Manuel Barros

General helices and a theorem of Lancret

We present a theorem of Lancret for general helices in a 3-dimensional real-space-form which gives a relevant difference between hyperbolic and spherical geometries. Then we study two classical problems for general helices in the 3-sphere: the problem of solving natural equations and the closed curve problem.

Magnetic vortex filament flows

We exhibit a variational approach to study the magnetic flow associated with a Killing magnetic field in dimension 3. In this context, the solutions of the Lorentz force equation are viewed as Kirchhoff elastic rods and conversely. This provides an amazing connection between two apparently unrelated physical models and, in particular, it ties the classical elastic theory with the Hall effect. Then, these magnetic flows can be regarded as vortex filament flows within the localized induction approximation. The Hasimoto transformation can be used to see the magnetic trajectories as solutions of the cubic nonlinear Schrodinger equation showing the solitonic nature of those.

The Gauss-Landau-Hall problem on Riemannian surfaces

We introduce the notion of Gauss-Landau-Hall magnetic field on a Riemannian surface. The corresponding Landau-Hall problem is shown to be equivalent to the dynamics of a massive boson. This allows one to view that problem as a globally stated, variational one. In this framework, flowlines appear as critical points of an action with density depending on the proper acceleration. Moreover, we can study global stability of flowlines. In this equivalence, the massless particle model corresponds with a limit case obtained when the force of the Gauss-Landau-Hall magnetic field increases arbitrarily. We also obtain properties related with the completeness of flowlines for general magnetic fields. The paper also contains results relative to the Landau-Hall problem associated with a uniform magnetic field. For example, we characterize those revolution surfaces whose parallels are all normal flowlines of a uniform magnetic field.

A conformal variational approach for helices in nature

We propose a two step variational principle to describe helical structures in nature. The first one is governed by an energy action which is a linear function in both curvature and torsion allowing to describe nonclosed structures including elliptical, spherical, and conical helices. These appear as rhumb lines in right cylinders constructed over plane curves. The model is completed with a conformal alternative which, in particular, gives a description of closed structures. The energy action is linear in the curvatures when computed in a conformal spherical metric. Now, helices appear as making a constant angle with a Villarceau flow and so they are loxodromes in surfaces which are stereographic projections of Hopf tubes, in particular, anchor rings, revolution tori, and Dupin cyclides. The model satisfies the requirements of simplicity and beauty as reflected in the three main principles that head its construction: least action, topological, and quantization. According to the latter, the main entities an...

Letter: Models of Relativistic Particle with Curvature and Torsion Revisited

Models, describing relativistic particles, where Lagrangian densities depend linearly on both the curvature and the torsion of the trajectories, are revisited in D=3 space forms. The moduli spaces of trajectories are completely and explicitly determined using the Lancret program. The moduli subspaces of closed solitons in the three sphere are also determined.

Willmore tori and Willmore-Chen submanifolds in pseudo-Riemannian spaces

Abstract We exhibit a new method to find Willmore tori and Willmore-Chen submanifolds in spaces endowed with pseudo-Riemannian warped product metrics, whose fibres are homogeneous spaces. The chief points are the invariance of the involved variational problems with respect to the conformal changes of the metrics on the ambient spaces and the principle of symmetric criticality. They allow us to relate the variational problems with that of generalized elastic curves in the conformal structure of the base space. Among other applications we get a rational one-parameter family of Willmore tori in the standard anti De Sitter 3-space shaped on an associated family of closed free elastic curves in the once punctured standard 2-sphere. We also obtain rational one-parameter families of Willmore-Chen submanifolds in standard pseudo-hyperbolic spaces. As an application of a general approach to our method, we give nice examples of pseudo-Riemannian 3-spaces which are foliated with leaves being non-trivial Willmore tori. More precisely, the leaves of this foliation are Willmore tori which are conformal to non-zero constant mean curvature flat tori.

2-Type surfaces in S3

It is proved that the Riemannian product of two plane circles of different radii are the only compact surfaces of the 3-spheres in R4 which can be constructed in R4 by using eigenfunctions associated with two different eigenvalues of their corresponding Laplacians.

Relativistic particles with rigidity and torsion in D =3 spacetimes

Models describing relativistic particles, where Lagrangian densities depend linearly on both the curvature and the torsion of the trajectories, are revisited in D = 3 Lorentzian spacetimes with constant curvature. The moduli spaces of trajectories are completely and explicitly determined. Trajectories are Lancret curves including ordinary helices. To get the geometric integration of the solutions, we design algorithms that essentially involve the Lancret program as well as the notions of scrolls and Hopf tubes. The most interesting and consistent models appear in anti-de Sitter spaces, where the Hopf mappings, both the standard and the Lorentzian ones, play an important role. The moduli subspaces of closed solitons in anti-de Sitter settings are also obtained. Our main tool is the isoperimetric inequality in the hyperbolic plane. The mass spectra of these models are also obtained. The main characteristic of the anti-de Sitter space comes from the presence of real gravity, which becomes essential to find some system with only massive states. This fact, on one hand, has no equivalent in flat spaces, where spectra necessarily present tachyonic sectors and, on the other hand, solves an early stated problem.

A geometric algorithm to construct new solitons in the O(3) nonlinear sigma model

The O(3) nonlinear sigma model with boundary, in dimension two, is considered. An algorithm to determine all its soliton solutions that preserve a rotational symmetry in the boundary is exhibited. This nonlinear problem is reduced to that of clamped elastica in a hyperbolic plane. These solutions carry topological charges that can be holographically determined from the boundary conditions. As a limiting case, we give a wide family of new soliton solutions in the free O(3) nonlinear sigma model.

A criterion for reduction of variables in the Willmore-Chen variational problem and its applications

We exhibit a criterion for a reduction of variables for WillmoreChen submanifolds in conformal classes associated with generalized KaluzaKlein metrics on flat principal fibre bundles. Our method relates the variational problem of Willmore-Chen with an elasticity functional defined for closed curves in the base space. The main ideas involve the extrinsic conformal invariance of the Willmore-Chen functional, the large symmetry group of generalized Kaluza-Klein metrics and the principle of symmetric criticality. We also obtain interesting families of elasticae in both lens spaces and surfaces of revolution (Riemannian and Lorentzian). We give applications to the construction of explicit examples of isolated Willmore-Chen submanifolds, discrete families of Willmore-Chen submanifolds and foliations whose leaves are Willmore-Chen submanifolds.