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This document covers the Frenet equations in differential geometry, focusing on smooth curves in R3 and defining the unit tangent, normal, and binormal vectors. It discusses the properties of Frenet curves, including curvature and torsion, and presents theorems and proofs related to the orthonormality of the Frenet frame. The document concludes with the significance of curvature and torsion in determining the shape of a curve up to Euclidean congruences.

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2 views

lecture04

This document covers the Frenet equations in differential geometry, focusing on smooth curves in R3 and defining the unit tangent, normal, and binormal vectors. It discusses the properties of Frenet curves, including curvature and torsion, and presents theorems and proofs related to the orthonormality of the Frenet frame. The document concludes with the significance of curvature and torsion in determining the shape of a curve up to Euclidean congruences.

Uploaded by

roger.chemoul86
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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DIFFERENTIAL GEOMETRY

MATH 136

Unit 4: Frenet Equations

4.1. Today, we work at smooth curves r : [a, b] → R3 . 1 Define the unit tangent
vector T (t) = r′ (t)/|r′ (t)|, the normal vector B(t) = T ′ (t)/|T ′ (t)| and the binormal
vector B(t) = T (t) × N (t). The three vectors are defined, as long as as r′ and T ′ are
non-zero. One calls it a Frenet frame (T, N, B). A smooth curve is called a Frenet
curve if r′ , r′′ are linearly independent at every t. This is equivalent to the statement
r′ × r′′ ̸= 0 for every t.

Figure 1. Direction T , normal N and binormal direction B.

Theorem 1. For a Frenet curve, the Frenet frame TNB is orthonormal at every point.
Proof. By assumption, r′ and r′′ are both not zero. If the parametrization is arc length,
then T = r′ and N = T ′ /|T ′ | = r′′ /|r′′ |. Since T · T = 1, we have by Leibniz product
rule, 2T ′ · T = 0 so that N is perpendicular to T . The cross product T × B now also
has length 1 and is perpendicular to both T and N . □
4.2. Every Frenet curve r(t) can be parametrized by arc length as you work out in
the homework. The curvature κ is then defined as κ = T ′ · N which is |T ′ |. The
curvature measures the deviation of the curve from being linear. The torsion τ is
defined as τ = N ′ · B . It measures the deviation from the curve of being planar. We
can encode the three vectors T, N, B by turning them into row vectors of an orthog-
onal 3 × 3 matrix Q(t) = T N B . We get now Q′ (t) = K(t)Q(t), where K(t)
is skew-symmetric:
1In R3 , one requires the map r : [a, b] → R3 to be at least C 3 .
Differential Geometry

4.3.
′ 
  
T 0 κ 0 T
Theorem 2 (Frenet equations).  N  =  −κ 0 τ   N 
B 0 −τ 0 B
Proof. Because N · T = 0, we have N ′ · T = −T ′ · N = κ. The relation N · N = 1
implies N ′ · N = 0. The relation B · B implies B ′ · B = 0. Now expand with respect
to the basis {T, N, B} and use κ = |T ′ | and τ = N ′ · B:
T ′ = (T ′ · T )T + (T ′ · N )N + (T ′ · B)B = 0 + 0 + κB
N ′ = (N ′ · T )T + (N ′ · N )N + (N ′ · B)B = −κT + 0 + τ B
B ′ = (B ′ · T )T + (B ′ · N )N + (B ′ · B)B = 0 − τ N + 0 .
□
4.4. In the two dimensional case, we only have to consider T and N . We can reduce
 the′ planar
to  case if
 τ is constant 0. The Frenet equations can then be written as
T 0 κ T
= .
N −κ 0 N
4.5. The fundamental theory of curves in R3 tells that curvature and torsion
determines a curve up to Euclidean congruences given by rotations or translations.
”The shape of a Frenet curve is determined by curvature and torsion”.
Lemma 1. For any smooth curvature and torsion functions κ(t) > 0 and τ (t), there
exists up to translation and rotation a unique curve r(t) parametrized by arc length
that has the given curvature and torsion.
Proof. Fixing an initial r(0) and (T (0), N (0), B(0)) takes care of the translation and
rotation part. The stage is set now to ”build  the curve”. The functions κ(t), τ (t)
0 κ 0
define a skew symmetric matrix K(t) =  −κ 0 τ . We look now for an
0 −τ 0
orthogonal matrix Q(t) such that the differential equation Q′ (t) = K(t)Q(t) holds. In
the homework you verify that a differential equation x′ = F (t, x) with a C 1 function
F has locally a unique solution and that if x(t) stays bounded, the solutions exist for
all times. You also check that if Q(t) is a curve of orthogonal matrices, then Q′ = KQ
with skew symmetric K. This can be reversed: if Q(0) is orthogonal and K(t) is skew
symmetric, then the solution Q(t) of the differential equation is orthogonal. Having
now a solutionR t Q(t), it gives us rR′ (s) = Q(s)r′ (0). We have now r′ (t) = Q(s)r′ (0).
t
r(t) = r(0) + 0 r′ (s) ds = r(0) + 0 Q(s)r′ (0) ds. □
4.6. We have seen in the first warm-up class expressions for curvature and torsion
for a curve r(t). These formulas worked if the curve was not necessarily arc-length
parametrized. In the Frenet case, meaning that r′ × r′′ ̸= 0, we will prove them in
class:
|r′ (t) × r′′ (t)| det[r′ (t), r′′ (t), r′′′ (t)]
κ(t) = , τ (t) = .
|r′ (t)|3 |r′ × r′′ |2
Oliver Knill, [email protected], Math 136, Fall, 2024

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