222 1 1vv v ffvv v f
Clearly121ffand12ff.
In the neat step, we consider3vand obtain the vector33 1 13 2 2vv f fv f ffrom it. Invokingthe linear independence of
the set A, we again get that this vector is non -zero. Using this last
observation, we construct :munotes.in

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1033 1 13 2 2333 1 13 2 2vv f fv f ffvv f fv f f
Imitating this procedure successively, we obtain the desired
ortho-normal set12, ....mff fwhere thekffor 2kmis given
inductively by11 2 2 1 111 2 2 1 1...
, ...kk k k k k
k
kk k k k kvv f fv f f v fffvv f fv f f v ff 
This method of obtaining an orthonormal set12, ....mff ffrom
a linearly independent set12, ....mvv vof vectors is called the
Gram -Schmidt orthonormalization process. Application of this
process to an arbitrary basis ofnenables us to get a new vector
basis which is orthonormal.
1.3 THE METRIC TOPOLOGY OFn:
The inner product;ofngives rise to a complete
separable metric topology on it in the following way :
For any,xyinn, we put :,,dx y x y x y x yor equivalently 21,n
jj
jdx y x y . This assignment gives rise
to the map ::0 ,
,,nndxy d xy x y This map isin fact a metric onn:
We readily have :
i),0dx yfor all,xyinnand,0dx yif and only ifxy.
ii),,dx y dy xfor,xyinn.
More over, for any,,xyzinn, we h avemunotes.in

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2 2
2
22
22,
,
,2 , ,
2,
2dx z x z
xyyz
xyyz xyyzxy xy xy yz yz yzxy xy yz yz
xy xyyz yz



By the CBS inequality.  22;,xy yzdx y dy z
 
Thus 22,,dx z dx y dy z  for all,,xyzinn.
Thereby we get the triangle inequality ,
,,dx z dx y dy zfor all,,xyzinn.
Thus, the Euclidean spacenis actually a metric base but we
will not indicate its metric. All the topological considerations will be
in referenc e to this Euclidean metric topology. Among all the
properties of the metric spacen, we mention only the following
two :
i)nis a complete metric space ;
ii)nis separable.
Property (ii) can be seen here itself : Letnbe the set of all
ordered n -types12, ,...naa aof rational numbers. Then the setnis a
countable, and dense subjectnand he ncenis separable.
We pro ve property in the following proposition :
Proposition 3 : The metric spacenis complete.
Proof : We consider a Cauchy sequence:kvkinn. Writing
each termkvin terms of its coordinates12, ;...nkk k kvv v v .
We split the sequence:kvkinto n sequences of real
numbers:12: , : ...... :n
kk kvk vk vk    .munotes.in

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Note that for each.kinand for each1ii nwe have :
jjke k ke kvvvv ,……………………….. (*)
The inequalities (*) imply that the Cauchy property of:kvkinduces Cauchy pr operty in each of the coordinate
sequences :12: , : ...... :n
kk kvk vk vk    .
By the completeness of the real line, we get real numbers
12, ,....nww wwhich are limits of the (Cauchy) coordinate sequences :
12
12lim , lim ,,.... limnkk n kkk kwv wv wv    .
We form the vector12, ,...., .nnww w w Finally note that 
1,n
kkdv w v wwhich (together with
the above deduction thatkvwaskfor1n)implies that
kv.
Thus, each Cauchy sequence:kvkinnconverges to anwand thereforenis complete.
We observe one more property of the metric topology ofn.
Let A be any subset of amand let a be any point of A. Let
12, ,... :n ff f A be funct ions, all being continuous at a.
Let :nfAbe the map given by12 , ,......nnfy fy f y f y  for each y.
Proposition 4 : The map :nfAis continuous ata.
Proof : Letobe given. Then foron, continuity of each1ifi nat a implies that there existiosuch that
iify fanfor all,ya i.munotes.in

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Consider12min , ....n . Thenoand,ya
implies,1ya ii n and therefore iify fanfor
1in. This set of inequalities implies :fy fafor all,yaproving continuity offata.
1.4 ORIE NTINGn:
Orientation ofnand its orientability in two different ways is
yet another aspect of its geometry. Here, we give a brief, heuristic
introduction to the main ideas related to the orientations ofn.W e
use only elemen tary geometric concepts. A precise algebraic
formulation of it (in terms of orthonormal transformations ofn)
will be given in the ne xtchapter.
The term orientation applies primarily to orthogonal frames inn. W try to reach the vast expense ofnby means of an
orthogonal frame12....ss nff f FF associated with an orthonormal
vector basis12....nff f.
Recall, an orthogonal frame12....snff fF is obtained by
laying its axes12 .....nOX OX OX along the vectors
12,....nff frespectively.
Schematic depition of an orthogonal frame12....snff fF
Fig. 1
Clearly the frame12....snff fF andthe ordered orthonormal vector
basis12....nff fspecify each other and therefore, we often talk of
them interchangeably.
We consider various12....snff fFmunotes.in

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Of course, there is the standard orthornormal frame12....nee eF introduced earlier. But this particular frame may not
be the best choice to study a specific geometric / physical problem.
For example in studying the rotational motion of a spinning top
(with its nail tip remaining stationary on the ground ) we need
consider besides the stationary frame the rotating body framesFwhich is an orthogonal frame fixed in the top and therefore it is a
moving orthogonal frame. And we study the rotational motion of the
top by studying how th e body framesFchanges its orientation with
respect to the stationary framesF.Thus, we need two distinct
orthogonal frames to study the dynamics of a spinning top.
We therefore consider allorthogonal frames12....snff fF and
compare them with the standard frame12....nsee eFF
Fig. 2 : The stationary framesFand the body framesFHow do we compare two frames?
It is in tuitively clear that we can rotatesFabout the common
origin and make it coincide withsF. This corresponds to a change12 3 1 2 3.... ....ff f e e eof the orthogonal bases associated with the
two framessFand0sF.
Recall now the elementary facts of linear algebra. (We will
discuss more about there in the next chapter.)
Each change of orthonormal basis (and therefore that of the
associated orthonormal fra mes)12 1 2.... ....nnee e f f fgives rise
to a unique orthogonal linear transformation :nnT given byiTe f ifor1in.munotes.in

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Each such T has the property det (T)=+1 or -1. We use these
properties t ocompare two frames. We say that two orthogonal
framessFand0sFhave the same orientation if det (T) = +1
and they have the opposite orientation if det T = -1.
We regard this classification of orthogon al frames into two
disjoint families as two orientation sof the spacen; we call them
the “standard orientation” and the “opposite orientation” ofn.
Thus we have the following :The standard orientation ofnpertains to the orthogonal
frames12....snff fF with the property that the associated
:nnT (with1iiTe f i n) has det T = +1.
The opposite orien tation ofnpertains to any orthogonal frame12....snff fF with det T = -1.
Thus each Euclidean spacencarries two distinct orientations,
namely (a) the standard orientation as described i nand (b) the opposite
orientation described in.
Applying all this consideration to3, our physical space ;we
have an equivalent, but rather tangible description in the po pular
language : Orthogonal frames being left handed andright handed :
12....snff fF is right handed if the frame can be grabed by right
hand so that the thumb points in the direction of3f.
On the other hand12....snff fF is left handed if it can be grabed
by the left hand so that the thumb (again) points in the direction
of3f.
Left and Right Handedness of Orthogonal Frames
Figure 3munotes.in

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Of course the right handed frames dete rmine the standard
orientation of3while the left handed frames determine the opposite
orientation of it.
1.5 EXERCISES :
1)Prove that...nnis a dense subset ofn.
2)Apply Grah m-Schmidt process to obtain orthonormal sets from
the given (linearly independent) subsets :
a)21, 3 ; 2, 4b)31, 3,1 1, 4,1 0, 2,1 c)31, 2, 3 , 2, 3,1 , 3,1, 2 3)Prove that any n -dimensional real vector space is isomorphic
withn.
4)Prove that any two vector bases innhave equal number of
elements.
5)Give all the details regarding the proof that:0 ,nndgiven by,,dx y x y x yinn, is a metric.
6)Describe a real vector space which is not isomorphic with anyn. (Justify your claim s)
7)Let :, :nm mfg be maps such that fis continuous at
anpand g is continuous offp q. Prove continuity of
:ngof at p.
8)Recall :(i) a multi -index is an ordered n -tuple.12, ,....,n where eachi.
ii)
1niiiii)  121, , ,...,nininixx x x x x 
 iv)A polynomial in the multi -variable12, ,...,nn xx x xis finite
linear combination.:
mpx ax
Prove (a) each monomial :nxis continuous onn.
b)andtherefore each :np is continuous onn.
munotes.in

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2
ORTHOGO NAL TRA NSFORMATIO NS
Unit Structure :
2.0 Introduction
2.1 Linear Transformation
2.2 Algebra of Matrices
2.3 Determinant of a Linear Endomorphism o fn2.4 Trace of an Operator
2.5 Orthogonal Linear Transformations
2.6 The Total Derivative
2.7 Exercises
2.0INTRODUCTIO N
In the preceding chapter, an Euclidean space was introduced
as a mathematical system consisting of the setncarrying three
mutually compatible structures, namely (i) the n -dimensional real
vector space structure, (ii) the inner product giving rise to the metric
topology ofnand (iii) the standard orien tation of it.
In this chapter we will discuss linear transformations between
Euclidean spaces and their properties. In particular, we will come
across the groupnGL(,,GL n GL n are other notations for the
same )consisting of bijective linear self maps of the vector spacen(aself-map is a map of the type :fi.e. a map of a setto
the same set.) Actually we are moving towards a sub -groupnSO(or,,SO n SO netc.) ofnGL; it is the group of
symmetries or the automorphisms of the Eudidean spacen. These
transformations -being symmetries ofn-help us understand the
shapes of geometric objects residing inn: smooth curves, smooth
surfaces, higher dimensional s mooth manifolds…. Also, being
automorphisms of the vector space, they play an important role in
the derivation of many results of differential geometry.
We begin with a recall of basic concepts of linear algebra. (:
linear transformations between Euclidean spaces, their matrix
representation, the algebra of linear transformations and its reflectinmunotes.in

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in the albegra of matrices and so on, reaching finally the groupsSO n). We will say a little more about the forms of the matrices in2SO and3SO .
We will also recall a bit of diffe rential calculus of vector
valued functions:nmfof a multi -variable12, ,....,n xx x x . Recalling the definition of the total derivativeDf pof such afat a pas a linear transformation fromntomwe take the view -point that differentiation of a function at a point
is a process employed to approximate a general (differentiable) map
locally by a linear transformation. This is an important
interpretation, because we can now use all the machinery of linear
algebra to get information about the local behaviour of such afaround a point p of its domain of definition.
Basic result s of differential calculus mentioned in this chapter
and the next one are : the inverse mapping theorem, the implicit
mapping and the rank theorems Picard’s existence / uniqueness
theorem about the solution of an ODE and so on. We state these
results (they go without proof) here in this set of notes because they
are used here and there in differential geometry and therefore, a
student should know at least the precise enunciations of these results.
Detailed proofs of them are equally important and the reader can
consult a suitable analysis book (e.g. one of the text -books by Serg
Lang)
2.1 LI NAR TRA NSFORMATIO NS
Definition 1 :
a)A linear transformation fromntomis a map :
:nnT which satisfies the identity :T ax by aT x bT y
for all,xyinnand for all a, b in.
Occasionally we speak of a linear map instead of a linear
transformation.
b)A linear self map :nnT is called a linear endomorphis m(or
often merely an endomorphism) ofn. It is also said to be an
operato ronn.munotes.in

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c)A bijective linear endomorphism :nnT is said to be a
linear automorphis m(or only an automorphis m) ofnd)A linear map :nT is called a linear form onn.
We adopt the following notations :
,nmLdenotes the set of all linear maps : :nmT .
Endnis the set of all linear endomorphisions :nnT Autnis the set of all linear automorphison s ofn.
*ndenotes the set of all linear forms onnWe note here a few basic properties of linear linear
transformations and their spaces listed above. Most of these
properties are stated here without proof, because they are discussed
routinely in any linear algebra courses. The reason why these
properties are listed here is only to refresh readers memory about the
precise statements and the full import of these properties :
I)If S, T are linear transformations fromntomand if,are
an real numbers then they combine to give a map :
:nmST………………………… ………. (*)
which is given by :ST x S x T  for allnx.
This mapSTis also a linear transformation fromntom.
II)Let,nmLbe the set of all linear transformations fromntom. Then the operation (*) (described above) combining two linear
transformations S, T and two real number,producing the linear
transformationSTis an algebraic operation giving the set,nmLthe structure of a real vector space. Thus, the set,nmLtogether with the operation (*)is a real vecto r space. We
will prove that the dimension of this vector space is m.n.
III)In particular the set*nis a vector space and its dimension is.1 .nnmunotes.in

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We justify this claim by describing a bijective linear map*:nnas follows.
Let*nTbe arbitrary.
For each1ii nwe putiiyT e. We form the vector12, ,.....nyy y y . Now for eachnxwe ha ve :11 2 2
11 2 2
11 2 2, ....
....
......nnnnnnTx Txe x e x exT e xT e x T exy xy xy
xy



Thus, with each*nTis associated anysatisfying.,,nTx x y x .
Clearly this y (associated with the*nT) is unique. We
putOT y. Now we have the map*:nnO. It is easy to
prove that this map()His bijective and linear.
IV) a)If :, :nm mkSTthen0:nkTSis also
linear.
b)If :nnTis bijective linear then its inverse
1:nnTalso is linear .
V)Let12, ,...nff fbe any vector basis ofnand let12, ,.....nvv vbe
any vectors in am. Then there exists a unique linear
:nmThaving the property :1iiTf v i n.
The unique linear T is given as follows :
Let11 2 2 ...nnxx f x f x fbe any vector inn. Then by linearity
of T, we have11 2 2
12 2
11 2 2nnnnnnTx Tx f x f x fxT f x T f x T fxv xv xv
 
munotes.in

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VI) In particular we consider m = n and in place of12, ,...,nff fwe take the standard basis12, ,...,nee eofn.Next for
any pair,1 ,ij ij n, we consider the set12, ,.....,nvv vwhereijveand0ivfor all other1n. By property (V) above, we
get a unique linear :nnijT satisfying.ij k
jTe o i f kiei fk iThus,ij i jTx x efor allnx.
We consider the set:1 ,ijTi j n. It is easy to prove that
this set is linearly independent
1i j ij
ij nTo
only when allijo.
On the other hand we prove that any T is a linear combination
of:1 ,ijTi j n: In fact let1
jnT ei ij ej for i n
. Then
1i j ijij nTT
.
This shows that:1 ,ijTi j nis a a vector basis of
Endnand thus it is a vector space having dimension2n.
VII) Thus, the set Endncarries two kinds of algebraic
operations namely. (a) the vector space op erations and (b) the
composition:nn no End End End    taking a pair S, T toSoT. Note that ‘o’distributes over the vector space operationsSTR S T S R   .
Thus Endnis a real n -dimensional algebra.
VIII) LetnGLbe the set of all linear automorphisms ofn(We
often denote itby,GL nor byGL n.) The setnGLhas the
following properties :
i)nIG L, (I being the identity transformation onn.
ii)If,nT GLthen1nT also GLiii)If S, T are both innGLthennS T GL  munotes.in

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In other words, the system,nGL ois a group. We call it
then-dimensional general linear group .
2.2 ALGEBRA OF MATRICES :
Matrices are computational counterparts of linear
transformations. With each o perator T ofn, we associate square
matrix and the neumerical calculations done on matrices given
information about their predessors.
Recall for any m, n in, a matrix of sizemnis an array
1
1imijjnAaof real numbers arranged in m rows and n columns (the
numbersijabeing placed at the cross -roads of ith row and jth
column:
11 1 1 1
11 1
1
1
12...... ......................... ..................... .......................... .............................. ............, ... .. .......zj n
iz j i n
im ij
jnmm m j m naa a a
aa a a
Aaaa a a

 



        We often write onlyijainstead of1
1imijjnawhenever the
size of the matrix is understood.
We represent a linear :nmTby amnmatrix (T) and
use the latter as a computational device to get informati on of the
linear transformation T.
Recall two matricesijAaandijBbof the same size are
equal A =B if and only ifij ijabholds for all pairs (i, j) -,,Mm ndenot es the set of all real matrices of sizemn.
When m = n, we write,Mnfor the set,,Mn nand the
matrices in it are said to be square matrices (of sizenn.)
The set, Mm nhas the structure of a real vector space : IfijAaijBbare any two matrices and if,areany two realmunotes.in

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numbers, then we defineABas themnmatrixijcCgiven
by :
1, 1ij ij ijcab i mj nThusABis the matrixij ijab  .
For any pair,1 1ij i m j n, letijAbe the matrix :
there being zeros at all places inijAexcept at theijth-place
where we have 1.
It now follows that any matrixijAa,,Mm ncan be
expressed uniquely as the linear combination.ij ijAa Athe sum above extending over all pairsijwith 1imand
1jnand consequently, the vector space, Mm mhas
dimension m.n.
We now recall the multiplication of matrices : for any m,n
and p in, let,,ij Aa M m n,,jk Bb M n p. Then
the matrix,,ik Dd M m pgiven by
1ik ij jkjmda bis defined as
the productDA B(the factors A, B of D in the indicated order).
Note that both, the productsABandBAare defined only
when m = n = p i.e. wh en both A, B are square matrices of the same
size. We pursue this case (i.e. of square matrices) by the following
hands -on account :
The set,Mncarries the following algebraic operations
(all explained above in the more general c ontext) :
Addition of matrices :munotes.in

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24:, ,,Mn Mn MnAB A B  
Multiplication of a matrix by a real number ::, ,,Mn Mn
A 
  
Multiplication of matrices:, , ,,,Mn Mn Mn
AB AB  
The set,Mntogether with the ab ove three algebraic
operations is an2ndimensional associative (real) algebra with
identity (i.e. it is a combination of a2n-dimensional real vector
space and aring with identity.)
Thus, on one hand we have the operator algebra Autnand
on the other hand, we have the algebra,Mnofnnreal
matrices. We proceed to explain below that an orthonomal vector
basis ofnestablishes an isomorphism (of algebras) between the
two.
Thus let12, ,....,nff fF be an orthonormal basis ofn.
Now for anT Endand for each1jfj nwe get the vectorjTfexpressing it as the linear combination :11j ij i
iTf af j n…………………............... (*)
We collect the coefficientsijain (*) above and form the matrixijawhich we den ote by [T] or more accurately byTF.
Thus the orthonormal basis ofngives rise to the map
End,s nMn AA AFWe note the followi ng properties of this map -
i)The map is a bijection betweennEndand,Mnmunotes.in

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ii)The map preserves the algebraic operations on the two sets, that
is,the following equalities hold :
,sij FII being the identity operator onnandijis the
identitynnmatrix :
ST S T
SSST S TThese properties -descri bed in (I) and (II) above -taken
together imply that the map (*) is an isomorphism between the two
algebraic systems.
The third proper -property (III) stated below -is about the
dependence of the matrix representationTFof an opera tor T on the
orthonormal basis:FLet12, ,....,nff fF and12, ,...ngg gG be two
orthonormal bases ofn. If T is any operator onn, then the two
bases asso ciate the matricesTFandTG. We seek a relation
between the two matrix representation. Towards this aim, we
consider the matrixijCCdescribing the change of the vector
basesFGthus for each ,1jj nwe have :
1nj ij iigc fApplying T to this equality, we get

1nj ij iiTg c T f
Now ifijTaFandijTbGthen we have
 
11nnik i k i k i kkkTf a f T g b g  and therefore, we getmunotes.in

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
11
11nn
ej e ij ij
i
nnij ki kikbg c T fca f 



Therefore
11 11nn nnej ke k j ke kek kbc f ca f  that is,kl ej k k ej kkkcb f a c f .
Equating coefficients of eachkf, we get
11nnke ej ke ejcb ac  .
The abo ve equalities are obtained for each pair (k, j) with
1,kj nand therefore, we get the equality of the matrices :ke ej ke ejeecb acthat is, we haveCB AC.
Now note that C is invertible (it being the matrix onnecting
two vector bases,andg) and therefore the last equality implies
1..BCA C
that is :1TC T CGF.
We summarize it in the third property of matrices :
III) For any two orthonormal bases,FGofnand for any operator
T onn, we have :1TC T CGF
Cin above being the matrix of the change of vector bases
fromFtoG.
We use this property crucially in defining the determinant of
an operator T onn.munotes.in

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2.3DETERMI NANT OF A LI NEAR EUDOMORPHISM
OFn:
First we define the determinant of a square matrix and then
extend itto linear endomorphisms.
Recall, first, the permutation group S(n) of set {1,2,….,n}.
Also recall that eachSnhas its signature1, 1.
Definition 3 : For a square matrixijAaof sizenn, the
determinant det(A) is the number  1, 2, , det .......ii n nSnAa a a  

,1..........iiinSna

………………….. (*)
Now we have a functi on :
det :, Mn detAAWe mention (without proof) following three properties of this
function.
1)det (I) =1, I being the identitynnmatrix :ijI2)det det detAB A Bfor any A, B in,Mnand
3)a matrixijAais invertible if an only ifdetAo.
Note that property ( 2) above has the following import ant
consequence : If C is any invertiblennmatrix, then for anynnmatrix A we have the equality :1det detA C AC
In fact we have11
1det det det
det det detC AC C ACCA C 

 
= det Amunotes.in

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We also have 1111 det det detdetIC CCC   and
therefore 11detdetCC. Applying this result we get :11det det det det
detCA C C A CA 

We use the property of determinant of square matrices to
definedetTof an operator T onn.
For an orthonormal basisFwe consider the matrixTFof T
w.r.t.F. Invol ving the formula*above, we consider detTFand
then we observe that this number, thus arrived at, is actually
independent of the vector basisFused (and therefore, it is actually
an attribute of the operator T itself and not that of its matrix
representa tion.) For, if gis any other orthonormal basis ofn, then
we have :1TC T CGFand therefore,1det det
detTC T CT
GF
F
Thus,det detTTFGfor any orthonormal basesFandGofn. We definedetTto be this common value :det det detTT T FG.
Now we have the function :det :nEnd.
This map has the following prop erties
det 1I, I being the identity operator onndet det detST S T for all S T innEnd.
An operator T is invertible if and only ifdetTO.
If T is invert ible, then 11detdetTT.munotes.in

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2.4TRACE OF A NOPERATOR
There is yet another invariant associated with an operator T
onn, namely its trace . Like the determinant of an operator, we
define it first for a square matr ix and then extend it to an operator.
Definition 4 : The trace of a matrixijAa-denoted bytr A-is
given by 
1niiitr A a.
Note that for anyijAa,ijBbwe have
1nik kjkAB a b
and therefore,

11
11:nnik kiik
nnki ikkitr AB a bbatr BA




Thustr AB tr BAfor any A, B in,Mn. We use this
property to definetr Tof an operator T : Choose a ny orthonormal
basisFand considerTr TFas defined above. We claim t hat this
number does not depend on the orthonormal basisF. For, letFandGbe two orthnormal bases with C as the matrix describing
the changeFtoG. Then for any operator T onn, we have1TC T CGF
and therefore,
11,tr T tr C T Ctr T C Ctr T


GF
F
F
This leades us to the definitiontr T tr T Tr TFG.
Now, we have the function:n tr End Two of the, properties of this map are
1)tr I nmunotes.in

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2)tr S T tr T Sfor any, S, T innEnd.
In what is to follow, we will be using only the standard
orthonormal basis12, ,.....,nee eas a convenient choice and
therefore the matrix representationTof T will be u nderstood to be
with respect to the standard orthornormal basis:TT.
2.5ORTHOGO NAL LI NEAR TRA NSFORMATIO NS:
We single out a sub -group of the groupnGL.
Definition : A linear :nnT isorthogonal if it preserves the
inner product.,,Tx Ty x yfor all,xyinn.nOdenotes the set of all orthorgonal :nnT .
Note the fo llowing elementary properties of orthogonal
transformations.
A linear :nnT is orthogonal if and only if it preserves the
Euclidean norm of the vectors.
As an immediate consequence of the above we get that an
orthogonal T is bijecti ve.
T is orthogonal if and only if,i j ijTe T efor all
,, 1 ,ij ij n.
i) The identity map :nI is orthogonal
ii) If T is orthogonal then so is1Tiii) If S, T are orthogonal, th enso isSoT.
Thus, the composition operation : ,ST S o Tbecomes a
binary operation on the setnOin such a way that,nOois a
sub-group ofnGL. We denote this sub -group by the underlying
setnOonly and call it the n-dimensional orthogonal group .
We characterize an orthogonal :nnT in terms of a
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Proposition 1 : A lin ear :nnT is orthogonal if and only if its
matrixATsatisfiestAA I.
Proof : Suppose, T is orthogonal. Then for any pair (i, j) with
1,ij nwe have
,,ij i j i jTe Te ee
Now  
11,nn
ik i k je j
kkTe a e Te a e  and therefore :

11
1
,
,,, ,,nn
ij k i k j
k
ki j k
k
ki j k
k
ki kj
kTe Te a e a eaa e e
aa
aa 







 



Note that
1nki kjkaais the thijentry in the matrix.tAA.Now
the equalities.
11,n
ki kj ij
kaa ij n

1nki kj ijkaa that istAAI.
The proof of the converse is left as an exercise.
We consider the determinant of an orthogonal T. On one
hand1tAAforATand therefore, we getdet 1tAA. But2det det det det det detttA A A product A A A A  .Thus
2det 1Aholds for an orthogonal T with A = det (T). We consider
all orthogonal T withdet 1T.
Let: det 1nnSO T O T   .munotes.in

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Note that because the mapdet :nO is multiplicative,
the setnSOis a sub -group of the groupnO.
Definition : The groupnSOis the n-dimensional special li near
group .
In the next chapter we will define orientations ofnusing
the groupnSO.
2.6THE TOTAL DERIVATIVE :
Letbe an open subset ofn,pa point ofand let
:mfbe any map.
We explain in few words the concept of total derivative of
such a vector valued function of a multi -variable12...n xx x xas a linear transformation ::nmDf p .
Definition 7 :fis differentiable at p if there exists a linear map
:nmT such thatlim
hofph fp T hOhNote that the quantityfph fp T hhis defined for
non-zero but smallnhand the limit being zero indicates thatfph fp T his a quantity of second order smallness in
comparison with the “increment” h. Thus differentiability of f at p is
about approximating the vari ationfph fpoffaround p by
the linear map :nmT .
Recall from analysis that any linear :nmT is continuous
at O (actually at every point ofn). Consequently for af;
differentiable at p;fph fp T h OandTh O
ashOimplies thatfph fp OashOi.e.fis
continuous at p. Thus, the classical result :differentiability of a
function at a point implies continuity of it at the same point -
continues to hold in the present context also.munotes.in

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Next, note that iffis differentiable at a pthen the linear
T appearing in the definition must be unique. To see this consider
two linear maps12,:nmTT satisfying :1
2fph fp ThOh
fph fp ThOh

ashO. Then we get12Th ThOhashO. But this implies12TT. To see this, consider any hon -zero2x. Then for k,
large enough use cons iderxhkso thathOask. Thus
12xxTTkkOx
kaskBut12
12xxTTTx Txkk
x x
k 
Therefore,12
12lim
kxxTTTx Tx kkOx x
k  .
This giv es12Tx Txwheneverxo. But12To To oby the linearity of1Tand2T.Therefore12Tx Txholds for allnxi.e.12TT.
We call the unique T the total derivative offat p and denote
it byDf p. Thus, whenfis differentiable at a point p of its
domain, its tot al derivativeDf pis a linear transformationnmDf p .munotes.in

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We consider the matrixDf pof the total derivative.
Suppose1
1imijjnDf p a. We ask what areija.To answer this we
have
limjtofpt e j fpDf p et .
The ithcomponent of this vector equation islimii
ijtofpt e j fpat
that is i
ij
jfapx. Thus we get i
jfDf p px. In classical
literature this matrix i
jfpxis called the Jacobean matrix of the
total derivativeDf p.
In particular if the mapfis differentiable at every pthen
we get the map:nmDf Lwith the partial derivatives
:i
jf
x.
We say that the map :mfiscontinuously differentiable
onif (i)fis differentiable at every pand if (ii) all the partial
derivatives :1 , 1i
jfim jnx are continuous on.
We will discuss more differential calculus in Chapter 3.
2.7 EXERCISES:
1)Let :nnT be linear. Prove that there exists a constant
Csuch thatTx C xholds for allnx.
Hence or otherwise deduce that any linear :nnT is
continuous at every point ofn.
2)Prove that any linear :nT satisfies,,Ts Ty x yfor
every,xyinnif and only ifTx xfor allnx.munotes.in

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3)LetATfor anT End.Suppose A satisfiestAA I.
Prove that T is ortrogonal.
4)Prove thatnOis a group andnSOis a normal sub -group of
it.
5)Prove thatnSOhas exactly two cosets innO.
6)Provetr ST tr TSholds for all linear S, :nnT .
7)Prove : If :nnT is linear, thenDT p Tfor everynp.
8)Let ,mnbe open sets and lotPbe arbitrary withaf p.
Let :, :fgbe maps such that (i)fis differentiable
at p, (ii) g is differentiable atqf p. Prove thatgofis
differentiable at p and derive :D gof p Dg q Df p.
9)Prove thatnGLis an open subset ofnEnd.
munotes.in

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3
ISOMETRIES OFn,SMOOTH
FUNCTIO NSONnUnit Structure :
3.0 Introduction
3.1 Isometries ofn3.2 Orientations ofn3.3 Smooth Functions
3.4 Basic Theorems of Differential Calculus
3.5 Exercises
3.0 INTRODUCTIO N
Having introduced the groupnOof orthogonal linear
transformation ofn, we discuss a large r group of transformations
of an, namely the group of isometries ofnwhere an isometry ofnis a bijective self map ofnwhich preserves the distance
between its points. First, we derive the basic result describing an
isometry as a rigid motion ofnie.amap which is a composition of
a rotation and a translation inn. We verify that such rigid motions
innform a group.
In the remaining part, we discuss some basic theorems of
differential calculus. We introduce the function spaceCof
smooth real valued functions of a multivariable ranging in an open
subsetofn.
3.1ISOMETRIES OFnDefinition 1 : An isometry ofnis a bijective map
:nnf which preserves distance between any two points ofn:fx fy x yfor all,xyinn.
Here are some simple facts about the isometries ofn:munotes.in

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Every orthogonal linear :nnT is an isometry ofn; for, let,xyinnbe arbitrary. Then we have :,Tx y Tx y x y x yfor all,xyinni.e.,Tx Ty Tx Ty x y x yand therefore :Tx Ty x yfor every,xyinnFor eachnalet :nnaT be the map given byaTx xafor everynx. The bijective mapaTiscalled the
translation map inndetermined by its element a. Clearly, eachaTis an isometry ofn.
If :nnf is an isometry ofnthem its inverse
1:nnfalso is an isometry ofn.
If ,:nnfg are isometries ofn, then so is their
composition :nngf LetnIsobe the set of all isometries ofn. It then follows
that the composition of self maps ofnwhen restricted tonIsobecomes a binary operation onnIsoand the resulting algebraio
system :,0nIso
is a group. It is the group of isometies ofn. It is easy to see that
orthogonal transformations ofnconstitute a sub group of,0nIso. Also the set of all translational maps i.e.:naTa is
also another subgroup of the isometry group.
Now, we obtain a result regarding the structure of an isometry
ofn.
Let :nnf be an isometry.
Let0af. Define :nnR by0Rx f x f for
eachnx. Thus, we have :munotes.in

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38
000
0n
afx fx f f
fx f a
TR x x

 We prove below that :nnR is linear and preserves inner
product ofn(and therefore is an orthogonal transformation ofn).
Now, for any,xyinnwe havefx fy R x R y
and thereforeRx Ry f x f y x y(sincefis
isometry. Thus we have,,Rx Ry Rx Ry x yx yand therefore :,2 , ,Rx Rx Rx Rx Ry Ry 2, ,xx xy yy
i.e. 222,Rx Rx Ry Ry 222xx y yfor all,xyinn………………..(*)
Recall00Rand therefore00 0Rx Rx Rx R x xand similarlyRy y. Using these results, above yields. …………… (*),,Rx Ry xyfor all,xyinn.
We use the id entity (**) to deduce linearly of R as follows.
First, note that (**) implies that:1iTe i nis
orthonormal. Therefore, for any,nxwe have

1,niiiRx Rx Re Re
But again by (**) we have,,ii iRx Re x e xfor eachi1in. Therefore

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for eachnx.
Now for any,xyinnand for any a, b inwe have

1
11n
ii i
i
nnii iiiiR ax by ax by R eax R e by R e
 
 
aR x bR yusing …………………… (***)
This prove linearly of R.Thus we have prove above both :
linearly in (***) a ndinner product preserving property (* *) and
therefore T is orthogonal.
Uniqueness of the decomposition0afTRis left as an
exercise for the reader.
We summarize this result in the following :
Proposition 1 : Every isometry :nnf is expressi ble uniquely
inthe form0afT Rwhere R is an orthogonal transformation ofnandaTis the translation with0af.
3.2ORIE NTATIO NS OFn:
The concept of orientation ofnwas introduced in Chapter 1
in terms of families of orthogonal frames ofn. It was shown thatnhas exactly two orientations. In this chapter we reformulate it
shightly differently so as to involve the groupSO n. We bring
orthonormal bases in place of the orthogonal frames and decompose
the set of all orthonormal bases into two classes, they are
equivalence classes of a c ertain equivalence relation, the later being
introduced in terms of the groupnSO.
To begin with, note that each orthogonal frameFinndetermines and is determined by an orde red orthornormal basis12, ...,nff f, the ithunit vectorifpointing along the ithaxisofF.
Thus there is a 1 -1 correspondance between orthogonal framesFinnand ordered orthonormal vector bases12, ...,nff f. Now we
consider ordered orthonormal bases instead of orthogonal frames to
specify orientations ofn. We make this choice because now we aremunotes.in

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acquainted with the groupnSO,the elements of the group
enabling us to change from one frame to another similarly oriented
frame.
Letdenote the set of all ordered orthonormal vector bases
ofn. We introduce a relationon the setas follows : Let12, ...,nff fand12, ...,ngg gbe any two ordered orthonormal bases.
Then there exists a unique orthogo nal linear :nnT satisfyingiiTf gfor1in. Moreover, we have :det 1Tor-1.
We set :12 12,...., ,....,nnff f g g g if an only ifdet 1T.
Clear ly the relationthus defined is an equivalence relation
on. Therefore it decomposes the setinto disjoint subsets of if
namely the equivalence classes of the relation:
Each equivalence class is said to determine an orientation ofn.
Finally becausedet 1Tor-1 for eachTwe see that
there are two distinct equivalence cl asses and hence two distinct
orientation sofn.
The equivalence class containing the standard basis12, ,.....,nee e.
To describe the other class consider the vector basis12, ,.....,nee e ofn. Let :nnT be the linear transformation
ofnassociated with the change12, ,.....,nee eto12, ,.....,nee e .
Clearly
and thereforedet 1T. Thu s12, ,.....,nee e belongs to the other
equivalence class ie the other orientation ofn. Therefore, we havemunotes.in

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The equivalence class containing12, ,.....,nee e is the
opposite orientation ofn.
The Groups2SOand3SO:
We describe these groups in terms of their matrices.
First the matrices in2SO :
Let12,ffbe any orthonomal basis of2belonging to the
same orientation class of the standard basis12,eeof2.
Letbe the angle between1eand1fwhich is measured
counter -clockwise. Then the matrix of T iscos sinsin cos   .
This shows that2SOconsists of all22:T having
matrix representations : (with respect to the standard basis12,ee:
22 cos , sin:, 2sin , cosSO T O T o          
Next we describe the group3SOby means of the matrix
representationsTof its elements T with respect to the standard
basis123,,eee: We consider T obtained as the resultant21T T oTof
two rotations where (i)1Tis the rotation of the XOY -plane about the
Z-axis through an anglemeasured counter clockwise,2oand (ii)2Tis the rotation of the frame about the Y -axis through an
angle o:
The matrices are :
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33cos cos cos sin sin
:s i n c o s0 :
cos sin sin sin cosSO T O T o                  
3.3SMOOTH FU NCTIO NS:
We return to differential calculus and recall some more
terminology.
Letbe an open subset ofn.
For a :fand for a p, recall that the limits :limi
tofpt e fptare the partial derivatives
1
ifpi nxoffatp.
Suppose the functionfis such that 
ifipxfor1inand
for all pexist. Then we get the functions :
:1
ifinx
from the functionf.
We say that the function :fiscontinuously
differentiable onif (i) 
ifpxexists for each p, each1ii nand (ii) all the function  :1
ifinx are
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431Cdenotes the set of a ll continuously differentiable
function on.
Next, we say that :fis twice continuously
differentiable onif (i)1fCand (ii) foreach 1ii n,
1
ifCx. Iffis twice continuously differentiable, then it
follows that for each,1ij ij nand for each p,
22;ij j iffppxx x x 1,ij n.2Cdenotes the space of all twice continuously
differentiable :f.
Higher order continuously differentiability of :fis
defined inductively : Suppose k times conti nuous differentiability offonis defined. Then we say thatfis1ktimes continuously
differentiable onif (i) 
ifxxexists for each xand (ii) the
functions :
if
xare k times continuously differentiable on.
Iffis k times continuously differentiable onthen it
follows that for any multi -index12, ,...,n with
12 ......nk the mixed partial derivative
 12
12:n
nDf p f pxx x  
        exists for all pand
the resulting funct ion ::;Df p Df p is continuous on.kCis the functions space of all k times continuous
differentiable functions :f. The functions spacekChas
the structure of a commutative ring with identity ;the ring operations
being addition and multiplication of function on.
Now, we have a decreasing sequence of functions spaces :12 kCC Cmunotes.in

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Weconsider the I ntersection ::kCC k .
This space contains non -trivial (= non constant) function : In
fact, we have the following :
a)If12,, ,nis any multi -ndex, then the monomial
12
12 :;nn xx x x x     is inC.
Consequently any polynomial :11 mpx ax
is inC.
b)Given any compact k, openwith KU, there exists afCsatisfying :
i) 1fo n k,
ii) 0fo n U.
Above, we mentioned smooth functions defined on open
subsets ofn. In Chapter 8 we will extend the property of
smoothness to functions defined on open subsets of smooth surfaces.
Also, recall the smoothness of vector valued functions
defined on open subsets ofn. Let :mfbe any vector valued
functions. Let its components be12, ,..... :m ff f thus12, ,.....mfx fx f x f x for all x. Now we declare thatfis smooth if each of1...mffis inCin the above sease.
Moreover, for any multi -index12,, ,nwe define :12, ,......,mDfx Df x Df x Df x    for each x.Dfxis the mixed partial derivative offatx.
3.4 BASIC T HEOREMS OF DIFFERE NTIAL
CALCULUS :
We recall here three of the basic theorems of differential
calculus, namely :
The inverse function theorem ,
The implicit function theorem ,
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Of the three of them the first is an independent result of
fundamental nature and the other theorems are deduced from the
first. Other basic theorems of differential calculus such as Picard’s
theorem (regarding the existence and uniqueness of solution of an
ODE), the Frobaneous theorem and so on will be explai ned in the
latter chapters.
We begin with the first theorem of the above list :
Theorem 1 (The Inverse Function Theorem) :
Letbe an open subset ofn, p a point ofand let
:nfbe a smooth map.
Suppose, the derivative:nnDf p is a linear
isomorphism. Then there exist open subsetsUof,Vofnhaving
thefollowing properties :
i),pU fp Vii)fU Vand
iii) :fUVUis bijective with the inverse1
:fVUU
also
being smooth. (In other words, (iii ) meansfUis adiffcomo rphism
between U and V) .
ncFig. 1 (Inverse Function Theorem)
As explained earlier, the total derivativeDf pis a linear
map approximating the givenfin a neighborhood of p and
therefore, some of the properties of the approximating mapDf pshould reflect back on the local behaviour offaround the poin t p.
The theorem above asserts that indeed, the invertibility of the
approximating linear mapDf pensures local invertibility of the
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A smooth bijective map :fU Vwith1:fVUalso
being smooth is said to be a smooth diffeomorphism between the
sets U and V. Thus, the inverse function theorem asserts that a
smooth map with its deriv ative at a point being invertible isa (local)
diffeomorphim in a neighborhood of that point.
Next, we discuss the implicit function theorem.
Theorem 2 (The Implicit Function Theorem) :
Let,a) ,mnUC VCbe open subsets .(Here we denote a
point of U by12, ,...,mxx x x and a point of V by12, ,...,nyy y y .)
b),:mff x y U V be a smooth map.
c)Suppose, for a point,pa b U Vthe matrix
1,i
ifab i j nyis invertible.
Then there exists an openUwithaUUand a smooth
map:gU Vwhich satisfies
i)ga band
ii),,fx g x fa bfor allxU.
Thus, the theorem asserts that when the condition ( c) is
satisfied, the equationfx y C fa bcan be solved to get the
variable y as a functions (smooth)yg xsatisfying the additional
proviso :bg a.
This result has applications everywhere in differential
geometry ;we explain here only a small aspect of it:
We are given a smooth function
:f,being an open subset of3. For a dwe consider the set,, : ,,Mx y z f x y z d  . If not empty, then such aMM dis often called a level set of the function through the
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We consider a non -empty level setMdof the functionfsatisfying the additional condition :
,, 0fxyzz
for all,,xyz M d. Then for any,,abc M dthe implicit
function theorem asse rts that there exists an open2Ucwith,ab Uand smooth map :gUwith,ga b csatisfying,, ,fx y g x y don U .
In other words a part of the level setMdcontaining a
given,,pa b cis the graph of a smooth function g and therefore it
looks like a surface. This observation is used very often in studying
local properties of smooth surfaces.
Finally, we describe the rank theorem.
First recall that a matrix (of sizemn) has rank k if the
matrix contains an invertible sub -matrix of sizekkand has no
invertible sub -matrix of size larger thankk.
Now, the theorem :
Theorem : (The Rank Theorem) :
Let :nfbe a smooth map -being an open subset ofm, the mapfhaving the property thatrk Df p kfor every
p.Then for every pthere exist :
i)an openmUcwith 0Uii)an opennVcwithfp Viii)a diffeomorphism:gU gUwith0gpiv)a diffeomorphism:nhV hV Such that the map
:nhfg U  is given by
 12 12...., ...., , .....mk
nkhfg x x x x x xo o     for all12....,mxx x U.munotes.in

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3.5 EXERCISES :
1)Check if each of the following33:T is an isometry and then
express each of the T in the formaTRin case T is an isometry :
i) 23 32,, 2 , 4 , 313 13 13 13yz yzTx y z x   ii) 33,, 5 , 2 , 422 2 2xzTx y z z y x     iii),, 4 5 , 4 3 , 5Tx y z x y z x y z
iv) 27,, ,33xzTx y z y    2)Let1, fC p(being an open subset ofn)
Prove :
a)  
21n
ifDf p u u pxi  for allnub)Df p v w Df p v Df p w   
3)If2fCthen prove that for every p,2Df pis a
symmetric bilinear form.
4)i)Construct a smooth map:0 1fsuch that1fxif1x0if2xii)Using the mapfof (i), construct a smooth2:0 , 1g such that10 1g on B200 , 4on Bmunotes.in

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4
SMOOTH CURVES
Unit Structure :
4.0 Introduction
4.1 Smooth Curves .
4.2 Curvature and Torsion of Frenet Curves .
4.3 Serret Frenet Formulae .
4.4 Signed Curvature of a Plain Curve .
4.5 Exercises
4.0 INTRODUCTIO N
In this unit (consisting of this chapter and the next, two) we
study the geometry of smoothly parametrized space curves. (After
discussing such curves, we will give indic ations of the geometry of
curves in higher dimensional E uclidean spaces also) .In this chapter
we begin with basic geometric features of ja smoothly prametrized
space curve, its reparametrization, its unit speed versio n, a moving
orthonormal frame along i t and so on.
Actually, we will consider a smaller class of curves consisting
of Frenet curves and explain how differentiation leades us to
geometric features of such curves. In particular. We introduce the
concepts of curvature and torsion of a curve whi ch are smooth
functions defined along a Frenet curve. Explaining their geometric
significance, we proceed to derive the basic equations -theSerret -
Frenet equations -associated with such curves. It is the central result
of the theory of Frenet curves t hat the two functions curvature and
torsion functions -of a curve determine the curve uniquely to within
an isometry of3. We derive this important result -the fundamental
theorem of curves -using Picard’s existence / uniquenes s theorem of
solutions of ODE .
Throughout, we are considering curves which are smooth (=
infinitely differentiable) This assumption (infinite differentaibility of
curves) is superfluous, for ,we are using only thrice continuous
differentiability of the p arametrized curves. We have adopted here
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basic theory. But on the other hand if a curve is not as much as thrice
continuously differentiable, then some of the tools of differential
calculus may not be applicable .
4.1 SMOOTH CURVES.
In this chapter, I, J, K denote intervals
Definition: A smooth curve is a smooth map3c:IThe curve is said to be parametrized by the independent
variable sof the map .sis the pa rameter of the curve and for a
0sIthe point c0(s )of the curve is said to have the parametric
value0s.
The set{c (s):s I}is called the trace of the curve c.
For e achsI ,writing the pointc( s )in terms of its Cartesian
coordinates:123cs ( x ( s ) , x ( s ) , x ( s ) )we get the real valued
function:
12 3x: I , x: I ,x: I  Note that the curve3c:Iis smooth if and only if the
function1, 2 3x, x, x :I Rare smooth .
Let now:J Ibe a smooth, strictly monotonic increasing,
bijective function. The curve cand the functioncombine to get yet
anoth er curve:3cc 0: JDefinition 2: The curve3c:Jis said to be a reparamentrization
of the curve3c:IIfrJis the variable raging in J, then we speak ofras the
new parameter andthe reparametrizing map.
For the curve3c:I, we write cs
for2
2dc s d c s,c s for etc.dt dsmunotes.in

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Note that 123dx s dx s dx scs , ,ds ds ds   222
123
222dx s dx s dx sc( S ) , , etc.ds ds ds   
 
Definition 3:3c:Iis said to be (i) regular ifcs 0for allsIand (ii) a Frenet curve ifcsandcsare linear ly
independent.
We will consider only smooth Frenet curves.
Definition 4: A Frenet curve is said to be a unit speed curve ifc s 1.Below, we show that a Frenet curve can be reparmetrized so
as to make it a unit speed curve .
Let3c:Ibe a Frenet curve .
For an arbitrary chosen0sIwe consider the integral :

0s
s( s ) c x dr s I sis the (signed) length of the segment of the curve clying
between the poi nts0c s and c sof it. Note the following
s0if0ssands0if0ss d( s )cs 0ds for allsI(by the regu larity assumption on c)
and therefore the functionssis a strictly monotonic
increasing function on its domain intervalI.
The mapssbeing continuous ,its range -we denote it byJis an interval .Now we have the function ::I Jwhich is strictly monotonic increasing and bijcetive function
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We consider the inverse function1:J I;We denote it by.Thus we get the strictly monotonic increasing, smooth map:J Iwhich is bijection between the indicted intervals .
We useto reparametrize the given curve :3cc : J Finally, we have: For anyrJdc (r)c( r )drdc sdsds dr
csdrdscscs


and thereforedc r c s1dr c s
for allrJ ,that is, the
reparametrized curve3c:J is a unit speed curve. Thus, a regular
curve when re -parametrized by its ar e-length becomes a unit speed
curve .
Note that we can regain the o riginal curve cfrom its unit
speed versionc:10cC .Therefore, we introduce many of the geometric aspects of the
given curve cin terms of those of its unit speed version. Also. note
thatcand its ( unit speed ) reparametrizationc, both have the same
trace.
Let us discuss a few simple examples of smooth curves, some
of which are Frenet curves while some of them are not.
The curve3c: given by234Cs s, s, s forsis
smooth but fails to be regula r atC 0 0,0,0.It is regularmunotes.in

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when restricted to any intervalInot containing0. In factc/Iis a Frenet curve for such aI.
Let3c:(0 , ) be the curve given by
2
3/2 s2 2cs s , , s s 023     
Then we have 1/2cs 1 , s , 2 s , 
1c s 0,1,2s
Clearlycsandcsare linearly independent (i.e. non -
parallel) vectors for everycsand consequentlycis a Frenet curve.
Measuring are length from theC(0 )end, we get

0
0
2s C u du
(1 u )du
s2s s 02


 
Puttingsr(1sin the above nota tion) we get :
s2 r 1 1 r 0Therefore, the re -parametrization usingras the new
parameter gives the curve3c: 0 ,  3/222cr 2 r 1 1 , r 1 2 r 1 , 2 r 1 13      forr0.
We consider a planar curve called the exponential spiral.Its
the curve2c: given byssc s e cos s,e sin s ,smunotes.in

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Fig. 1. The Exponential Spiral
Note that ssc s e cos s sin s , e cos s sin s   givingscs 2e.Therefore cis a regular, but not a unit speed curve.
Moreover, we have
ssc s 2 e sin s,2 ecos s   
Thus, in fact cis a Frenet curve.
To reparametrize itwith respect to its are length we consider
its signal arc length function. Taki ngc 0 1,0as the reference
point, we obtain the (signed) length function given by

0
s
r
0
sr s c dr2e dr2e 2

This givesrs log 12and therefore, the reparametrization
of the exponential spiral :
rs ssc( r ) 1 coslog 1 , 1 sin log 122 22    
The Cycloide :
A wheel of radius a is rolling on the ( horizontalXa x i sof a
verticalXOY plane, moving with constant velocity. Then a
pointPheld fix o n the wheel rim traces a curve. This curve is called
a cycloide. Its parametric representation ( Parametrized by the timet) is
wtc( t ) wt a cos wt,a a sin ,ta    munotes.in

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It is not a unit speed curve It is left as an exercise for the
reader to reparametrize it so as to get a unit speed curve.
Fig. Cycloide
The Elliptical Helix :
It is a curve which climbs up an elliptical cylinder with cross
section
2 2
2
22x x1a babChoosing yet another constantC0We ge t the curve.3c: c( t ) ( a cos t ,b sin t ,c.t ), t .The resulting curve is a Frenet curve The reader is invited to
verify this fact and to reparametrize it so as to get a unit speed curve.
4.2 CURVATURE A ND TORSIO NOF FRE NET CURVES
Let3c:I Rbe a Frenet curve, its parameter being denoted
bysI. As explained in the preceding section, we assume without
loss of generally that it a unit speed curve.
We use the notations:csfordc sdscsfor2
2dcsdscsfor3
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Puttingˆts cs,we get the tangential vector having unit
length. Moreoverts cs 0and is not parallel totsIn fact,
0i( s ) t ( s ) ;for, differentiating the identity.
=1We get 2 <ts, ts>=0and therefore, indeedts ts.Again usingts cs 0we introduce
i) csnscsand
ii)bs ts ns.
Now we get anorthonormal triadets, ns, bsof vectors
located at the pointcsofc.We call
tstheunit tangent tocatcsnstheprincipal normal tocatcsbsthebinormal tocatcsthe ordered triplets, ns, bsis called the Serret -Frenet
frame or the principal triade tocatcs(Often the Serret -
Frenet frame is referred to as the Frenet Frame. and the scalarks csis the curvature of the curve at the pointcs.
At a later stage we will associate one mo re scalar called the torsion
ofcatcsand denote itbys; it quanti fies the twisting of the
curvecat the pointcs.scsbstsc
Fig. 3 : The Principle Triadets, ns, bs
We proceed to explain how the scalarks 0describes the
bending of the curveCat its pointcs.munotes.in

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Fix arbitraril y a point say0cs pofc. Take two more
points1csand2cson the curve (without loss of generality,
assume that10 2sss.) We now prove the following
Proposition 2: suppose0k s 0.If12ssare near enough to0sthen012cs , cs , csare non -collinear (and therefore there is a
unique circle passing thought them.)
Proof: (By contradiction)
Under contrary assumption, suppose we can choose
parametric values12ssarbitrary near to0ssuch that the points102cs , cs , csare collinear. Now, because the (smoot h) curvecis
bending continuously, there exist parametric values12rrwith11 02 2srsrssuch that the tangent vectors12c( r ) c( r )are both
parallel to the line L.(The geometric situation is as in Fig.4 below. )
Fig. 4
Recall,1c( r )and2c( r )are both unit victors and therefore,
their being parallel to the lineLimplies their equality:
12c( r ) c( r )or equivalently put:21
21cr cr0rr…………………………… (*)
Recall,12ssare arbitrarily near to0s; we make12ssboth
approach0sindefinitely. T hen10 20rs , rsand therefore the
equation()in the limit becomes
10
2012 11
rs
21 rsc( r ) r c( r ) rlim 0rr
  munotes.in

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But, the above limit is0cs ,Thus0cs 0Thus, we have
arrived at a con tradiction to the assumption0cs 0Therefore, indeed, when12s, sare near enough to0sthe three
points01 2cs , cs , cs are non -collinearWe c onsider the circle determined by the (Non -collinear) points01 2cs , cs , cs ; let it be denoted by0, 1 2Sss , sand its centre by0, 1 2Dss , s.
We prove below that the circle0, 1 2Sss , stakes a lim iting
position in the plane through0cscontaining0tsand0ns.
Clearly the limiting circle is the best curve reflecting the bending of
the curvecat its point0cs(The circles0, 1 2Sss , sapproximate c
around the point0csand the approximation improves as12 0ss s.
It turns out that radius of this limiting circle is01ks.We prove this
result in the following proposition
Proposition 3:
The circle0, 1 2Sss , s Stakes a limiting position in the plane
through0cscontaining0ts,0nsand its radius is01ks.
Proof: Let012DD s , s , s be the centre of the circleS.For a fixed
pair12s, sinI(near enough to0s) we consider the function:
f: Igiven byf(s) c s D ,c s DBecause the circleSpasses through0Cs,1C( s )and2Cs,
we geto12fs fs fsmunotes.in

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Applying mean value theorem of differential calculate toif s f s , i 0,1,2,we get12rrin I with11 02 2srsrssuch
that12f(r ) f(r )……………………………………….. (*)
Application of the same theorem tofwith()gives
3rIwith132rrrsuch that
3f(r ) 0……………………………………………. (**)
We take limit of()and()as12 0s, s sand consequently123 0r, r, r sThis gives00fs 0 fs But, we have:
0
00ss
ss
00xsfs l i m fs
lim 2 c s ; c s D2c s c s l i m D

 

This gives:00x0cs cs l i m D 0……………… ……… (***)
Next differentiation offstwice gives:fs 2 c s , c s D 2 c s , c s =2c s , c s D 2 Therefore:00f ( s )0sslim{ 2 c s ,c s D 2 }This gives00
01n( s ),c( s ) lim Dks…………………. ( ****)
Above, we have been writinglim Dfor the limitmunotes.in

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10
20012ss
sslim D( s ,s ,s )

Thus, from()we get:
(a) the pointlim Dlies on the line through0csand going
perpendicular to the vector0ts(equivalently putlim Dis a point
lying on the line through0csand extending in the direction of0nsFrom****we get:
(b) 001cs l i m Dks.
The observations (a), and (b) above give:
000nslim D c sks.
Therefore the circle012Ss , s , sindeed takes a limiting
position, lying i n the plane through0csparallel to00t s and n sin
such a way that its centre is 0o0nscsks. See Fig. 5 below:
Fig. 5
We call the limiting circle the osculating circle of the given curvecat its point0cs.munotes.in

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Here is some more terminology.
The plane throughcsspanned bytsandnsis the
osculating plane ofcat its pointcs.
The plane throughcsspanned bynsandbsis the
normal plane tocat its pointcs.
the plane throughcsspanned bytsandbsisthe plane
rectifying plane ofcatCs.
Thus, we have obtained above that to within s econd order of
approximation, the curve seems to live within its osculating plane atcsand is approximately a circle -the osculating circle atcs-and
having radius1ks.
Note one m ore geometric fact: the bino rmal maintains its
perpendicularity to the osculating plane as we move along the curve.
Therefore the mapsb sdescribes the movement of the binormal
as its foo ttraces the curvecwhile the foot moves forward, the
vectorbsrotates about the tangent line as its axis of rotation; in
other words it describes the twist in the curve We are interested in
the rate of twist -the rotation of the vectorbs.we denote the rate
of rotation ofbsbysand call it the torsion of the curvecat
the pointcs.
4.3THE SERRET -FRENET FORMULAE :
Inthe last section, we singled out a class of regular curves
which we called the Frenet curves and associated with such a3c:Ithe geometric objects namely
(i) a moving orthonormal framest s , n s , b s , s I and
ii) The two functions:k:I 0 ,c:Imunotes.in

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describing the bending and twisting of the curves .We now derive
differential equations in the vector fieldsst s , sn s ,sb s ,which rolate all the qu antities described in (i) and (ii)
above.
We already have:ts k ( s ) ns, s I Next, we havens 1i.e.s, ns 1. Differentiating this
identity we get.ns, ns 0 Therefore the vectornsis expressible as a linear
combination ofts, bs(Here we are using the facts thatts, ns, bs is an orthonormal vector basis and the vectorshas no component alongn( s )as derived above) We get.n( s )=sts sbs……………………… (*)
for some smooth functions,: I ;we find these functions .
Taking inner product of the identity()withts,we getns, ts s ts, ts s ts, bss . I s .0 i.e n s ,t s s ……………………………. (* *)
On the other hand, differentiating the identityns, ts 0givess, ts s, ts 0Therefores, ts s, ksns 0 i . ens, ts ksns, ns 0and thereforens, ts ks……………………….. (***)
Now,and()givens, ts ks.Finally combining
this identity withyields :ns ksts sbsmunotes.in

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Recall, we have introduced the functiontsas the function
describing the rotation of the unit vectorbsabout the vectortsas
its axis of rotation. Consequently we have the equation :bs tsns(the negative sign being introduced as a rotational convenience) .On
the other hand, differentiation of the identityns, bs 0givesnsbs ns, bs 0 i.e.nsbs ns, sns………………………. ( ****)
i.ensbs ts……………………………… ( ****)
Again taking inner product of the equationns ksts tsbswithbsgives,;ns bs psthus by (*** *) above we getss. This gives :ns ksts tsbsThus, we have obtained the triple of ODE
ts ksnsns ksts tsbsbs tsns
These equations are often written in the matrix form
 

ts 0 ks 0 tsdns ks 0 s nsdsbs 0 ts 0 bs      These eq uations are called the Serret -Frenet equations of a
(Frenet) curve.
Thus associated with a Frenet curve is a pair of scalar valued
functions, defined along the curve namely the curvaturekand the
torsiont. In Chapter 6: we will prove that these two functions
together determine the curve uniquely to within a rigid motion of the
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4.4SIGNED CURVATURE FOR A PLAI NCURVE :
For a curve living in a plain the binormalbsremains a
constant unit vector, namely one of the two unit vectors which are
perpendicular to the plain in which the curve is situated
Consequently the third of the Serret -Frenet equations givest0 .Onthe other hand we can make use of the standard (counter
clockwise) orientation of the plane to refine the (blunt) non -negative
curvature function and make it a function taking both non -negative/
negative values. We ascribe a signature toksas follows We
repla ce the principal normalnsby the vectorˆns(say) which is
obtained by rotatingts(about its footcsthrough2the rotation
being anticlockwise (It is here that we are using the standard
orientation of2) Now, we obtain the signed curvatureksofcatcsby using the defining equation:cs ksns
Fig. 6
For example, the curve2cs ( s , s) shas positive curvature
while the curve2ˆcs ( s , s) , shas negative curvature .
In passing, note the following simple fact :Identify the plane
with the complex plane.Then rotation of vectors anti -clockwise
through the angle2corresponds to multiplication of the vector (as a
complex number) by the imaginary unit i. This co nsideration leads to
the definition of the signed curvature:
dts ksi ts.dxmunotes.in

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4.5 EXERCISES :
1)Obtain principle triade of the curves given below at the indicated
points.
a)23,,cs s s s at1,1,1b)4cos , 4sin ,3cs s s s at4,0,0c)2,4 ,scs e s e at1, 0,12)Reparametrize the following curves soas to get unit speed
curves.
a)22 3,2 ,3 0cs s s s s at1,1,1b)os 2 , sin 2 ,0sscs e c s e s sc)4, 2 ,3 ,cs s s s3)Verify that the curve3:c given by
32 1cos 2 , cos 2 , sin 2 1 ,10 5 2cs s s s s    is a unit speed curve
and obtain the curvature and torsion function of it.
4)Let33:L be an isometry of3and let3:cIbe a Frenet
curve.
Prove :
i)Locis also a Frenet curve
ii)both, c, Lochave the same curvature and torsion functio ns.
5)Suppose the curve3:c has non -vanishing curvature. Prove
that if all osculating planes of cpass through a fixed point, then c
is a plane curve.
6)Calculate the signed curvature function the curves :
i)2,,cs s s s O ii)2,,cs s s s O

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5
CURVATURE A ND TORSIO N
Unit Structure :
5.0 Introduction
5.1 Curvature and Torsion Functions
5.2 Signed Curvature of aPlane Curve
5.3 Elementary Properties of Curvature and Torsion
5.4 Exercises
5.0 INTRODUCTIO N
In the last chapter we co nsidered smooth Frenet curves and
defined the curvature and torsion functions of such curves. In
defining these terms, we used the unit speed kind of
paramentrization of the curves in an essential way (for example, we
were using the unit length property of the tangent vectorcsin
getting the perpendicularityts ns.) However, curves are
seldom in the unit speed parametrized form. We therefore need
develop equations to calculate these quantities applicable even when
the curves of our interest are arbitrarily parametrized (regular Frenet)
curves.
In this chapter, we develop the desired formulae for the
Frenet curves and then we proceed to study the geometry of such
curves in terms of the curvature and tersion f unctions.
5.1 CURVATURE A ND TORSIO NFUNCTIO NS:
Let3c:Ibe an arbitrarily parametrized regular Frenet
curve; its parameter being denoted byrI. Besides r, we need
consider the natural are -length (and hen ce unit speed)
parametrization for a while. Thus, we consider3c:J the are -
length parameter manifestation of c, the are -length parameter, as
usual, being denoted by sand the reparametrization map being:I J: r swhereis strictly monotonic increasing bijetive
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will denote differentiation w.r.t. r by a dot “.” e.g. dc rcrdr   
while we will use the derivativ e notationdc sdsfor the are length
parametrization. Now the relations between the two parametrizations
are :cr c rcsr

Where we are writingSrforr
In terms of these notations, we have :cr csr
dcr csr srds
tr sr................................................ (*)
2 dcr tssr srtsds   
2kssr ns srts  
....................... (**)



33
3dcr kssr ns kssr nsds2s r s r k s n s s r t s s r s r k s n sdkssr ns kssr ksns 7sbsds2S r s r k s n s s r t s s r s r k s n s 
  
          
  
 
  
This 33 3 dk scr sr ts sr ks sr 3 srs ksds         
ns ks tsSrbs
............................................ (***)
Farming cross product of (*) and (**) we get :
32cr cr sr ksts ns sr ts ts     
3sr ksbs 0 
........................ (4*)
And therefore 3cr cr sr ksr bs  
3sr ks 1 munotes.in

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Which gives 
3cr crkr ksr
cr
  

Next, taking inner product of (***) with (4*) we get :


6 266cr cr, cr k rtssr
cr crts crcr 

 
 


Using the above obtained expression for kr ksr . Thus we
get : 
2cr cr, crtr
cr cr

 
 
(Above we have adapted the notationkrfor ksr .
Thus we have proved the following :
Proposition 1 : The curvature and torsion functions.k:I 0 , , t:I for a regular Frenet curve3c:Iare given by :

3cr crkr
cr
 

And 
2cr cr, crtr
cr cr

 
 
=
2det c r ,c r ,c rcr cr 
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(In the above determinant notation :det c t ,c t ,c tthe vectorscr, cr, c rare in the columns of the matrixcr, cr, c r  .
An Illustrative Example : Obtain the curvature and torsion
functions for the circular helix :c r a cos r,a sin r,br ;raandbbeing both non -zero
constants.
Solution : We have :
 
 c r a sin r,a cos r,bc r a cos r, a sin r,o


And  c r a sin r, a cos r,o
Therefore  2c r c r ab sin r, abcos r,a , c r ,c r ,c r   22 2 2 2ab s i n r ab c o s r 0 . a  2ab

222cr cr a 1bba 1 
And 22cr a b
. This gives :
23222ba 1kr
ab
and 
2 2
22 22ab 1 atr
ba 1 ba 1 
 
Here is another Illustrate Example :
Calculatek,tof the space curve :r2cr e, r , r , r .
Solution : We have :r2cr e, r , r
And therefore rc r e ,1,2rmunotes.in

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rc r e ,0,2
And rc r e ,0,0
This gives : 12 3r
reeec r c r det e 1 2re02      rr2,e 2r 1 , 2e
And therefore  2r 2cr e 4 r 1
 2r 2cr cr e 4 r 8 r 5 4    
And 2rcr, cr, cr e
These equalities give :


 
 3
2r 2
32r 2 2cr cr
kr
cre4 r8 r 54e4 r 1
  
 



 3
2r
2r 2cr cr, crtr
cr cr
e
e4 r 1



 
 
5.2 SIG NED CURVATURE OF A PLA NEC U R V E:
The concept of signed curvature of a plane curve was
introduced in Chapter 4. Here we tarry a while to explain a little
more about the u nderlying heuristics formula for the same of a
planar, regular but arbitrarily paramethrized Frenet curve.
Thus, let2c:Ibe a Frenet curve, its parameter being
denoted by r. we consider its unit speed parametrization also, the
associated unit speed parameter being (as usual)SS r. In ordermunotes.in

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to employ as few notations as possible, we write both the
parametrizations of the curve by the same symbolc:c r c rin
the sense cr cSr cS  being the unit speed version ofcrandSS rbeing the unit speed parametrization map. With
this notational understanding in mind, we writetrfortsr nrfornsrand so on.
Now returning to the signed curvature we recall that we were
considering rotation of the unit tangenttrabout the pointcrthrough the angle2and thus getting tr. See the figure below:
Thus, at the pointcrof the curve c, we have the two unit
vectorsnrand tr. Clearly we have either tr nras indicated
in part (a) of the figure or tr nras shown in part (b).
Now, let us note the difference between the earlier (rather
blunt) case of the non -negative curvatureksand that of the
present signed curvatureks.
In definingkswe comparedcswith the principal normalns:
cs ksns
.................................... ........... (*)
While introducing the signed curvaturekswe are comparing cs
with ts:munotes.in

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cs
=ksts........ ....................................... (**)
thus arriving at the definition of signed curvatureksofcat the
pointcs. Consequently in view of the above observation
ns ts(as illustr ated in cases (a), (b) above) the equations (*)
and (**) give two possibilities :ks ks.
Now a few words about the notations : As mentioned above,
we are desirous of using as few notations as possible. Above, we
introduced the notat ionksfor the signed curvature besides the
earlierks. However, in a plane we will be considering the signed
curvature only and as such the two notations :ksandksare
superflows. We therefore abandonksand revert to the old notationksthrough we are dealing with the signed curvature. Thus from
now-onwardsksstands for the signed cu rvature of a planar curve
while in3it is the old non -negative curvature. (Also, we continue
with the practice of denoting by a dot : “.” differentiation with
respect to the given parameter, whileddsis the differentiation with
respect to the natural are length s of the curve). Now we write the
vector equation2
wdcskstsdsin terms of its components.


2
22
2
2
1 2
22
1dcsts
dsks
dc sts
ds
dcsdsksdcsdsEquivalently, put, we have the pair2
12
2
2
21
2d c s dc sksds ds.......d c s dc sksds ds 
munotes.in

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The pairexpressed in terms of the given parameters takes
the form :
a)  2 2
11 22dr d r drcr cr k r cr ,ds ds ds    
b)  2 2
22 22dr d r drcr cr k r crds ds ds    
.
Multiplying (a) by 2cr
and (b) by 1cr
gives :
c)  2 2
2
12 1 2 22dr d r drcr cr cr cr k r crds ds ds      
d)  2 2
2
21 1 2 12dr d r drcr cr cr cr k r crds ds ds      
.
Subtract of (c) from (d) gives :
 2
22
12 21 1 2dr drcr cr cr cr k rcr crds ds                 
and
therefore :
2212 21 1 2drcr cr cr cr k rcr crds                 
;which
in turn gives :

12
3det c r ,c rkrdr
ds 
  
 
This is the desired formula for the signed curvaturekrof
the planer curve.
Note one more aspect of the signed curvature namely the
general non -negative curvature given by 
3cr crkr
cr
 

involves differentiation of the curve only but the singed curvaturemunotes.in

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
3det c r ,c rkr
cr   
is not only terms of the derivatives cr, cr
of c, but it takes into consideration the anti -clockwise orientation of
the ambiant space2in a crucial way! For de fining the signed
curvature, we were considering the anticlockwise rotation of the unit
tangenttr.Had we chosen to rotate it in the clockwise manner,
the curvature could have changed its sign!
Let us consider two simple example s of curves and calculate
their signed curvature functions.
(I)2c: is given by the graph of the cosine curve :c r r,cos r.
Then we have (i) c r 1,sin r
(ii) 2cr 1 s i nr
(iii)c r 0, cos r
Now 10det c r ,c r det cos rsin r cos r          
and
therefore the (signed) curvature of this curve is 
322cos rkr1 sin r
.
II)2c: is given byrrc r e cos r,e sin r .
Then we have (i)     rrc r e cos r sin r ,e sin r cos r 
(ii) rcr 2 e
(iii)  rrc r 2e sin r,2e cos r
Therefore
 rr
rre cos r sin r 2e sin rdet c r ,c r dete cos r sin r 2e cos r        2r2e.
Therefore 2r3r r2e 1kr22 e 2 . e...............................munotes.in

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5.3 ELEME NTARY PROPERTIES OF CURVATURE
AND TORSIO N
Here is another description of the curvature of a space curve:
The curvature of a curve at a point of it measures angle variation of
the tangent vector per unit length of the are. To be more precise, we
have the following :
Proposition 2 : The curvaturekpofcat a point pof it is given bykp=qplimp,awhere qis a point on cwithqp ,p , qis
the length of the are of cbetween its points p,qandis the angle
between the tangents at pandq.
Proof : The angleis obtained by using the formula for the angle
in an isoscelese triangle :tq tpsin22 
Therefore qp 0 02s i n22lim lim limp,a sinQ 2 p,q   
  


0
0tp tp1l i m
cp cp
lim
cp
kp





 





Definition 5.1 :A regular curve having the property that the tangent
lines at all points of which make a constant a ngle with a fixed
direction is called a slope line .munotes.in

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Proposition 3 : (Lancert’s Theorem) aFrennet Curve isa slope line
if and only if the quotienttsksis constant.
Proof : First, suppose that there exists a constant unit vector e(the
direction) such thatts, eis the same for all s. Then we have
dts, e 0ds.
i.e.ks, ns, e 0andks 0for all simpliesns, e 0.
Differentiating this e quation we getks, ts tsbs, e 0  ;
which gives :bs, ets
ksks, e .......................................... (*)
Now, the above observation thatns efor all simplies that
the vector e remains in the rectifying planes. Combining this
observation with the assumption thatts, econstant implies thatbs, ealso is constant. Now (*) above gives constancy of the
functiontsrks.
Conversely suppose,tsksis independent of sand consider
the vector tsas bs tsks . Differentiation of the functionssa sgives.

dv s t stsns ksnsds k s0 and thusas afor a constant vector. The constancy of aand that
oftsksnow implies that the tangent vectors make constant angle
with the vector a and therefore, the curve is a slope line.
Proposition 4 : A Frennet curve3c:J lies on a sphere of radiusR0if and only if its curvature and torsion functionsk,t, satisfy the
identitymunotes.in

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
222 2ks 1Rks ks ts     
Proof : First, suppose that the curve clies on the sphere of radiuscentred at 0. Then we have :2cs 0 , cs 0 R.
Differentiating this identity w.r.t. s, we get2ts, cs 0.
The above identity implies thatcsliesinthe normal plane :cs s s sts and 22cs Rgives
222ss R.
Differentiating the identityts, cs 0givesks ns, cs ts, ts 0i.e.ks ns, s s sbs 1 0 which gives
1sks.................. ............................................. (*)
Next, differentiating the identityks ns, cs 1 0gives1ksn s , c s k s k s t s t s b s , c s 0  . Which gives1ks s k s t s ,s 0 and therefore we get
1
2kssks ts .................. ..................................... (**)
These values ofs, ssubstituted in the equation
222ssgives :

2122 2ks 1Rks t s ks     .
Conversely, suppose the above equation is satisfied.
Differentiating it, we get :11 1
3 22xk s zk s k s d0k s s ds k s s ks         .munotes.in

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This gives1
2ts k s dk s ds k s t s    .
Next, consider the vector 1
2sk sas cs bsks k sts .
Differenting it, we get :

  



2
22ksts tsbsksnsas tsks k sks kstsnsdbsdsks ts ks ts0 
 
 
   
 

 
Thus, dcs 0dsand thereforeasis a constant vector, sayas aand then we get :
2sk sac s b sks ks s 
.
This gives : 

22
2 2ks 1cs aks sks    
.
But, by assumption, we have

2222ks 1Rks ks s 
    
therefore, we get 22cs a Ri.e. the curve lies on the sphere
centred at aand having radiusR.
Proposition 5 : Letcbe a closed plane curve.
Then the integral 
C1k s ds2is an integer.
Proof : We identify2with.
Also, we recall an elementary result of complex analysis. For
anyzx, e 1if and only ifz2 i mfor some m.
Definef:0 , L \0by pu ttingmunotes.in

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 s
0f s exp k r dr ; s 0 L 
(Here L is the length of the curve c)
Also, we consider the mapg: 0 , L given by
tsgs , s 0 , Lfs. Then we have,
2gs ts f s f sts f s     
Then we get



2
2ts f s f stsgs
fsik s t s f s ik s f s t sfs
 
(Above we are dealing with the signed curvature of c and
therefore fs k s t s k s i t s i k s t s 0   .
Therefore g is a constant function. In particular,g0 gL
that is :t0 tLf0 fL. Now because c is a closed cu rve, we have0tt Lwhich in view of the last equality givesf0 fL.
Butf0 1and therefore we getfL 1i.e. 2
0exp i k r dr 1.
Therefore, by the above quoted r esult, we get L
Oi k r dr 2 imfor
some integer m. This gives
L
01krd r m2.
Lastly, we prove the following result (which is of
considerable technical importance in geometry / analysis).
Lemma : LetQ: ab be a continuously differentiable function.
Suppose the functionf:a , b given byfs e x p i Q s s a , b satisfies :fa 1andfb 1. Then
b
af r dr
and the inequality b ecomes equality if and only if it is
monotonic andQb Qa.munotes.in

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Proof : We have : fs i Q sfs
and therefore :


bb
aa
b
af s ds Q s f s dsQ s ds
Qb Qa


 

Becausefa 1 , fb 1, there exist integers,msuch
thatQa 2andQb 2m 2 m 1.
Therefore b
af r dr 1 2 l m.
The statement regarding the equality follows directly.
5.4 EXERCISES :
1)Compute the curvature and torsion functions of the following
curves.
a) ttaaac t t, e e ,0 t2     b)c t a t sint ,a 1 cost ,bt b c)23ct t , t, t t 02)Obtain the principal triadert r , n r , b rfor the
following curves :
i)2cr r , r, 2 rr 0 ii)rrcr 4 e, r , e iii)c r 2,10 cos r,5 sin r
iv)c r a cos r,a sin r,br r ,a,b being constants.
3)Prove : If all tangent vector (unit length) are drawn from the
origin of the curve23c t 3t,3t ,2t then their end points are on the
surface of a circular cone having axisxzy0 .munotes.in

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4)Let a plane curve be given in polar coordinatesr,byrr.
Using the notationdrrd1
prove that the are length of the curve
segment corresponding toverying ina,bis given by
b22
arr d
and the curvature functionkis :
2232222r rr rk
rr
.
5)Obtain the curvature functionkof the curve (called
Archimedean spiral) :ra ,a being a constant.
6)If a circle is rolled along a line (without slipping) then a fixed
point on the circle describe s a curve called the “cycloide”.
i)Obtain a parameterization of the cycloide generated by a
circle of radius.
ii)Obtain a unit speed parameterization of the same curve.
iii)Obtain expressions for the functionsst s , sn s , sb s   forthe (unit speed) cycloide of
rad a>0.
iv)Obtain its curvature function.
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6
FUNDAME NTALTHEOREM OF CURVES
Unit Structure :
6.0 Introduction
6.1 The Fundamental Theorem of Curves
6.2 TheInitial ValueProblem of ODE
6.3 Proof of the Fundamental Theorem
6.4 Illustrative Examples
6.5 Smooth Curves In Higher Dimensional E uclidean Spaces
6.6 A Space -Filling Continuous Curve
6.7 Exercise
6.0INTRODUCTIO N
In the preceding chapter we studied that with each Frenet
curve3c:Iare associated two scalar functions, namely its
curvature function.k:I 0 ,and the torsion function t:I.
The fundamental theorem of curves, which we will study in this
chapter, deals with the converse : it asserts that the two functionsk:I 0 , , t:Idetermine the curve uni quely to within an
isometry of3.
The proof of this important theorem is based on a basic
existence / uniqueness theorem for the theory of ODE, namely the
Picard’s existence / uniqueness theorem on the solution of a first
order ODE. We therefore recall Picard’s theorem (statement only)
and then proceed to prove the fundamental theorem of curves.
After proving the main theorem, we discussed a few exercises
which illustrate various concepts related to space curves we have
come across.
A point regarding our differentiability assumptions need be
explained here : We are assuming throughout that all curves3c:Iare infinitely differentiable on I, we are also imposingmunotes.in

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regularity conditions on the derivativ es : ct o , ct o
for alltIand so on. Actually, we seldom differentiate curves more than
thrice in deriving any result or in calculating any quantity associated
with a curve. Infinite differentiability of curves is indeed superfluous
but it is used as a general set -up, it can be relaxed to just three times
continuous differentiability (but not any further because we are using
differentiation as a tool involvingct, ct, c tand their linear
independence and so on.)
For a long time, a curve was considered as a thin line in2or
in3which was mere a continuous image of an internal. Apart from
the fact that the tools of differential calculus are not appl icable to
such curves, there are space filling curves, which shatter the classical
expectation of a curve as a thin line. In 6.6 we discuss (rather
concisely) an example of a fat continuous curve filling a square.
6.1 THE FU NDAME NTAL THEOREM OF CU RVES
We begin here with the recall of some of the concepts
associated with a Frenet curve and then (only) state the enunciation
of the fundamental theorem. The proof of the theorem (as explained
above) makes use of Picard’s theorem in ODE and therefore we
discu ss Picard’s theorem in the next section (again only the
statement, no proof!) and then develop the proof of the main
theorem in 6.3. It is hoped that this approach will help the reader
develop the context to study the proof of the main theorem.
Recall t hat a smooth curve :3c:Iwith
cs 1 , cs 0 
for allsIgives rise to the two functions :curvature k : I 0,and
torsion t : I .
These functions and the principal triad ets, ns, bsfor
eachsIassociated with the curve satisfy the ODE called the Serret
-Frenet formulae :
 

ts o ks o bsdns ks o ts nsdsbs o ts o bs     Now we ask : Conversely given the following data :munotes.in

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two smooth functionsk:I o ,t:I
3a point p with a parametric value s I ,  and000an orthonormal triade of vectors t ,n ,b ,
is there a smooth curve3c:Ihaving the given smooth functionsk,as its curvature, and torsion; passing through the point p i.e.cs pand having the principal triade000t, n, bat its
pointpc s?
The fundamental theorem gives an affirmative answer.
Theorem 1 (The Fundamental Theorem of Space Curves) : Given :
i)smooth functions :k:I 0 , , t:Iii)3
00p, s Iand
iii)orthonormal vectors000t, n, bthere exists a unique Frenet curve3c:Iwhich has the
properties :0cs p000c has the principal triade t ,n ,s at c sandch a s ,k, ta si t sc u r v a t u r ea n dt o r s i o n f u n c t i o ns.We prove this theorem in 6.3.
6.2 THE I NITIAL VALUE PROBLEM OF ODE
We introduce here the initial value problem of ODE and state
without proof the existence / uniqueness theorem regarding the
solution of the initial value problem. The precise statement of the
theorem is to be used in proving the fundamental theorem (of
curves) in the next section.
Let I denote an open interval and let so be an arbitrary point
of it. Letn A:I M be any smooth matrix valued map and let0xbe any point ofn. We consider the ODE.munotes.in

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dxAs X ,ds(X being a variable ranging inn) and a
solutiontX tof the ODE is required to satisfy00Xs x. This
constitutes the initial value problem (I.V.P.) :
 00dxAsX , X s xds......................................... (*)
Now, the theorem regarding the existence and uniqueness of
the solution of the I.V.P. (initial value problem) is the following :
Theorem 2 : The initial value problem (*) has a unique solutionnX:I defined on the whole of the internal I.
Consult Chapter 2 of this series of study materi al.
6.3 PROOF OF THE FU NDAME NTAL THEOREM
To begin with, we consider the principal triade mapst s , n s , b sthrough000t, n, bof a prospective curvecspassing through the given point0P.Putting

tsXs n s , s Ibs


We treatXsin two different but equivalent ways, namely :
Being an ordered triple of vectors in3it is a vector in9.
It is also a33matrix of which the top row consists of the
three components ofts, the middle row consists of those ofnsand the bottom row consisting of the components ofbs,

122
123
123ts ts tsXs n s n s n sbs bs bs     We now consider the initial value problem :
0000tdxAsX s, X s ndsb ................................. (*)munotes.in

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Where  
ok soAs ks o tsot s o     .
Note that the ODE in (*) is nothing but the sys tem of the
Secret -Frenet equations.
By Theorem 2 above, we get a unique solution9X:I M 3 , of the initial value problem (*). Thus we get
the functions.333t:I
n:Ib:I
With00 0 00 0ts t , ns n , bs b .  At this sta ge, we claim that the assumed orthonormility of000t, n, bimplies orthronomality ofts, ns, bsfor eachsI.
To get this result, we use the antisymmetry of the matrixAs,that
istAs As; (where tAsis the transpose ofAsWe have :



t tt
t
t
t t
tt tdd dXs Xs X s Xs X s Xsds ds ds
dXs Xs Xs A sXsds
AsX s X s X s AsX sXs A s Xs Xs A s Xs     
  
 
 
 tt
ttXs A s Xs Xs A s XsXs A s Xs Xs A s Xs0 


This proves constancy of the matrix valued function
tsX s X s :munotes.in

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
tt000
000 0
0Xs XS Xs XStt, n, b nb100010 I001 
 

ThustXsX s I, that is, eachXsis an orthogonal
matrix; in other words for eachsI , t s , n s , b s is an
orthonormal triade of vectors.
Finally we get the desired curve3c:Iby putting :

0s
sc s p t r dr
Clearly the curve3c:Iis well -defined and satisfies; (a)0cs pand (b) cs ts
. Moreover, we have :
ts ksns, n ksts ts bs, b tsns    
that
is, the curve3c:Isatisfied the Serret -Frenet equations havingk,tas its curvature and torsion functions . And then, the initial
conditions -that is,0cs p,000 0 0 0ts , ns , bs t , n , b impose
uniqueness on the solution curve c.
Thus, given smooth functionsk:I 0 ,and t:Ithe
theorem guarantees that there exist curves3c:Ihavingk,tas
their curvature and torsion functions. Next we claim that any two
such curves are related by an isometry of3i.e. one curve is the
isometric image of the other. To see this, consider any two such
curves say3c:Iand3c:Ichoose0sIarbitrarily.
Let0pc sand0pc s.
We putdp pthat is,pp d.
Also, let33A: be the unique orthogonal transformation
having the property :00 0 0At t An nand00Ab b.munotes.in

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The vector d and the orthogonal transformation A combine to
give the isometry33L: whereLx Ax dfor every3x.
We claimLoc c. To justify this claim, first denote the curve
Locby*3c: I . We have to verify*cs c s. To verify this
identi ty, it is enough to verify that both the curves*c,chave the
following properties :
i)they both satisfy the Serret -Frenet equations with the samek,t,
ii)they pass through the pointpand
iii)atp, both of them have the same principal triade.
We leave the verification of these facts as an exercise for the
reader.
6.4 ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
I)Determine all plane curves2c:Isatisfying
i)ks a ,a being a constant.
ii) 1kssforsOiii) 
21ks 1 s 11s 
Solution : Clearly because all curves are plain curves, we havetOandconsequently there is only one Serret -Frenet equation :dt sksnsds .
Nowtsbeing a unit vector, we can write it in the form :t s cos s , sin ssbeing the angle bet ween the vectortsand the X -axis.
Then we have :n s sin s ,cos smunotes.in

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Consequently, the equationdt sksnsds takes the form
    dssin s , cos s k s sin s ,cos sds which givesdsksds.
Now i n case of (i) above we have :dsadsand therefores as b, for some constant b.
This givest s cos as b ,sin as b 
Integrating this expression forts, we get
s
0c s p t r dr(becausedc stsds) being a fixed point
of3.12Pp p  
s
12o
12p , p cos ar b ,sin ar b drsin as b cos as bp, paa       
Therefore 12sin as b cos as bcs p , p , saa      
 .
ii)Now we haveds 1,s ods swhich givess2 s a, for
some constant and therefore, t s cos 2 s a ,sin 2 s a  .
Integrating this equation, we get


   s2
12o
ss
12oo
ss
12ooc s p t r dr, p p , pp , p cos 2 r a dr, sin 2 r a drp cos 2 r a dr,p sin 2 r a dr,       
 
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The two defi nite integrals are left for the reader to evaluate
which he / she can, using methods of calculus (e.g. integration by
parts.)
iii)Now, we have :
2d1sds1sand therefore,1s sin s constant.
We choose a frame of reference such that the constant of
integration in above is zero :1s sin s i.e.s sin sand therefore 2cos s 1 sNowt s cos s ,sin s21s , s
This gives
ss2
12ooc s p p 1 r dr, rdr2s2
12orp 1 r dr,p2    
(Again we leave the evaluation of the above definite integral
be completed by the reader.)
ii)For a plane unit speed curve2c:Ihaving curvature function
k:Iandthe Serret -Frenet framets, nsat a pointcsof
it, prove :



0
0s
s 0
s
0 0
so, k r drts ts1ns ns!k r dr,o          
.
Proof : ForsI, letAsbe the22matrix :

0
0s
s
s
so , k r drAs
k r dr , o     
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Also, let22X:I , Y:I  be the functions given by :
0
0 0XstsAsns! Ys 
.
Now we have :
0, k sdA s,ks, 0 ds   and
0
0 0Xs tsAs dYs nsds !    






0
0 0
0
0 00, k s t sAsks, 0 ns!0, k s t sAsks, 0 ns!
0, k s X s
ks, 0 Ys
            





Now we have :
1)The functionXssYssatisfies the ODEXs 0 , ks XsdYs ks, 0 Ysds   and
2)00
00Xs tsYs nsIn other words the function onXssYssatisfies the ODE
(1) and the initial condition s (2). Therefore, the equation has the
solutionAs 00
0 00Xs ts tsAseYs ns ns!     



0
0s
0
s
s
0
0 stsk r dr
1
!k r dr,ns        

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6.5 SMOOTH CURVES I NHIGHER DIME NSIONAL
EUCLIDEA NSPACES
We describe, in very few words, some of the geometry of
smooth cu rvesnc:Iforn3. Our main intention is only to
indicate generalization to higher dimensions of the geometry of the
space curves which we have studied above. We only introduce
concepts and state some of the e lementary results, but every thing
going without proof! Interested reader can consult a standard
graduate level book such as : A course in Differential Geometry by
Withelm Klingenberg. (A Springer -Verlag publication).
Now, a smooth curve innis a smooth mapnc:I.
For arIwritingcrin terms of the Cartesian coordinates
:12 nc r c r ,c r ........c r we consider the derivatives ;





 12 n
12 n
kk k k 12 m
rr r rc r c r ,c r ,.......,c rc r c r ,c r ,.......,c rc c ,c ,.......,c      
   
   

the first one, namely cr
is the tangent vector to the curve at its
pointcr.
We have the straight -forward generalization of the notion of
reparametrization of c: Let:J Ibe a smooth, strictly
monotonic increasing and bijective map. Then the (smooth) curvenc. : Jis said to be obtained fromnc:Iby
reparametrization, the map:r J r sbeing the
parametrizatio n map.
Again for a fixed0rI(and thereby for a fixed point00pc rof c) and for a variablecr r I, the integralmunotes.in

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 
00j nrr 2
rrj1r c s ds c s ds;     
ris the signed
length of the segment of the curve with0crandcras its end
points.
Note thatis a strictly monotonic increasing function
whenever cr o
for allrI. Also, note that the setJr : r I is an interval.
In the following we consider thosenc:Ifor which
cr o
for allrIholds. (which implies tha t the function:I Jis bijective). We use the strictly monotonic:I Jto
reparametrize c:
The reparametrized curvechas the property that cs 1
for allrJ, that is cis a unit speed curve.
Next, to get the n -dimensional analogue of the principal triadetp , np , bpof a space curve at a point p of it, we assume the
following property :
For eachrI, the set nc r ,c r ........c r
is linearly
independent. Applying the Gram -Schmidt orthogonalization to each
nc r ,c r ........c r
we get the orthonormal set12 ne r ,e r ........e rwith the property that for eachkkn , c r
is a linear combination of12 ke r ,e r ........e r. Now1ne r ........e rthus obtained, is the desired analogue of the
principal triade of a space curve. We call the set12 ne ,e ........eof unit
vector fields along c, the Frenet frame of the curve. Now, we have
the following two results :
Theorem 3 : Letnc:Ibe a smooth curve having its Frenet
frame1ne ........e. Then there are smooth functions
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The functionsik: I are called the ith curvature sofcand
the above set of equations are the Frenet equations.
Theorem 4 : (Fundamental Theorem of Curves. )Let
12 nk ,k ........k : I be smooth cures12 n 2k ,k ........k 0on I. For a
fixedn00rI , pand for any orthonormal set10 20 n0e ,e ........ethere
exists a unique curvenc:Iparametrized by its are -length r
having the properties :
1)00cr p2)10 20 n0e ,e ........eis the Frenet frame of cat p. and
3)12 n 1k ,k ........k : Iare the curvature functions of c.
6.6 A SPACE -FILLI NGC O NTINUOUS CURVE
We conclude this chapter by discussing an example of a
continuous curve which is not a thin line but an area filling map
because it is continuous, lacking any differentiability properties.
This should convince the reader that a curve as a reasonable
geometric object it should be more than a merely continuous map, it
should ha ve, differentiability properties and the successive
derivatives having linear independence.
Theorem (Peano) : There exists a continuous surjective map (= a
curve)C : 0,1 0,1 0 1 RProof : We obtain the desired C as the uniform limit of a sequ encekC : 0,1 : k of continuous maps.munotes.in

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To construct1Cwe sub -divide (a)0,1into239sub-
intervals of equal length :i1 i1i999and (b) the rectangl eR
into nine Sub -rectangles of equal area as shown in the figure.
We construct1Cby mapping10,9linearly onto the diagonal1Dof the sub -rectangle1, then mapping1299linearly onto the
diagonal2Dof the rectangle2and so on.
Next we construct2Cin a similar manner : Sub -divide eachi1 i99into nine equal parts, the rectangle R, into nine sub
rectangles of it having equal areas, and mapping the intervali1 i99onto the nine diagonals ofiRin a similar manner.
Using the above proce dure we get the sequencekC : 0,1 : k .
Note the following properties of the sequencekC: k of
curves :
kk 11Ct C t k12.3 for allt 0,1
kk 1 k1 k1iiC C ....33    for all kandk1i3and
k1Ct Ct k123  for allk 0,1and for all k,inwith k.munotes.in

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The last of these properties imp lies that the sequencekC: k is uniformly Cauchy on0,1and as such it converges to
a continuous mapC : 0,1 .
Now, C is a continuous curve implies that its trace i.e. the setC r : s 0,1S a compact subset of. Moreover, this set
contains all the pointmmk,33formok , 3 , m and therefore,
the set is a dense subset of R. It then follows that this set is the whole
of R i.e. the continuous curve C maps0,1onto the rectangle R thus
C is a fat set and not a thin line.
6.7EXERCISE:
1)Let3c:Ibe a Frenet curve and let33L: be an
isometry. Pro ve that both the curves C, Lo chave the same curvature
and torsion functions.
2)Is it true that all curves3C: ab having common curvature
and torsion functions are isometric?
3)Letsbe a curve in its natu ral parametriz ation (=Unit
speed parametrization = are length parametrizational and letutbe
the same curve but with different parametrization the relation
between then beingut st. Prove :2 2 2
22dut ds d skt nt ttsdt dt dt  4)The Darbour vector of a curve with non -vanishing curvature is
the vectordt t k b. Prove that the Serret -Frenet formulae can be
written in the form :
dt dn dbdt , dn , dbds ds ds5)Consider the curves3c: 0Ldetermined by the unit tangent
of a regular curve3c: 0,L i.e.cs ts(unit tangent of c
at the pointcs). Assume thatksofcdoes not vanish anywhere
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curvature and torsion functionsks, ts. Investigateks, tsin
case ofcs, the helix :c s a cos s,a sin s,bs 6)Let a plane curve be given in polar coordinates (r,) by r=f(),f:0 : 2 being a smooth function. Prove that the are -length s
between two points1122,f , ,fon the curve12is
given by 2
12 2sf f d
   and the curvaturekof the
curves give by 
2 12
32 2 22f 2f f fk
ff
   
7)Calculate the curvature of the cu rve given byrawhere ais a
positive constant.
8)Letnc:Ibe a Frenet curve inn, Prove :
n1niii1
ntc
c det k t
c








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7
REGULAR SURFACES
Unit Structure :
7.0 Introduction
7.1 Local Parametrization
7.2 Transition Functions and their Smoothness
7.3 Smooth Functions of Regular Surfaces
7.4 Exercises
7.0 INTRODUCTIO N
We think of a surface as a thin, smoothly bending sheet
having no creases, no corner s.......; a sheet spreading across a certain
region in the physical space3. Clearly we need two parameters -
its coordinates -to specify the points of such a thin sheet. Moreover
we need the coordinate systems which are adapted to the geometry
of such smooth surfaces.
Observing common surfaces such as a sphere, a two
dimensional torus, a cylinder, the M öbius band, a circular cone, etc
we find that indeed such coordinate systems are available a plenty
but only locally on a general surface, that is, each point of a surface
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The above observation namely surfaces admitting coordinate
systems only locally -each point has a small enough neighborhood
carrying coordinates -leades as to the concept variously called a local
coordinate system a coordinate chart or a local parametrization.
Thus, mathematically, a smooth surface is a subset M of3admitting a nice set of coordinates in a neighborhood of each of its
points. These coordinate systems, being local, are not unique but
they are required to be smoothly related on the overlap of their
domains : one set of coordinates should be smooth functions of the
other coordinates! (This prop erty will be explained in detail at the
right stage.)
Using the local coordinates, we can differentiate functions
defined on a surface and this gives rise to a full -fledged differential
calculus on a surface. The resulting differential calculus is used as a
tool to study the highly sophisticated geometry of a surface -a
smoothly bending, thin portion of3. In particular, we study the
curvature properties of such a surface using the techniques of
differential calculus.
In this chapter we introduce the notion of a differential
structure of a surface and then proceed to explain differentiability of
functions, smooth (tangential and normal) vector fields, smooth
linear and bilinear forms on such smooth surfaces and so on. The
chapters next to this will explain the geometric features of smooth
surfaces.
Our discussion involves both the spaces2and3: we use
coordinates of2to (loally) parametize the su rface and3accommodates the surface. Although2is imbedded in3, we will
treat them as separate spaces, this is to avoide any notational
confusion (Higher dimensional Euclidean spaces also crop -up here
and there!)
The usual Cartesian coordinates in2will be denoted by12 12u, u ,v, vetc. In3we will use the triples such as123 12 3x, x, x , y, y, yetc. for the C artesian coordinates.r,will be the usual polar coordinates in
whiler, ,are the familiar spherical polar coordinates in
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7.1 LOCAL PARAMETRIZATIO N
Let M be a non -empty subset of3. We will consider M
equipped with the subspace topology of3. Thus for eachpM,
the sets of the typeMB p ,for0form a fundamental
neighborhood system of p in the subspace topology of M. (Here, of
course,Bp ,is the open ball in3, centred at p and having radius0).
Definition 1 : A local parametrization of M around a poi nt p is a
tripleU, Q, Vconsisting of :
An open subsetUof2An open neighborhood. V of p (V being open with respect tothe
subspace topology ofM:V M W,W being an open
subset of3) and
A homeomorphismQ:U V,the tripleU, Q, Vhaving the
properties :
i)3Q:U is smooth and
ii)for eachqU ,the Jacobean matrix of Q at q:


11
12
22
Q
12
33
12QQqqQQJq q qQQqq         has ran = 2.
Because1Q: V Uis well defined, for eachpV. We write1
12Qp u p , u p and regard12up , upas the coordinates
of p with respect to the local parametrizationU, Q, V. This
consideration lead susto the functions :12u, u : V and the resulting triple12V, u , uis called a local coordinate chart
on M around the point p; the functions12u, u : V being called the
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Y
Here are some more e xplanations regarding the notion of a
loal parametrization :
Recall, in a local parametrizationU, Q, Vthe map1Q:U V Q V. As such we may mention either (U,Q) or1V, Qinstead of the whole triple. Using yet another
symbol, sayfor1Q, it is found that the pair
1V, V, Q is very useful. The mapassociates with
eachpVthe point ( say)qpand then we identify the
point p of M withqpof U and reard the coordinates12uq , uqas the coordinates of the pointpM. Thus we
are parametrizing the pat ch V on M by the coordinates on its
imageVU.
M, being a subset of3, a point p of M has its natural
Cartesian coordinates123xp , xp , xp. But it being a
thin sheet (a 2 dimensional geometric object so to speak ) the
coordinates -three of them -are not independent, one of them is
a function of the other two. Thus on the northern hemi -sphere
M give by32 2 2Mx , y , z x y z 1 , z 0  we have22z1 x y. Cartesian coordinates indeed are not
independent and therefore not very useful in calculations.
Secondly they do not reflect the spherical character of M.
(Indeed navigators do not mention the Cartesian coordinates,
the spherical polar coordinates,the (latitude ,
longitude) are their favourite choice!
All in all, the Cartesian coordinates of the ambient space3are not used to describe the geometry of M.munotes.in

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The main idea behind the new concept of a local
parametrizationU, Q, Vis to put the points p of the part V of
M in 1 -1 correspondance with the points q of2UCby
meanse of the homeomorphism Q so as to use the
independent coordinates12u, uof the associated point1qQ pas the coordinates12up , upof the point p of
our interest. And a careful choice of the coordinates12u, umay reflect better on the geometry of the portion V of M.
Thus, for example, on the nort hern hemi -sphere, we prefer the
independent coordinates,the latitude and longitude -
because they are better suited to the spherical geometry of the
hemi -sphere.
However, often a single parametrization fails to cover the
whole of M. a nd we need find a systemU, Q, V :of local parametrizations which together
cover the surface M, that is,MU V :. Such a
collection gives rise to the notion of a differential structure of
M; this notion is explain below.
We first define the simpler concept a surface covered by a
single coordinate chart.
Definition 2 : Aparametrized surface is a subset M of3which is
covered by a single parametrization i.e. there is a pairU, Qconsisting of (i) an open set U of2, (ii) a smooth map3Q:U such that the following conditions are satisfied.
a)QU Mb)Q:U Mis a homeo morphism and
c)QJqhas rank 2 at everyqUHere is an example of a parametrized surface; we consider the
graph of a smooth function of two real variables :
Let U be an open cubset of2and let f: Ube any
smooth function. We consider the graph of f i.e. the set3Mgiven by : 12 12 12Mu u f u u : u u U.
Now, letQ:U Mbe the smooth map given by12 12 12Quu uu, f uumunotes.in

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for all12uu U. Then indeed, Q is a homermorphism between U
and M ,moreover the Jacobean of Q at a12uu u Uis the matrix :

Q
12 12
1210
Ju 0 1
ffu, u u, uuu          Clearly, this matrix has rank =2. Ther efore, the graph of such
a smooth f: Uis a parametrized surface. For example, take22 2
12 1 2Uu u : u u 1 and let f: Ube the smooth map
given by 22
12 1 2 12fuu 1u u uu U.
Clearly, the graph of this f is the northern hemisphere of unit
radius. Note that the parametrization of the hemi -sphere using this f
cannot be extended to any larger portion of the sphere. Thus on the
whole sphere, we need more than one local parametrizations to cover
it. This obs ervation motivates the following definition.
We are consisdering a subset M of3; it carrying the
subspace topology of3.
Definition 3 : A regular surface is a subset M of3having the
following property :
For eachpM, there exists a local parametrizationU, Q, Von M withpV.
A regular surface is often called a smooth surface.
As observed, we ha veQU Vand therefore we often write
onlyU, Qin place of the tripleU, Q, V.
A collectionDU Q :with the propertyMU U :is called a (smooth) c oordinate atlas on M.
Thus a parametrized surface is a special case of a regular
surface where a single coordinate chart iscovering the underlying
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general than parametrized surfaces. We d iscuss some examples of
them by describing the set M and then specifying a coordinate atlas
on it.
(I)A Sphere :
For a constanta0let 2332 2 2 2123 1Mx , x , x : x x x a  
We consider the following open cover of the sphere M
consist ing of the six open hemi -spheres123456H, H, H, H, H, H,given
by :  
  11 2 3 1 21 2 3 1
31 2 3 2 41 2 3 2
51 2 3 3 61 2 3 3Hx , x , x M , x 0 , Hx , x , x M : x 0Hx , x , x M , x 0 , Hx , x , x M : x 0Hx , x , x M , x 0 , Hx , x , x M : x 0      Also let22 2 2
12 1 2Uu u : u u a ; U  is an open subset
of2. We consider the following homeomorphismi :U Hi,1 i 6 :
  
  
  
  
  12
12
12
12
12
12222
11 2 1 2 1 2
222
21 2 1 2 1 2
222
31 2 1 2 1 2
222
41 2 1 2 1 2
222
51 2 1 2 1 2
222
61 2 1 2 1 2uu a u u , uu ;uu Uuu a u u , uu ;uu Uuu u , a u u , u ;uu Uuu u , a u u , u ;uu Uuu uu, a u u ;uu UQu u u u , a u u ; u u U   Then123456 DU , , U , , U , , U , , U , , U ,is a
coordinate atlas of the sphere M.
(II) The M öbius Band :
Let2Z 1,1 x, y : y 1,1   .
Define an equivalence relationon Z by declaringx,y x 2, yfor allx, y 1,1.munotes.in

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LetMZand:Z M, the natural projection .M is
given quotient topology of Z by the equivalence relation. Part (b) of
the figure below depicts t heMöbius band as a subset of3.
Now, let1Vx , y : 1 x 1 , 1 , y 1and2Vx , y : 0 x 2 ; 1 , y 1 .
Also, let1U 1,1 1,1and2U 0,2 1,1. And finally
let1212,UU  .T hen it can be seen that11 22 DU, Uis a coordinate atlas on the set M.
The set M equipped with D is called the M öbius band.
Here is a geometric description of the M öbius band : We
consider the stripR 1,1 1,1. Twis ting the strip through180we bring the ends1 1,1and1 1,1together and glue
them in such a way that the end1 1,1comes upside down
and is glued to the other end.
An important property of regular surfaces is their
orientability. Orientability property of regular surfaces is explained
in the next chapter. M öbius band is a simple example of an
unoriented surface.
A simplified description of orientability of a surface is that it
admits a continuous (actually a smooth) unit normal field. One can
see that the Möbius band does not admit such a unit normal field
because of the twist applied to the rectangle1,1 1,1in getting
theMöbius band o ut of it. Also note that the M öbius band has only
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(III) Surfaces of Revolution :
We consider a smooth curve2c: a, b in the vertical
XOZ -plane2given by13ct x t, x t , in terms of th e two
smooth functions12x, x : a b .
LetUa , bo ,.
We consider3312:U , :U given by11 1 3s,t x t cos s,x t sin s,x t and21 1 3s,t x t cos s ,x t sin s ,x t  .
Let312MU u U c.
Then it can be seen that11 22UQ, UQare local
parametrizations on M and11 22 DU , Q , U , Q is a coordinate
atlas on M; i tbeing the surface of revolution of the curve C about
theZ-axis of3.
Before discussing mo re illustrative examples, let us prove a
result. A variety of subsets of3-called level sets of smooth
functions -are regular surfaces. This claim is verified by applying
the result proved in Proposition 1 given below.
Letbe an open subset of3and let f:be a
smooth function. For a constant, the set :Mx ; f x(if non -empty) is called a level set of the function.
Proposition 1 : Letf, M,be as above .Suppose M is non -empty
and has the following property :
For eachxM, grad 
123ffffx : x , x , xxxx   is a
non-zero vector.
Then M is a regular surfa ce.munotes.in

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Proof : Let123pp , p , p be an arbitrary point of M. By assumption
gradf p 0.Assume, withought loss of generality that

3fp0x.
By the implicit function, there exists an open U2cand a
smooth function g: Uhaving the following properties :
a)12p, p Ub)12 3gp , p pc)for any12 12 12uu U , uu , g uuwith12 12fu u , g u u.
(In other words, the f unction g solves the equation123fx , x , xexpressing3xas a function12x, x.) The properties (a), (b), (c)
imply t hat putting12 12 12 12uu uu, guu uu Uthe tripleU, , Vis a local parametrization on M.
Therefore, M is a regular surface.
As an application of this result, we discuss the following
illustrative examples.
(IV) An ellipsoide 2 22
3 12
123 222x xxMx , x , x , 1abc    wherea0 , b0 , c0are constants is a regular surface : Take
33,f :  be the function 222312
123222xxxfx , x , xabc and
let1. Clearly gradf p 0,0,0for anypMand therefore,
M-the ellipsoide -is a regul ar surface.
V)The Parabolic Hyperboloid :
Let32 2123 3 1 2Mx , x , x ; x x x  
Take33,f :  given by22 3123 3 1 2 123fx , x , x x x x , x , x , x  and0we see that
(grad f)23p 1, 2 p ,2 p 0,0 0 and therefore, the s et M isgiven
by32 2123 3 1 2Mx , x , x x x x  is a regular surface.munotes.in

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VI) Example of a set which is not a regular surface :
Let32 2 2123 1 2 3Nx , x , x : x x x  
Wecontend that this set is not a regular surface. Note thatO 0,0,0is a point of N. Now, if N were a regular surface, then
every point of N would have a local parametrization about that point.
We contend that the pointP 0,0,0of N has no local
parametrization about it.
We justify this claim by contradiction. Assume the point P
has a local parametrizationU, , V. Without loss of generally we
assume that U is the discDo ,with0,0 0,0,0 N. Now
consider any point12p, pas shown in the figure and let12q, qbe the
points in U=D0 ,with11 22qp , qp
Now the contradiction is :the points,12q, qinD0 ,can be
joined by a contin uous curve cnot passing through the pointqo obut the curvec. can not avoideq 0,0,0 !
consequently such a local parametrization aroundp 0,0,0of M
does not exist and therefore N is not a regular surface.
7.2 TRA NSITIO NFUNCTIO NSA ND THEIR
SMOOTH NESS
At this stage, we study on important aspect of local
coordinates on a regular surface M : Let,UandW,be local
parametrizations withQU Wnon-empty. Then any point p inQU W=N (say) has two sets of coordinates :1
12Qp u p , u p and1
12pw p , w p .munotes.in

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This gives rise to coordinate functions12u; u : N given
by1
12pu p , u p and12w; w :N given by1
12pw p , w p for allpN.
Now we can se ethat coordinates in one set are functions of
the coordinates in other set. In fact we have :112 1 1 2 2 1 2 1 2u, u u w, w , u w, w o w, w and112 11 2 21 2 1 2w, w w u, u , w u, u u, u .
It is an important (but tedius) result that these functions are
smooth functions (of the indicated variables). Here we give a
sketchy proof of this fact.
Proposition 1:The following functions are smooth :

1
11 2
1
21 2
1
11 2
1
21 2uw , w: N
uw , w: N
wu , u : N
wu , u : N





Proof : We prove smoothness of11 2 21 2wu , u , wu , u on the set1N. (Smoothness of the other two functions is obtained in a
similar proof.). We accompli sh this by verifying smoothness of
1oin a neighborhood of each1qN.
Thus choose arbitraity a1qN. Let1oq p.
Now recallJphas ra nk = 2 and therefore some22sub-
matrix of the matrix :


11
12
22
12
33
12ppwwJp p pwwppww          is non -singular. Assume without loss of generality thatmunotes.in

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
11
12
22
12ppwwppww      is non -singular. Let32:be the projection map given by123 12x, x, x x, x . Then the non -singularity of the above sub -
matrix is the non -singularity ofoJp. Therefore, by the inverse
mapping theorem, we get whatois a local diff ermorphism in a
neighbourhood of p. This implies the invertibility ofin a
neighbourhood ofp. (Here, we are using local 1 -1 ness of bothoand.) No w, we have :  11 1
1o q o o oQHo o oQ 

Thus, smoothness of both 1oando-implies
smoothness of the map1owhich is the map which gives the
change of coordinates12 1 2u, u w, w .
For the two parametrizations (U,),W,of M withQU W Nthe maps11 112 1 2o: N Nu, u w, w  
and11 112 1 2o: N Nw, w u, u  
both describing the change of coordi nates are alled the transition
maps between the sets11N and Q N  . Transition maps describe
one set of coordinates as functions of the other set of coordinates.
And we have proved above that the transition maps are smooth
functions of the co ordinates equivalently put: the two sets of
coordinates -12u, uand12w, w-are smoothly related.
7.3 SMOOTH FU NCTIO NSONREGULAR SURFACES
Let M be a regular surface.
We will consider only two types of fun ctions and define their
being smooth :curves c : I Mand
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Definition 4 : A curvec:I Mis smooth if3c:Iis smooth.
Itreadily follows that ifc:I Mis smooth in the sense of
this definition thanc:I Mis continuous.
Next, let (U,) be a local parametrization on M with
associated coordinate functions12u: u: U M . Then the
curve1oC : I Ucan be written in terms of its coordinates :1
12oC t u t ,u t for alltIwithct U. Thus we
get the functions12ut , utof the variable t. Now it ca n be seen that
the curve cis differentiable (= smooth) if both the real valued
functions12tu t , tu t of the real variabletIare smooth.
Finally we define smoothness of functions f: M.
Definitions 5 : f: Mis smooth if for every local
parametrization (U,) of M, the function1fo : Uis smooth.
Note that1fo Q : Uis a function of the two coordinate
variables12uuan U and therefore differentiability of1fois a
familiar concept.
We consider the setCMof all smooth functions
f: M. It is easy to see that th e operations of addition and
multiplication of functions f: Mgive the setCMthe
structure of a commutative and associative ring with identity.
Finally, letbe a non -empty open subset of a regular
surface M. Then it is easy to see thatalso is a regular surface. For
if (U,) is a local paramentrization of M, then putting1UUandUwe get a local parametrizationU,on. Such local parametrizationU,onobtained from
(U,) of M give a coordinate atlas forand thus,becomes a
regular surface in its own right. In particular, the function spacesCfor openMare well -defined.
In the next chapter, we w ill develop differential calculus on
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7.4 EXERCISES
1)Let M be the subset of3obtained by rotating the parabola231x4 xabout the3xaxis. Describe smooth function f: Mwhich generates M.
2)The 2 -torus2Tis the surface generated by revolving the circle
22213xa x babout the3x-axis, a,bbeing constants with aExhibit a smooth coordinate atlas on2T.
3)Although the set32 2 2123 3 1 2Mx , x , x : x x x   is not a
regular surface (as explained above) prove that its subsetMM 0is a regular surface.
4)Prove that a circular cylinder is a surface and describe a smooth
atlas on it.
5)Let M be a regular surface andan open subset of M. Let
f: Mbe a smooth map. Prove thatfis smooth on.
6)Let1Mand2Mbe regular surfaces, with12MMopen in both1Mand2M. Prove12MMis a regular surface.
7)Let M be a regular surface and let f, g:Mbe smooth
functions.
Prove :
a)fgis smooth on M.
b)fgis smooth on M.
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8
CALCULUS O NREGULAR SURFACES
Unit Structure :
8.0 Introduction
8.1 The Tangent Spaces3pT8.2 The Tangent SpacepTM8.3 Another Description of Tangent Vectors
8.4 Smooth Vector Fields
8.5 Smooth Forms on M
8.6 Exercises
8.0 INTRODUCTIO N
Having introduced regular surfaces M and the function spacesCfor various openMwe consider some more concepts
contributing to the calculus on a regular surface, namely : the
tangent spacespTMforpM, smooth vector fields on open
subsetsof M smooth linear and bilinear forms and their properties
and so on. The resulting calculus is then used as a too l to study the
geometry of M. The primary geometri features of a regular surface
M are two smooth symmetric bilinear forms the first fundamental
form I and the second fundamental forms II -they will be introduced
in the next chapter.
8.1 THE TA NGENT SPA CES3pTIn differential geometry, geometric object are highly
localized. In particular, we need consider the classical vectors -the
directed segments in3being located at various points of3. Thus
for a point3pand for a vector x in3, we consider the ordered
pairp,x ;it represents the vector x not emanating from the origin
of3but located at (or having its foot at) the point p.3pTdenotes the set of all such ordered pairs3px :xmunotes.in

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1143pClearly for a fixed point p in3, the set3pTis in 1 -1
correspondence with3:33pT
xp , x
 Therefore the familiar inner product space structure of3induces an inner produce space structure onpT:p,x p,y p,x yap , x p , ax, ap,x , p,y x,y
8.2 THE TA NGENT SPACEpTMLet p be a point of the regular surface M.
Definition : A Vector3p p,x Tistangential to M at the point
p of M if there exists a smooth curvec: , Mfor some0with the properties : dcc0 P , c0 0 xdt 
.pTMdenotes the set of all3p p,x Twhich are
tangential to M at p. we prove below thatpTMis a two -
dimensional subspace of the vector space3pT. Towards this aim,
consider a local paramentrizationU,of M withpU : 0 p. Recall that the derivative map3op *o: D o T U Tis an injective linear map. We
prove now that it maps22ooTT U  ontopTM. To seemunotes.in

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this, consider app,x T M.By definition of a tangential vector
there exists a smooth curvec: , Mwithc0 pand
c0 x
. Assume without loss of generality thatct Ufor all t
in,. Now using bijective property of, considerc: , Usuch thatcc. Letco. ThisoTUand*ox. Thus proves thatop*:T U T M  is surjective -
Consequentlyop*TU T M is a linear subspace of3pT.
Clearly, the above result implies that the mapop*O: T U T M  is an isomorphism and thereforepTMis a
two dimensional subspace of3pT. We rest ate this fact in the
following :
Proposition 1 : For eachppM , TMis a two dimensional
subspace of3pT.
There is yet another noteworthy fact, namely the coordinate
chartU,around apMgives rise to a vector basis ofpTM:
Consider the curves12:n , n U , :n , n Ufor small
enoughn0;which are given by :12s s,0 s 0,s . s n,n. We have1201 , 0 ,00 , 1  which are vectors inoTUconstituting a
vector basis ofoTUconsequently the vectors.
12
11**00 0 , 00 0uu         
form a vector
basis ofpTM.
Note that the maps :n,n M;s s,o andn,n M;s o,s aretwo smooth curves passing through p and giving the basic
tangent vectors 
120,0 , 0,0uu respectively and therefore they
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Also, it is important to note thatpUwasarbitrary point
ofUand therefore the above discussion lead us to two vector
fields onU, both tangential to M at the points ofU: For each12uu , u U(and not only0,0as above) the vectors

12u, uuuaretangential to M at th e pointpu. Thus we get
two tangential vector fields12,uuonVUsuch that at each
pointpuof V, 
12a, auuform a vector basis ofpTM.
There is one more point pertaining to the notation which we
explain right here : We adapt the notations
12p, puufor the
vectors 
12u, uuurespectively at the pointpu V.
These notations -the pair
12p, puu   representing
tangent vectors but partial differentiations in appearance are adapted
everywhere in mathematical literature because vectors operate on
functions by differentiation. We will explain more abou t this
notational convention below, but at this stage but we note that
because 
12p, puuis a vector basis ofpTMfor any point p
ofUV, any vectorpp,x T Mis expressibl e as a linear
combination : 12
12ap apuu  for a unique pair12aaof real
number.
Now, about the action of a tangent vector on a smooth
function :Letpp,x T Mand letfbe a smooth function defined
on an openWMwithpW. These two entities combine to
produce the real number (denoted in differential calculus by)xDf pthe derivative offat p along x. It is obtained as follows.
Choose a smooth curveC: , Wwithco pand co x
.
Then we lay :
 xt0dDf p f ctdtmunotes.in

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Now, letU,be any ch art around p, its coordinate
functions being12uu. Using these coordinates, we write :12ct c t, c t,
Then we have :
  
12to to
12
12ddfc t fct , ct ,dt dt
ffc0 p c0 puu 
    
But, we also have dcx0dt
12
12c0 p c0 puu    
and therefore, we get;
x1 2
12Df p C o p C o o fuu          
12
12ffc0 p c puu    
.
To conclude, we have the following :
Given a pointpMand a pair of local coordinates12uuaround p (determined by a local parametrizationU,, we have the
following :
Anypp,x T Mcan be expressed uniquely in the form
12 1 212p,x a p a p a ,auu    in.
Iff: Wis a smooth function, its domain of definition W
being an open subset of M withpWand ifU,is a local
parametrization around p, its coordinates bein g12uuthen
the real numberxDf p-the derivative offat p along x -is
given by x1 2
12ffDf p a p a puu   where
12
12fxa p a puu   .
The resulting mapxDp : CWhas the following
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i)xx xD af bg p aD f p bD g p  for allf, ginCW
and a, b inii)xx xDf gp Df pgp f p D gp  for allf, ginCW
iii)Iff: W ; g : W  are smooth functions, W andWbeing
open neighborhoods of p, thenfgonWWimplies :xxDf p D gp
For anyp,x , p,yinpTM, a, b in,
xy ax byDf p a D f p b D f p  holds for allfC W(W being an open neighborhood of p).
The last property implies that any smooth f: Wgives
rise to a linear form onpTM; we will denote it bydf p. Thus the
linear formdf p:pTM is given by :x
12
12df p p,x D f p
ffxp xpuu
   
for all 12 p
12p,x x p x p T Muu    .
In particular, the coordinate functions12uuof a local
parametrizationU,around p give rise to the linear forms12du p ,du ponpTM. Note that12du p ,du psatisfy
1 ijjdu p puand consequently we get :
12
12ffdf p p du p p du puu  for any smooth
f: W.
Definition 2 : The linear formdf p:pTM is called the
differential offat the point p.
8.3 A NOTHER DESCRIPTIO NOF TA NGENT VECTORS
Above we have defined app,x T Mas a vector3xplaced at p for which there co rresponds a smooth curvemunotes.in

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119c: , Mwithc0 pand c0 u
. The vector thus defined
(tangential toM at p) operates on smooth functions f: Mproducing real numbersxDf pgiven by.
 xtodDf p f C tdt
This action ofp,xon smoothfhas the following
properties (as we have noted them above) :
i)Iff, g inCMare such thatfgin some neighborhood of
p, thenxDf p=xDg p.
ii)xx xD af bg p a D f p b D g p  for allf, ginCMand for all a, b in.
iii)xx xDf gp Df pgp f p D gp  for allf, ginCW.
We prove below that conversely, properties (1) , (2) and (3)
above specify the vectorpp,x T Mcompletely. To be precise,
we prove the following.
Proposition 2 : LetL:C Mbe an operator satisfying the
following conditions :
1)Iff, g are such thatfgin some open nei ghborhood of
p, thenLf L g.
ii)LetL af bg a L f p b L g for allf, ginCMand
for all a, b iniii)LetLfg Lfgp f p L g  for allf, ginCM
Then there exists a unique3x, tangential to M at p such
thatxLf D f p for allfCM
Next, to prove the existence of such ofp,x, note the
following two properties :
The result is alocal result in the sense that by property (1) of
L, the valueLffor anyfCM depends on the
variation offwithin (an arbitrarity chosen) neighborhood
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Accordingly, we can chose a local parametrizationU,on
M with (i)UB 0 ,for someoand (ii)Q0 pand then forU; by property (1) of L, the behaviour offoutsideUdoes
not affectLf.If fconstant c(say), thenLf 0.
For, takingfg 1we have :2L1 L1 L1 1 1L1 2 L1, thusL1 2 L1and
thereforeL1 0.
NowLC C L1 0Thus,LC 0for any constant functionfC.
Now, for the above described choice ofU,consider the
finite Taylor expansion of afaround p
12 1 1 2 2
12fffuu f p u p p u p puu   
2
iij j i j
i,j 1up u p g u  for some smooth functions
ijg: U .
Applying the operator L to this identity, we get :




12 22
12
ii j j i j
ij
jj i i i j
ji
12 22
12
1
1ffLf Lf p L u p p L u p puu
up pp g p
up p p g p
ff0L u p p L u p p Ouu
fxp xu    
 
 
    
 

2
2fpu

where we are putting11 1 22 2xL up ; xL up.W ef o rm the
vector 12 p
12xx p x p TMuu    to getxLf D f p for
allfCM.munotes.in

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8.4 SMOOTH VECTOR FIELDS
A vector field on M is an assignment X, assigning a vectorXpto eachpM ; X p being tangential to M atpp:X p T Mfor eachpM.
A vector field X on M and a smooth function f: Mcombine to produce a function on M, -we denote it byXfwhere
for eachpMthe real numb erXf pis given by :xXf p D f p
wherepXp T Mis given byXp p , x.
Now letU,be any local parametrization on M is;its
coordinate functions bei ng12uu. Then for eachpUwe have:
12
12Xp X p p X p puu   with12X, Xbeing smooth
functions onUVM. Therefore, for any smooth f: M,
weget 12
12Xf p X p p X p puu   for everypU.
It now follows thatXfis smooth if the functionfissmooth. We
are interested in vector fields X on M which produce smooth
functions .
Definition 3 : A vector field X on M is smooth ifXf: M is
smooth whenever f: Mis smooth.XMdenotes the set of all smooth vector field X on M.
It now follows that a vector f ield X on M smooth (i.e.XX M) if it satisfied the follows condition : For any local
parametrizationU,, the representation :1211XX Xuuhas
the coefficient function12X, X : U be smooth. It can be verified
that the setXMhas the following algebric property :
If X, Y are smooth vector fields on M and if f, g are smooth
functions on M, then the vector fieldfX , gYis also a smoo th
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Thus the setXMof smooth vector fields on M is a module
over the ringCMof smooth functions.
Above, we considered smooth vector fields on aregular
surface M. Since every non -empty open subsetof M because a
regular surface, we have the well -defined concept of smooth vector
fields on an open subsetof M. We denote the resultingCmodule byX.
8.5 SMOOTH FORMS O NM
We consider now objects which are dual to the vector fields,
they are called smooth one -forms on M. First, (an arbitrary) one
form on M is an assignment of a liner formp wp: T M to
eachpM. We denote the collectionwp: p Mby w.
Now, note that a vector field X on M and a one -formww p : p M on M combine to give a function f: M: For
eachpM, we evaluate the one formp wp: T M on the
vectorpXp T Mto get the real numberwp X p; we
putfp w pXp . This gives the function :
f: M;pw p X pWe will be interested in those 1 -forms to which differential
calculus can be applied in a reasonable way. This motivates the
following definition :
Definition 4 : A1-form w on M is smooth if for every smooth
vector field X on M, the functionwX : M is smooth on M.
Now, we have the following list of simple facts related to
smooth 1 -forms and smooth vector fields on M :
1)If w, n are two smooth 1 -forms and if f, g:Mare any two
smooth f unctions then the combinationfw gngiven by
*f w gn p f p w p g p n p T p , p M  
is a smooth 1 -
form on M.
Therefore, the set of all smooth 1 -forms on M is a module
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2)For anypM, the forms12 pdu p ,du p :T M  form a
vector basis of the dual space*
pTm ,(ofpM) and therefore, if w
is a 1 -form on M, then for eachpMwe everypM, we seet that
the 1 -form w gives rise to two functions f, g:Msuch that holds
for everypMand thus we have :12w fdu gdu.
3)Note further that
1wfuand
1wguconsequently, if w
is a smooth 1 -form on M then f,g (as above) must both be smooth
4)Now consider12w fdu gduand on arbitrary smooth vector
field
12Xh k , h , k : Muu being both smooth functions.
Then we havew X fh gk.
Consequently, we have : w is smooth if and only if both, f, g
are smooth functions. It also follows that the set of smooth 1 forms
is a module over the ringCMifw,nare smo oth 1 -forms and f, g
are smooth functions on M, thenfw gnis a smooth form on M.
5)If w is a smooth 1 -form on M and ifis an open subset of M,
then the restriction of w toisa smooth 1 -form on.
6)And a smooth function f: Mgives rise to a smooth 1 -form1212ffdu duuuon M, we denote it by df and call it the differential
of f, thus, 
12ffdf X g hdu duwith12Xg hdu du.
We also consider smooth, symmetric 2 forms on M. first
recall a few algebraic terms.
Let E be a finite dimensional real vector space.
A bilinear form onis a map,: ; x , y x , ywhich is linear in each of the two vector variables x, y ranging on.
A bilinear form ,:is said to be
Symmetric ifx, y y,xholds for all x, y in.
Positive definite ifx,x 0forxandx,x 0only
whenx0.
Aninner product onif,is both symmetric and posit ive
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Let12 ne ,e ,....,ebe a vector basis of, puttingij i jae , efor1i jn, we get the matrixijaof,with respect to the vector
basis12 ne ,e ,....,e. Note that -
i)ij i j1i , j nx, y a x ywhereniii1xx eandniii1yy e.
ii),is symmetri cif and only ifji jiaaholds for alli, j,1 i, j n.
Now, we introduce the notion of a smooth, symmetric bilinear
form on a regular surface.
Definition 5 : A bilinear form on a regular surface M is a rule -
denoted by B -which associates with eachpM, a bilinear form
B(p) on the tangent spacepTM:ppBp: T M T M ; u , v Bp u , vA bilinear form B on M and two tangent fields X, Y on M
combine to produce a functionBX Y: M :
For eachpMthe bilinear formpp Bp: T M T M evaluated overpXp , Yp T Mgives, the real numberBp X p, Yp. This specifies the functionBX , Y: M : BX , Y p Bp X p, Y p for everypM.
It now f ollows that the following identities hold :
B fX ,gY f gB X ,Y for all functions f, g:Mand
for all vector fields X, Y on M.
i)12 1 2BX X, Y BX , Y BX, Y 
ii)12 1 1 2BX , Y Y BXY BX , Y for all vector fields12 1 2X,X X , Y, Y, Y
Here is an example of an important bilinear form on M : Let,
for eachpM,pp Ip : T M T M be given by :p pIp v , w v , w v , wT M .
This gives rise to the following map
I:XM XM :munotes.in

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125IX , Y p Ip Xp , Yp for allpMand for all
smooth vector fields X,Y on M.
This biliner form is called the first fundamental form of the
surface. Read more about it in Chapter 9.
8.6 EXERCISE :
1)Forsmooth vector fields X, Y on M and for smooth functions
f, g , h:M, verify the following identies.
a)Xf . g Xf g fX g
b)IfXf 0for all smooth f: M, thenX0c)X af bg aX f bX g
2)Let X, Y be smooth vector fields on M giving the mapL:C M C M  :Lf XYf YX f 
Verify that L satisfies the properties (a), (b) (c) of exercise (1)
above, using Proposition 2 deduce that L gives rise to a smooth vetor
field on M. We denote this vector field byX, Yand call it the Lie-
prodct of X, Y in that order. It is also call the Lie -bracket of X, Y.
3)Prove that the operation of forming Lie -bracketX, Yof two
vector fields X,Y has the following properties :
i)X, Y=YXii)fX ,Y f X ,Y Y f X 
iii)XY , Z Y , Z , X Z ,X , Y O  
4)Prove that combing a smooth 1 -form w with a smooth vector
field X on M produces the functionswXwhich is smooth and the
operationw,X w Xis bilinear.
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9
PARAMETRIZED SURFACES
Unit Structure :
9.0 Introduction
9.1 An Oriented Parametrized Surface
9.2 The First Fundamental Form
9.3 The Shape Operator
9.4 Covariant Differentiation
9.5 Parallel Transport
9.6 Geodesics
9.7 Exercises
9.0 INTRODUCTIO N
In this chapter and the next, we will study some of the
elementary aspects of the geome try of an oriented regular surface M.
To begin with we wil discuss the geometry of such a M only at the
local level, that is, the geometric structure of a small enough pie ceo f
a surface in the form of an open neighbourhood of a point of it. After
getting familier with the local geometry, we will consider geometric
properties of M as a whole and prove some basic results about them.
Accordingly we begin with a surface element in the form
already introduced where it was termed a parametrized surface.
Reca lling the related concepts and explaining them again in the
present context, we introduce two basic geometric ingradients of a
parametrized surface namely the first and second fundamental forms
I and II on the tangent bundleTMofM. Both of them are
symmetric two forms onTM. These forms will lead us to a
number of geometric concepts on M : length of a smooth curve on
M, covariant differentiation of vector fields, parallel transport of
tangent vectors along smooth curves on M, geodesic curves on M,
principal curvature of M at a point of it, the Gaussian and mean
curvature tensor of M and so on. We introduce the intrinsic nature of
some of the geometric properties and conclude the next chapter with
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9.1 A NORIE NTED PARAMETRIZED SURFACE
Let M be a parametrized surface, its parametrization beingU,F; thus U is an open subset of2, and3F: U is a smooth
map having the properties :
FU MandF: U Mis a homeomorphism, and
The JacobeanFJqhas rank = 2 at everyqUNow, using the homeomorphismF: U M, we identify
each point p of M with the point1Fpqof2Ucand regard
the native coordinates12uq , uqas the coordinates of p assigned
by the parametrizationU,F.
Thus, there are two sets of coordinates on M :
i)The Cartesian co -ordinates123xp , xp , xpgiven by the
(Cartersian) Co -ordinate system of the ambinat space3and
ii)the co -ordinates12up , updetermined by a parametrizationU,Fon M.
The co -ordinates12u, uare independent and are often better
adapted to the geometry of M while the Cartesian co -ordinates -
being coordinates of the ambient space3-are often used as
reference coordinates only. Thus, for aqUwe have :123Fq x q, x q, x q , Cartesian coordinates ofQq p M.
3 12
11 2 1x xx Fqq , q , quu u u      3 12
22 2 2x xx Fqq , q , quu u u      and so on.
Note that we have adapted the notations 1
1p or pu
and 2
2p or pufor 
12FFq, quurespectively and in view of
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equivalent to the requirement that the vectors 
12FFq, quube
independent elements of the tangent spacepTM. Also, keep in
mind that the pair 
12q, quu   has to pla y a double role (i) as a
vector basis ofpTMand (ii) as differential operators operating on
smooth functions f: Mgiving real numbers 
12ffq, quu.
(In thse notations, the pointpQappears but it is considerd to be
identified withq:p F q).
Let us now consider vector fields on M, first those vector
fields which are tangential to M.
Recall, a vector field tangential to M (or a tangent field on M)
is a rule X associating with eachpMa vectorpXp T M.
Now since 
12q, quu   is a basis of the vector space.pTM,
such aXpcan be expressed uniqu ely as a linear combination :
12
12Xp X p X puu   12Xp , Xpbeing real numbers. This way the vector field
gives rise to the well -defined functions12X, X : M the vector
field then being expressible in the fo rm :
1212XX Xuu.
We regard the vector field X smooth if both the functions12XXare smooth on M. Now, for any smooth function f: M,
the vector field operates onfproducing a smooth functionXf: M given by :12
12Xf p Xp f
ffXp p Xp p ; pMuu
    .munotes.in

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On the other hand we have vector fields on M which are
perpendicular to M : A smooth map3Y:M considered as a
vector field on M (i e for eachpMthe vectorYpbeing
considered located at p) is normal to M ifpYp T Mfor eachpM. For example the vector field Y given by

12FFYp q quu(withFq p) for eachpMis such a
normal vector field on M. In particular the vector field N on M given
by 12
12pp
uuNp , p Mppuu 
has the unit normal property.
Consequently for eachpM, the triple 
12p, p, N puu   forms a vector basis of3pTand the subset 
12p, puu   is a
vector basis of the subspacepTMof3pT. On account of t his
property the unit normal field N on M orients the parametrized
surface M. In what is follow, we will consider M to be oriented by
this normal field N.
9.2 THE FIRST FU NDAME NTAL FORM
Now we consider the standard inner product.,of3which
incudces the inner productp,on each3pT. We restrictp;to
the subspacepTMof3pTand d enote it byIp. Thus, for
eachpM, we have the symmetric, positive definite bilinear formpp Ip : T M T M given byIp p v , p w v , wfor
every pairpv , pwof vector s tangential to M at p.
Having introduced the inner productIponpTM, we will
write onlyv,win place of the full formIp p v , p w. This is
meant to simplify the notation whenever the point p of tangency of
the vectorsp,v , p,wis understood.
We consider the entire collectionIp : p Mas a single
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Definition 1 : II p : p M is the first fundamental form of
the surface.
For eachpI, putting ij
ijgp p , puu

12FFp, puuforpM , 1i , j2, we get the matrix valued
function.pp 2 g: U T M T M :p M M  .
It isthe matrix of the first fundamental form.
Now if
iiiXX i , Y Y iuu  are two smooth vector fields
(tangential to M) then we get the mapIX , Y: M given by :

ij
ij ij
j
ij ij
ji j
ijIX , Y p Xp , YpXp p , Yp puu
Xi p Y p p , puu
Xi p Y p g p
  

 


We need consider the inverse of ea chijgp ;we denote the
resulting matrix byijgp, thus we have :kjik ijkgp gp.
Let us consider following examples of surfaces and obtain the
first fundamental forms for each of them :
(I)The(oriented) graph of a smooth functions : f: U;
U being an open subset of2Now, 12 12 12Mu , u , f u , u : u , u U .
The parametrization map3F: U is :munotes.in

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13112 12 12 12Fu , u u , u , f u , u p , u , u U  .
Therefore,
12 1 2ff, ,1uu u u   and then
12
22
12ff, ,1uuNp
ff1uu    
  
the right hand side of the above equally being evaluated at the point12 12pu , u , f u , u for12u, u U.
Also, we have :2211 22
11ffg1 , g1uu      and12 2112ffgg ,uuand
therefore the matrix of the first fundamental form of the surface :
2
11 2
ij212 2ff f1, ,uu ug
ff f,, 1uu u         (II)A particular case of the above is the hemisphere of radiusao:
32 2 2 2 2 2123 1 2 3 1 2Mx , x , x : x x a ; x a x x  
Now we have :22 2 212 1 2Uu , u ; u u a  and the map
f: Uis22212 1 2fu , u a u u. Finding expressions for the
unit normal mappN p, the matrixijgpof the first
fundam ental form etc are left for the reader as an exercise.
(III) Let2Uand let23F: be the map given by22 312 11 2 1 2Fu , u u , u u , 4 u u,212uu. Now we have :munotes.in

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F1 2 121210J u u 2u 18u 3u     forall212uu; the matrix clearly has
rank = 2 (because its submatrix
1102u 1is non singular) at every212uu. Consequently the set M :22 3 211 2 1 2 12 Mu , u u , 4 u u : u , u is a parametrized surface.
Now, we have
i)3F: U M is given by22 312 11 2 1 2Fu , u u , u u , 4 u u,
ii)The vectors 111Fu 1,2u ,8uuand 222F0,1,3uuspan the
tangent spacepTMwhere12pF u , u ;
iii)The unit normal field N on M is given by
 22
12 2
222 2
12 22u 3u 4 , 3u ,1Np4u 3u 4 9u 1
and
iv)The matrix of the first fundamental forms is :22
11 2
24
12 21 68u , 2u 1 12u2u 1 12u , 1 9u      (IV) We consider a unit speed curve3C:I and the associated
binormal field3b:Ialong it. Associated with the pair (a, b) is
the parametrized surface M :MC r s b r : r I , s Putting UI, let3F: U be given byF r,s C r sb r , r,s I .
Then we hav e: Fr,s t r s r n rr
Fr,s b rr
Clearly, FFr,s , r,srsare livearly independent vectors
and consequently (U,F) is a parametrization of the set M. Moreover,
the unit normal fi eld N on M is given by :munotes.in

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2 2sr t r rNp
sr 1  

while the matrix of the first fundamental form is2 21s r ,00, 1    we resume our study of a parametrized surface Mhaving its
parametrization (U, F) :
LetS2be the unit sphere in3i.e.32 2 2
12 3 1 2 3S2 xx , x : x x x 1
Shifting the unit normalNpfrom the point p of M and
relocating it at3Owe get the map (denoted by the same letters) :N:M S 2
We call this ma pthe Gauss Map of the surface M. note that
the Gauss map on the unit32 2 2
12 3 1 2 3 3Mx x , x : x x x 1 , x o is the identity map
on M while that on the hemi sphere of radius32 2 2 2
12 3 1 2 3 3a0 : M x x , x : x x x a ; x 0 is : pNpaforpM.
Illustrative examples (I) ---(IV) above describe the Gauss
map of their surfaces.
9.3 THE SHAPE OPERATOR
We differentiate the Gauss map -defined above -at a point p of
M with respect to the vector spvTM. The resulting linear map -
the differential of the Gauss map at p -has important geometric
prosperties; we describe them below.
Let p be a point of M and letpvTM. We consider the
derivativevDN p. Thus, we choose a smoothC: , M
withC0 pand C0 v
. Then we have
todD,N p N C tdtmunotes.in

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Note thatpD,N p T M. For, we have
NC t ,N C t 1
fort,and therefore
todNCt , NCp 0dti.e. tod2N C t , N C p 0dti.e.oDN p , N p Othe perpendicularity ofD,N pwithNpnow impliesD,N pis inpTM. Thus, the Gauss map, when differentiated at
apMgives the linear map :ppTM TMvD , N p
In what is to follow, we consider the mapvD , N p ,
the negative sign attached here is only to follow the standard practice
in mathematics literature. We denote the resulting (linear) map
bypL:pp pL: T M T M
Definition 2 :
The linear mappp pL: T M T Mis called the shape
operator of M at the point p.
The shape operatorpLis also called the Weingarten map of M
at p.
Considering the Weignarten mappLalong with the linear
productIpofpTM, we haave the important property of it :
Proposition 1 :pLis a self -adjoint linear endomorphism of the inner
product spacepTM , I p.munotes.in

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Proof : Since 
12p, puu   is a vector basis ofpTMit is
enough to verify the following equalities :
pp
ij i jLp , p p , L puu u u              for1i , j2Proof : We have :


ippi u
iLp DNu
Npu
and therefore,


p
ij i j
2
ij i j
2
ijNFLp , p p puu u u
FFNp , p Np , puu u u
F0N p , puu    
     

The first summond above is O, because 
iFNq, q 0 ,u
(
iFqubeing tangential to M at qwhile N(q) is perpendicular to the
whole spaceqTM). Thus
2
p
ij i jFLp , p N p , puu u u    .
Similarly we get :

2
p
ij i j
2
ijFp, L p N p, puu u u
FNp , puu       

Combining these two equalities, we get
pp
ij i jLp , p p , L puu u u     which leades
us to the self adjointness ofpL.munotes.in

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Next, we wi sh to find the matrix ofpLwith respect to the
vector basis 
12p, puu   ofpTM.
Suppose  p
k ikLp , i k puu     (of course, the
summation being overk1 , 2.) Taking inner product of the above
equality with 
jpu, we get  pk j
k ijL p , p ai gk puu   .
But we already have
2
p
ij i jFLp , p N p , puu u u    and therefore the
above equation gives  2
kj
k ijFN p , p i gk puu .
Letijgpbe the inverse of the matrixijgp. Using this
inverse matrix, we get
 2
je jk
kj
jj k ij
e
ik k
k
ieFN p , p g p i gk p g puu 

 

Thus 2
kj
ij
k ikFNp , p g puu ......................... (*)
This gives the matrixijof the Weingarten mappL.
Let us consider the following illustrative examples : M being
the graph of a smooth function f: U, (as usual U being an open
subset of2).
Now, we have the parametrisation map3F: U given by12 12 12 12Fu , u u , u , fu , u u , u U .
Writing2
12i j
12i jff fff , f i , j xuuu u    etc.munotes.in

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i)22
ij21 2 2 1 2ij2222
12 2 12 1 121f , f f 1f , f f1ggff , 1 f ff , 1 f4f f               ii) 

11 2 21 2
22 22 22
12 12 12fu , u fu , u 1Np , ,
1f f 1f f 1f f        and
iii) 2ijijFO,O, fuu
Substituting these expressions in the formulae (*) we get :



211 2 12 1 211 322 2
12
2
12 1 11 1 2
12 322 2
12
2
21 2 22 1 2
21 322 2
12f1f f ff1f f
f1 f f f f
1f f
f1 f f f f
1f f







and222 2 22 1 222 322 2
12f1 f f f f1f f


Taking2f: given by2212 1 1fu u u uwe get :
i)11 2 2f 2u , f 2 uii)11 22 12 21f2 f , f fOiii) 3322 2 22212 1 21f f 1 4 u 4 uand therefore
 2
21 2
p 3222 212 2124 1 4u 16u u1L,16u u 4 1 4u14 u 4 u      .
We combine the Weingartain mapspp pL: T M T M and
the first fundamental formpp p pI, : T M T Mto
get a bilinear mappp II p :T m T m for eachpMas
follows : If v, w are vectors inpTm, thenppII p v,w I p L v ,w L v ,w  .munotes.in

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We denote the collectionII p : p Mby II and call it the
second fundamental form on M.
Note that the second fundamental form II comb ines two
smooth vector field X, Y on M and produces a smooth functionX, Y :M which is given by :pX, Y p L X p ; Y p p M  .
Because I is bilinear and eachpLis self -adjoint, we get the
following identit ies :
II X ,Y II Y , X , X ,Y being smooth vector fields on M.
fX gY ,Z f X ,Z g Y ,Z
Second fundamental form is used to express curvature
properties of M, we will discuss this point in the next chapter.
9.4 CO VARIA NT DIFFERE NTIATIO N
Given a smooth tangent field X on M and apvTM
covariant differentiation is a process producing a vector -denoted byvXinpTM.
Recall :ToapvTM there correspo nds a smoothC: , Mhaving the properties C0 p , C0 v
. The two -
X, and C -Combine to give the smooth maptX C t ; t ,.
Differentiation of it gives 3vpdDX X C t Tdt . Note
that thoughvDXis a vector located at p, it is not (in general)
tangential to M at p.
To get a vector tangential to M at p, we project it down in the
subspacepTMof3pT; that is let3
ppp: T T M  be
the desired projection thus,pw w w , N pN p  for all3p wT. Now, we setmunotes.in

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v
to
vv vdX C tXpdtpD X DX DX , N pN p 
   
 
Definition 3 :vXis the covariant derivative of X with respect topvTM.
The covariant derivative has the following properties
vw av bwXa X b X for all v,w inpTMa, b inand for all smooth vector fields X on M.
vv vXY X Yfor allpvTM and for all
smooth vector fields X and Y.
vv vfX D fXp fp X for allpvTMand
for all smooth vector fields X (RecallvDfis the usual
directional derivative of  vtodf: D f f C tdt .
All these properties follow from (i) the properties of
 vtodDf f C tdt and (ii) the linearity of the map3
ppp: T T M  .
For apvTMand for a tangential vector field X on M we
intend to expressvpXT Musing the vector basis

12p, puu   .
We adapt the notationsifor1uandipfor

ip, i 1 , 2uonly for a short while.
Let11 22 p 1 2vv p v p TM , v v and let11 22XX Xbe a vector field on M with12X, X : M being
smooth functions.munotes.in

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Now, we have :2 1v1 1 1 2 2 2 1 1 2 2p
11
12 1
12Xv X X v X X
XXvp vp puu           

 
11
2222
12 2
12
11 1 12 2 pp
21 12 2 ppXXvp vp puu
vX p vX p
vX p vX p 
              
Therefore, we need express eachijpas a linear
combination of1pand2p. Suppose :
i12
j ij 1 ij 2 ppp ppwhere1
ijp,2
ijp
are real numbers. (Indeed they depend oni, jand p). Also, we write

i2
j p
ijFpN puu.
Whereis some real number. Combining the above two equalities,
we get 2
12
ij 1 ij 2
ijFpp pp p N puu........... ( 1)
Note right here that 22
ij j iFFppuu u u implies11
ij jippand22
ij jipp.
Taking inner product of the equation (1) withkp, we get :
2
12
k ij 1k ij 2k
ijFp, p pg p pg puu ........... (2)munotes.in

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On the other hand, we have :

 
22
kk
ij i j j i k
2
jk j
ii k
12 ik
ji k 1 i k 2
iFF F Fp, p p p, p p, puu u u u uu
Fp, p , puu u
gpp , p p p pu     
   
 
12 ik
ik 1 j ik 2 j
igpp g pp g pu  
Combining (2) and (3) above, we get :
12 1 ik
ik 1k ij 2k ik 1 j
ig0p p g p p g p p g pu   2
ik 2 jpg p
Making cyclic permutations ini, j,kwe get two more
equalities :
1212 ki
jk 1i jk 2i ji 1 j ji 2k
jgpp g pp g p p g p p g pu   
and
ij 12 12
ki 1 j ki kj 1k kj 2
kgpp g pp g j pp g pp g i pu  
The operationyields :
kj ij ik 12
ij 1k ij 2k
ij k
2
ij k
1gp g gpp2 p gp2 gpuu u
2g p
    

This kj ij ik
ij k i
jkgp g gpp2 gpuu u    

.
Multiplying the above equation bykmgand summing the
resulting equations fork1 , 2we getmunotes.in

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142
 kj ij ik km km
ij k
kk ij k
km
ij k k
kkgp g gp 1gp p g p gp2u u upg g pg p                



 

ij em
m
ijp
p


This gives us the desired formula :
 ij ki ik mk m
ij
k ij kg gp gp 1pg p p2u u u         ............. (*)
Definition 4 :k
ijp1 i j k 2are called the Christoffel Symbols
of the surface M at the point p.
We thus get the function :k
ij:M.
Their defining property being : 2
k
i ij
k1jk
.
Now fro any 22ii ji21 j1vv p . X X
  , we have


 
ivi j j ip
ij
j
ij i jj
ij i i
j k k
ik i i j k
ij k i j ii
k k
ii j i j k
ki i j iXv X
Xvp p v X p pu
X Xvp p vp p puu
Xvp v X p ppu
 

  
    
       
 
 
 
Thus  k k
vi i j i j k
ki i j iXXv p v X p p pu         .
The derivation (*) above gives a set of handy formulae to
calculate the Christoffel symbols. In particular, applying them to the
surfaces M which are graphs of functions f: U, we can obtainmunotes.in

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these functionskij, for example, the formulae can be applied to
obtainkijon a hemisphere222 2123xxxa, or on a surface of
revolution such as22312xxxandso on. This is left as exercises for
the reader.
Also, above we were considering the covariant different
differentiatievXof X at a point. The concept generatizes
immediately : Given a pair of smooth vector fields say X, Y on M,
differentiate one of them say X with respect to the other, obtaining a
new vector field Z on M given byYpZp X. It can be
verified that the resulting Z is a smooth vector field. We denote Z byYXit is the covariant derivative of X with respect to Y.
9.5 PARALLEL TRA NSPORT
We new use covariant differentiation (the Christoffe symbolskij) to move tangent vectors along smooth curves on M the
movement preserving their tangentially, their length and the angle
between two of them.
To be more specific, letc:I Mbe a smooth curve,opc t, and 12
i2vv p v puu   tangential to M at p. we want
totransfer v fromopc tto each pointctof the curve in such a
way that it is tangential to M atct, its length remaining unaltered.
This mode of transport of v then generates a vector field X along c
i.e. a map :cttI X tT M withXt vandoXt v.
We then say that the vector field X is obtained from v by parallel
transporting v along c. Such a vector field is obtained by solving a
pair of first order liner ODE (invo lving the Christoffe symbolskij.)
and using the vector v (which is to be parallel transported) as the
initial condition of the linear ODE.
Writing  12
12Xt X t c t X t c tuu   , we get the
(unknown function12X, X : I . Now, we consider the initial
value problem :munotes.in

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144
1 1
ij j 1 o 1
ij
2 2ij j 2 o 2ijdX tct X t 0 , X t vdt
dX tct ct X t 0 , X t vdt    

............. (*)
(In above   1o 2 o
12vv c t v c tuu   )
Note that this initial value problem (*) is equivalent to :
0CtXt o , Xt v   ...................... ................................1*By Picards theorem, the above initial value problem (*) (or
equivalent version1*of it) has a unique solution :3X:I We say that the vectorCtXt T M is obtained from the
vector v by parallel transporting it toctalong c.
At this stage, we improve our notation slightly : Taking into
consideration the initial condtionoXt v,we writevXforX.
Thus eachoctvT M gives rise to the vector field3vX: I having the properties :
i)v ctXt T M for eachtI,
ii)
vctXt 0 
iii)If v, w are inoctTMa, b in, thenav bw v wX aX bX
iv)For any v,octwT M, the associated vector fieldsvwX, Xsatisfy
the identityvwXt , X t v , wthat is, the parallel transport of
any two vectors v,octwT M, pressures the angle between them
(throughout the transport along c.)
To justify this last property, we have :




vw vwct
vwct
wvdXt , Xt Xt , X tdt
Xt , Xt0, X t X t 00

munotes.in

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Thereforevw v o w oXt , X t Xt, Xt v , w 
This completes the verification of the claim that the parallel
transport preserves the inner product. In particular we have :
a)vXt vi.e. parallel transport preserves t he length of the
vectors and
b)Iftis the angle betweenvXtandwXtthen


vw
vw
vo wo
vo woXt , X tCos tXt XtXt, X tXt X t
oCos tfor all t and thereforeotti.e. parallel
transport of tangent vectors along a smooth curve preserves the
angle between them.
9.6 GEODESICS
Geoddesics are smoth curves on a surface which have parallel
tangent fields.
Definition 5 : A smooth curvec:I Msatisfying

Ctct O 
is called a geodesic curve (or simply a geodesic)
Equivalently put, a smooth curvec:I Mthe second
derivative ct
of which is along the normal to the surface is a
geodesic.
Writing 12 1 2 2 2ct c t, c t u c t u c t  we have

12
12
12ct c t, c tct ctct ctuu   
     
 
and therefore we have

1
ij1i jCtij u1
2
ij2i j
ij u2ct c t ct c tc t ctct c tct ct c t       
     
  
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Now

ctct O 
yields.
1
ij1 ij
ijct c tct ct O  
2
ij2i j
ijct c tct ct O  
And then the existence and uniqueness theorem of solution of
the second order ODE with a prescribed initial conditions gives the
following result.
Theorem 1 : GivenpM, and thepvTMthere exists a unique
geodes ic curvep, vcc : I M(I being an open interval containing
0) having the following properties :
1)cis defined on the largest open interval I.
2)c0 pand c0 v
.
9.7 EXERCISES :
1)Let p, a, b be any vectors in3and let23F: be the map
given byF u,v p ua vbfor2u,v.
Prove :
i)2,Fgive rise to a parametrized surface if and only i fab 0.
ii)Puttingca b, prove that a3wis a point of the surface2MFif and only ifc; w p 0.
2)For each of the following surfaces obt ain the matrixijg, its
determinantijg det gthe inverse matrixijgand the unit
normal N :
a)F u,v R cos u cos v, R sinu,cos v, R sinv 
b)F u,v u cos v;u sinv,bv
c)F u,v R r cosu cos v, R r cos u sin v,r sinu  
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3)Calculatekijfor the surfaces M = Graph (f)2f: U being given by
a) 222uv
fu , v u , v2
 b)32 3f u,v u 2uv 4uv v u,v 24)Let23F: be given by22Fu , v u , v , u v u , v  .
Obtain
i)Expression forkijfor the surface2MFii)Derive equations for the geodesics on the above surface.
5)Obtain equations for the geodesics on the sphere (part of it)
parametrized by the usual longitude -lattitude anglesu,v:F u,v cos v cosu,cos v sinu,sin v
and prove that the great ci ucles are the geodesic curves on the
sphere.

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10
CURVATURE OF A REGULAR SURFACE
Unit Structure :
10.0 Introduction
10.1The Normal Curvature
10.2Principal Directions / Principal Curvatures :
10.3 The Riemannian Curvature Tensor
10.4 Locally Parametrized Smooth Surfaces
10.5 Exercises
10.0 I NTRODUCTIO N
We study now the main geometric feature of a regular surface
M, namely, its curvature. First, we introduce a number of scalar
quantities defined at each point p of M, namely.
i)the normal curvature of M along a tangential direction at p;
ii)the principal curvatures of M at p and
iii)the Gaussian and me an curvatures of M at a p.
And then we intro the Riemann curvature tensor which is a
biquadratic form on the tangent bundle of M. it is the carrier of
complete information about the curvature properties of the surface
M. Next, explaining the intrinsic / exterensic nature of geometric.
properties of M, we conclude the chapter by proving the important
result -the Theorema Egragium of C.F. Gauses -that the Gaussian
curvature function is an intrinsic property of a regular surface.
Throughout this chap ter, a regular surface is a subset M of3withF: U Mas its parametrization, its orientation being
specified by a given unti normal field3N:M .
10.1 THE NORMAL CURVATURE
Let p be a point of M and let v be a unit vector tangential to
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We choose a smooth unit speed curve :c: , Msatisfyingco pand co v
.
Assuming c0 o
we get the curvaturekpofcat p, which
given by : c0 k pn p
wherenpis the principal normal to c
atc0 p.
Now we have two unit vectors located at the point p, namely :
i)the principal normalnpofcat p and
ii)the unit normalNpto M at p.
In general, the two vectors are distinct.
We consider the decomposition of c0
into its components :
one along the normalNpand the other in the tangent planepTMof M :


c o c 0 tan c 0 normal
c 0 tan c 0 ,N p N pc 0 tan k p n p ,N p N p 
 
    

This equality gives :kp np kp np (tangential)+kp np , Np Np.
Now, note the following :




tOt0tO
tO
pdc, Np c t, Nc tdt
ddct, Nct c0, Nctdt dt
d0c 0 , N c tdt
c0, L c0
II p c 0 ,c 0



 

 
 
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Where, of course,pp pL: T M T M is the shape operator
andpp II p : T M T M is the second fundamental form of
M; both at the point p.
Thus, the normal part of the curavaturekpdepends only on
the direction vc 0
ofcat p and not on the (whole) curve c: Ifc
andcare two curves on M withco p coand co v co,
thenkp(normal) =kp(normal). This is naturally so, because,
while passing through p in the direction v, the curve can wiggle on
the surface thus aff ecting the tangential component (in the surface
M) of its curvature but its normal bending being forced by the
bending of M in the direction v at p. As such it (the normal partkp(normal)) is attributed to the curvature property of M at p in the
direction vc 0
; we call it the normal curvature of M at p in the
direction v. We adapt the notationvkfor the normal curvature.
Above we have derived the equalityvkI I p v , v
This result is often called Musiner’s Theorem.
Consider the following simple cases :If M is a plane, then for anyc: , Mwe have co okco oandconsequ ently the normal part of it is zero
0k0for any unit vectorpvTM.Let M be a sphere of radius A>o and let p be a point of M.
Then for any unit vector v tangential to the sphere M at p, we
consider the great circlec: Mthrough p having tangent
vector v at p. Now, we know that OPnp Npaand
1kpa, consequently,v1kaLet M be the circular cylinder of radius a>o. We consider a
pointpMand a unit vector v tangential to the cylinder at
the point p. As usual,Npis the unit normal to the cylinder
at the point p. Thus, we have the two unit vectors, v andNpdetermining a planethrough the point p. Note that
the intersection Mis an ellipse E passing through p and
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Letbe the angle between the planeandNp. Clearly we
can take the ellipse E for the curvec: ,. Now note that
the curvature of E at the point p is coskpaand the angle
betweenNpand v isand consequently, the desired
normal curvaturevkof M at p in the direction v is given by :
2
vcoska.
We summarise the above discussion and formulate the
definition.
Let p be a point of a regular surface M and v, a unit vector
tangential to M at p. Choosing a smooth curvec: ,with
co p , co v
we consider its curvaturekpat p and the fractionkp v , Np. We find that it depends only on the bending property
of M at p in the direction v and not on the chosen curve :kp v , Np I Ip u , v . This leades us to the following
definition :
Definition 1 : GivenpvTMwithv1the numbervkp v , Np kis the normal curvature of M at p in the direction
v.
Here is another realization ofvk: We consider the plane P
through p containg the vector v andNp. It intersects the surface
M along a smooth curvec: , M. Obviously cpasses through
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Weconsider its curvaturekpand the associated quantity
kp v , Np I Ic 0 , c 0 u , v      
giving us the normal
curvaturevkofMat p along v.
10.2 PRI NCIPAL DIRECTIO NS/PRINCIPAL
CURV ATURE S
Above we have obtained the expression :v
ppkI I u , vIL u , v L u , u
 
for the normal curvature of M at p along v; which in volves the shape
operatorpp pL: T M T M. We consider the eigenvalues and
eigen -vectors of it. RecallpLis self -adjoint and therefore its ei -
genvalues are real. We have the following two cases :pLhas a single (real) eigen -value sayand therefore,
pLI, I being the identity operator ofpTM. In this case,
every unit vectorpvTMis an eigen -vector ofppL: L v vpLhas two di stinct (real) eigen -values say,with.
Let u, v be the unit vectors inpTMcorresponding to the
eigen -values :pLu vandpLU v.
Inthe first case, that is whenpLhas a single eigenvaue, the
point p is said to be an umbitic point of M. For such an umbilic point
p of M, we have :
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153v
pkI I u , vLv , Uv,U
U, U


This shows that the normal curvaturevkof M at an umbilic
point is the same in all directions at p.
Here are simple examples of umbili c points.
i)On a plane P in3, any pointpPis an umbilic point with
vk0for every unit vectorpvTP.
ii)Any point P on a sphere S of radius a > 0is an umb ilic point
withv1kafor every unit vectorpvTS.
iii)Let M be the surface of revolution generated by rotating the
parabola2zx , xabout the Z -axis. Then the pointp 0,0,0is n umbilic point. (In fact it is the only umbilic point
on the surface).
(Perhaps t he above claim is clear to the reader, but we advise
him / her to verify it mathematically in an exercise. )
In the other case, namely, whenpLhas two distinct
eigenvalues,with.let u, v be unit eigenvectors of,respectively (i.e.ppLu u , Lv v.) then as seen above we have
ukandvk. Moreoveruvand consequently, any unit vectorpwTPcan be expressed uniquenly in the form :wc o s us i n vwhereis the angle betw een u and w. Now, the
normal curvaturewkof M at p in the direction w is given by  

 wp
p
2
pp
2
pp
22
22
22kL w , wL cos u sin u , cos u sin vcos L u ,u sin cos L u,vcos sin L u ,u sin L u ,vcos u,u 0 0 sin v,v
cos u,u sin v,v
cos sin  
 


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(In above the middle terms are zero each becausepLu , v=v,u 0becauseu, vand for the same reasonpLu , v 0).
Thus we get that the normal curvaturewkalong such aw cos u sin vis given by22
wk cos sin.
This formula forwkwhich expresswkas a linear combination
of the distinguished normal curvaturesuvk, kinvolving the angle,
is known as the Euler’s formula.
Now in view of Euler’s formula, it is clear that the eigen -
values,of the shape operatorpLare respectively the minimum
and maximum of the setwpk: w T M; w 1 .
Definition 2 : Suppose,pMis not an umbilic point. Then the
unit eigen -vectors u, v belonging to the minimum and maximum of
the normal curvatures,are called the principal curvature
directions of the surface M at the point p.
Definition 3 : Let,be the minimum and maximum values of the
normal curvature of M at p. Then the quantities;Kp
1Hp2are called respectively the Gaussian curvature and the mean
curvature of M at the point p.
Note that w hen p is not an umbilical point of M, then the
principal curvature directions u, v at p form an orthonormal basis ofpTM , I Pand the matrix of the shape operatorpLwith respect
to this orthonormal basisu,vis00and consequently we have
:
i)pK p det Land
ii) p1H p trace L2
We extend the above definition to an umbilic point also :
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155pwTM and we them have :22Kpand
1Hp2.
Thus, we have :
1)In case of a plane P in3, at any point p of P, we have :poand consequentlyKp 0 Hp.
ii)Let M be the sphere of radius a > O. Then for anypM, have
1aand therefore 21Kpaand 1Hpa.
iii)Let M be a circular cylinder of radius a > 0.
then at a point p of it, the principal directions are :
a)The line1Lthrough p, parallel to the axis of the cylinder and
b)The line2Ltangential to the cylinder at the point p and per
pendicular to1L.
The principal curvatures are0(the curvature of the line1L) and1a, the curvature of the cylinder) and therefore, we get :Kp 0and 1Hp2a.
iv)We consider upper half of the ellipsoide :
22 2
3
222xyzMx , y , z : 1 , z Oabc     a, b, c being
constants withabc0. Let p be the pointp 0,0,c.
Note thatpTMis the plane through p which is parallel to the
XOY plane and the unit normal to M at p is the vector (0,0,1)
located at the point p.
Now recall, for each unit vectorpwTMwe consider the
planePwthrough p containingNpand w. The intersectionPw Nis the half part of an ellipse through the point p and the
curvature of t his are (of the ellipse) at p is the normal curvature of
the ellipsoide M at p in the direction w. in particular we consider the
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ClearlyPu Mis the ellipse : 22
3
22xzx,0,z 1ac    and
its curvature at the pointo,o,cis2ca.
SimilarlyPu Mis the ellipse : 22
3
22yzo,y,z 1bc   
and its curvature at the point0,0,cis2cb.
Also note that the shape operatorpLhas eigen -vectors (1,0,0)
and (0,1,0) atp 0,0,c and the respective eigen -values2ca,2cb. Therefore, the vectorsu 1,0,0 v 0,1,0are the
principal directions of normal curvature and2ca,2cbare the
principal normal curvat ures of the ellipsoide M at the pointp 0,0,c. It now follows that the Gaussian and mean curvatures
are given by : 222cKpaband 22c1 1Hp2a b.
10.3 THE RIEMA NNIANCURVATURE TE NSOR
We introduce now the sophishicated curvature tensor on a
smooth, parametrized surface M. Being a smoothly verying field of
biquadratic forms on all the tangent spacespTMof M, i tencodes
all the curvature properties of the surface (and many more geo metric
properities of such a M. Naturaly it has very fine algetraic /
geometric / analytical features. A comparesnsive study of it therefore
leades one f ar beyond the scope of the syllabus; we cannot cover the
topic completely here. Instead, we introduce i t very briefly and
mention some of its properties and relate the tensor to the Gaussian
curvature of M. We then proceed to prove the grand “theorema
egregium ”of Gauss explaining the intrinsic nature of the geometry
of M.
To begin with recall the equat ions (already explained) :
a)2
ij ij
ij eFLNuu u  
and
b)j
i
j ijNFLi , j , 2uu    
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i)for eachj
ipM , Lpis the matrix of the shape operatorpp pL: T M T M with respect to the vector basis

12FFp, puu   ofpTMand
ii)the functionsjii jL, Lare related as follows :jj k kii k i j i k jkkLg L , L g L .
Now, differentiating part (a) of ( *) we get :
32
ij ij
ij ijkki j k k k
m
ij m
ij k k m
mm km
ij m
ij k
m km
m
ij
ij k
kLFF F NLN Luu u u u uu u uFFLL Nuu u
L FNL Luu
u                  
  
 

 


  

 



mm
ij k
m m
ij
ij k
kFLLu
LLu         
    





Similarly, we have :
m 3
kj mmkj i kj i mm ik j iFLL Fuu u u        


kj
kj i
iLLL Nu   

…………………… (***)
The subtraction (**) -(***) givesmunotes.in

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33
ki j ik j
mm
kj kj mm
kj k kj i
m ki
mm
ij k kj i
m
ij kj
ij ke kj ie
kiFF
uu u u uu
uu
FLL LLu
LLLL LL Nuu 
    
   
        
 
 

 

Now we must have33
ki j ik jFFOuu u u uu  and therefore
we get :mm
ij kj mm m m
ij k kj i ij k kj i
kiLL LL Ouu   
 along with
ij kj
ij ke kj ie
kiLLOuu   .
We use the identity (***) written equivalently in the
following way
mm
ij kjmm m mij k kj i ij k kj ikiLL LLuu    
 .
Also reorganizing the indicesik,j ,mwer write :
ij mm ikijk ik mj ij mkm jk kRuu  
  all the indicesi, j,k, ,mtaking the values1,2.
Note that the functionsijkR: M satisfy :ijk ikjRR .
The collecti onijkR: 1i , j , k , 2are components of a
geometric object (related to M) called the curvature tensor of M.
We also introduce the functionsijkR: M 1 i , j , k , 2 bymijk ijkmRg m R.munotes.in

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Note that we can retrieveijkRfromijkRbymijk mijkmRg R .
This is indeed so, because the matricesijgandijgare the
inverses of each other.
Now the equality :
mmijk ik j ij kmRL L L L
multiplied bymgand then summed overm1 , 2gives :ijk ik jm ij kmRL L L L.
In particular, we have 21212 22 11 21RL L L ijdet LThus, for anypM, we have1212 ij
k
ik j
kR p det L pdet L p g p    
j
i ij
ij
ijdet L p det g pdet L p det g pK p det g p Kpbeing, of course, the normal curvature of M at its point
p. Thus, we have obtaine d1212
ijRpKpdet g p………………… (G)
This is offen called Gauss’ formula for the normal curvature.
For the sake of convenience, we will refer to the Gauss
formula by the symbol (G).
Now, looking at the right hand side of (G) we notice that i t is
a complex expression involving the entriesijgof the first
fundamental form and their partial derivatives2ij ijkk igguu u. The
functionsijgare obtained by varying the parametrization maps12 3FF Fon the surface and all the partial derivatives too are
obtained by differentiating thei ijF, getc.munotes.in

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Consequently we infer that the Gaussian curvatureKpof M
at p is calculated by taki ng measurements on the surface and not
referring to the ambient space3.
On the other hand, there are geometric quantities pertaining to
M which involve the ambian space also : For example the unit
normal and its variation on the surface refer to the external space.
We call geometric quantities intrinsic to M if they are
obtained by taking measurements taken strictly on the surface M .
Thus, a geometric quantity is intrinsic if it is expressible in terms of
the first fundame ntal form of the surface.
Above we have explained the proof (!) of the following :
Theorema Egregium ofGauss : Gaussian curvature of a
surface is an intrinsic property of a surface.
(Here “Egregium” means “e xtraordinary”.)
And then let us note a property of surfaces which is not
“intrinsic”.
We consider the flat rectangleR x, y,0 : 0 x 1,0 y 2 in the XOY plane2.
We roll it up in the form of the circular cylinder :M x,cos y, sin y : 0 x 1,0 y 2
Note that we obtained M from R without crumpling the paper
(or without causing any kind of damage to the paper and
consequently any measurements taken on the surface either in its
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Geometrically, bot h the suffaces , R M have the same first
fundamental form.
But the mean curvature ofR0while that of the cylinder is
01 1022.
The above example shows that the mean curvature of a
surface is not an intrin sic property of surfaces. It dependes on the
way in which itis imbedded in the ambient space (i.e. the space3).
10.4 LOCALLY PARAMETRIZED SMOOTH SURFACES
In the preceeding part of this chapter, we considered smooth
surfaces M which were covered by single parametrizationsU,F :M F U. But we come across surfaces which are
parametrized only locally; such surfaces are over wheming in
mathematics. We introduce the concept here formally.
Let M be a non -empty su bset of3. We consider M give the
subspace topology of3.
By a smooth, local parametrization on M, we mean a pair
(U,F) consisting of an open subset U ofand a smooth map3F: U , the pair having the following properties :
i)FUis an open subset of M and theF: U F Uis a
homeomorphism.
ii)For eachqU, the Jacobean map23FJa : is injective
(equivalently put, it has rank 2)
A smooth atlas on M is a collectionDU , F : of
smooth local parametrizationsU, Fon M with the property :UFU : M.
A smooth, local ly parametrized surface is a set M on which is
specified a smooth atlas D. We indicate it by the notationM,D.
The collection D is called a smooth atlas of the surface and an
elementU, F Dis often called a coor dinate chart ofM,D.munotes.in

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Thus a (smooth) parametrized surface is a particular case of aM,Din which D has only one elementU,F. (We often speak ofM,Dbeing co vered by a single coordinate chart.) But, of course, a
set M may not be covered by a single coordinate chart. Moreover,
there are subsets of3which are so scattered in3that they do not
admit any smooth atlas.
We conclude this chapter by describing a smooth atlas on a
sphere of radius a > o and then generalizing this in the form of a
result which gives a large variety of locally parametrized surfaces :
Let22 22Mx , y , z : x y z a 
We cons ider the open coverU, U, V, V, W, Wof M
where :  
   Ux , y , z M , z o , Ux , y , z M , z o
Vx , y , z M , y o , Vx , y , z M , y oW x, y,z M ,x o and W x, y,z M ,x o 
 
   
    Also let22 2Du , v , u v a ; it is an open subset of2.
Now defineF: D U, F: D U  by
222 222Fu , v u , v , a u v Fu , v u , v , a u v andG: D V, G: D V   by
222 222Gu , v u , a u v, u Gu , v u , a u v, u 
and finally,H: D W, H: D W    by
222 222Hu , v a u v , u , v , Hu , v a u v , u , v  .
ThenU, F , V, G , W, H is a smooth atlas on the
sphere M.
Verification of this claim is left as an ex ercise for the reader.
Now, the following result.munotes.in

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Proposition 1 : Let W be an open subset of3and f: Wa
smooth function. For a, letMx , y , z W : f x , y , z a  .
Suppose M sati sfies :fp o , o , ofor eachpM.
Then M carries a smooth atlas D.
We give a sketchy proof below :
Proof : Let123pp , p , p M .
Thenfp o. Assume without loss of general ity that
fpOx. Then by implicit function theorem there exists an open2pUwith12p, p Uand a smoothppg: U satisfyingpfx , y , g x , y afor allpx,y Uandp1 2 3gp p p.
Define3ppG: U by puttingppGx , y x , y , gx , y for
allpx,y U. ThenppU, Gis a local parametrization of M around
the point p. And thenppU, G : p M D=
is the desired smooth atlas on M.
10.5 EXERCISES :
1)Let M be the surface of revolution given byF b, r t cos ,r t sin t : t I ,O 2 for a given
r:I, Prove that the Gaussian curvature K and mean curvature
H fun ctions are given by



2
222
2rtKt ,
rt 1 rtrtrt 1 rt1Ht ,2rt 1 rt


 

2)Let S be the surface of reolution given bymunotes.in

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
1F t, sint sin ,sint cos t,cos t log tan2t, 0, 0,22      
Show that the surface has constant Gaussian curvatureK1.
3)Let M be the ellipsoid :
22
2yzMx , y , z : x 123    Prove that none of the points 12p 1,0,0 , p 0, 2 ,0 , 3p 0,0, 3 is an umbilic point.
4)Prove that (0,0,0) is the umbilic point of the surface22zx yand calculate the normal curvature of it at ( 0,0,0).
5)Find principal curvatures and principal directions of the
following surfaces at a point of them
i)a circular cylinder
ii)the saddle surfacezx y6)Let:I Mbe a smooth curve. Show that the norma l curvature
of M at a point ofin the direction(at that point) is given by :K k coswhere kis the curvature of(as a curve in3) andis the angle between the surface normal N and the
principal normal vector of the curve.
7)Find the normal, curvature of the surfacezf x , yat a point p
of it in the direction of the unit vector (a, b, c).
8)Let M be the hyperbolic paraboloid. 21zy2.Show that the
normal curvature of M at (0,0,0) along a unit vectorv cos ,sin ,0is :22
nk v cos sin cos 2munotes.in