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On the Cartan Curvatures of a Null Curve in

Minkowski Spacetime
ARTICLE in GEOMETRIAE DEDICATA JANUARY 2005
Impact Factor: 0.47 DOI: 10.1007/s10711-005-4804-1

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Geometriae Dedicata (2005) 114: 7178

DOI 10.1007/s10711-005-4804-1

Springer 2005

On The Cartan Curvatures of a Null Curve

in Minkowski Spacetime

A. CEYLAN C
OKEN
and UNVER
C
IFTC
I
Department of Mathematics, Suleyman Demirel University, 32260, Isparta, Turkey.
e-mail: {ceylan, unver}@fef.sdu.edu.tr
(Received: 11 March 2004; accepted in nal form: 1 April 2005)
Abstract. We reconstruct the Cartan frame of a null curve in Minkowski spacetime for an
arbitrary parameter, and we characterize pseudo-spherical null curves and Bertrand null
curves.
Mathematics Subject Classications (2000). 53B30, 53A04.
Key words. null curves, Cartan curvatures, pseudo-sphere, Bertrand curves

1. Introduction
Bonnor [2] describes geometry of null curves in a Minkowski spacetime and he
proves the fundamental existence and congruence theorems. He introduces the
Cartan frame as the most useful one and he uses this frame to study the behaviors
of a null curve. A. Bejancu [1] gives a method for the general study of the geometry of null curves in Lorentz manifolds and, more generally, in semi-Riemannian
manifolds. A. Ferrandez, A. Gimenez, and P. Lucas [6] generalize the Cartan frame
to Lorentzian space forms. They prove the fundamental existence and uniqueness
theorems and they obtain values of the Cartan curvatures in higher dimensions.
Recently, geometry of null curves in semi-Riemannian manifolds of index two
has been constructed (see [5] and [8]). In [8], the authors verify that there are three
family-types of null curves, of which all derivatives are linearly independent, in a
pseudo-Euclidean space of index two. Continuing their argument will show that
there exist 2q 1 different family types of null curves in a pseudo-Euclidean space
of index q.
Physical signicance of null curves is obvious from [3,9,10,15] for instance.
Moreover, there is a particle model entirely based on geometry of null curves (see
[7] and [12]).
In this paper, we rstly aimed to show that the Cartan frame is parameter independent, so we could use classical methods in our study. After giving the Frenet
equations, we recall some denitions and results about null curves in Minkowski
space-time. Next, we claim and show that a null curve lies on a pseudo-sphere if
and only if its second Cartan curvature is a nonzero constant. Finally, we show

A. CEYLAN C
OKEN
AND UNVER
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IFTC
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72

that the only Bertrand null curves in Minkowski spacetime are three-dimensional
null helices.

2. Frenet Equations
Let M4 denote Minkowski spacetime, i.e., the manifold R4 together with a at
Lorentz metric
,  of signature (, +, +, +). A curve
, locally parametrized by
: I R M4 , is called a null curve if
 (t),  (t) = 0 and  (t) = 0 for all t I.
Now let us begin to set up the Frenet equations of a null curve by using the main
results of [2]. We will assume, in the sequel, that the null curve we consider has
no points at which the acceleration vector is null. Hence
 ,   is never zero. We
know that the acceleration vector of the null curve is always spacelike. Accordingly,
setting
L =  /
 (t),  (t)1/2 ,
gives rise to
L = W1 ,
where W1 is a unit spacelike vector eld. (A similar method appears in [16].) As
there are no null plane curves except for null geodesics in M4 , the space  spanned
by {  ,  , (3) } (osculating 3-space) is always Minkowskian. Why  is not a null
3-space can be shown as follows: Since  is null we have
 ,   = 0. But we do
not allow  to be null, so it is spacelike. We also have
 ,   +
(3) ,   = 0 then
(3) cannot be perpendicular  .
Therefore,  always includes a null vector eld, called null transversal vector
eld (see [1]), uniquely determined by

N, L = 1,

N, W1  = 0.

Furthermore, we can choose a unit spacelike vector eld W2 orthogonal to 

such that {L, N, W1 , W2 } is positively oriented. In the circumstances, Frenet equations associated with the frame {L, N, W1 , W2 } become as below:
L
L
N
W1
W2

=  /
 ,  1/2 ,
= W1 ,
= k 1 W1 + k2 W2 ,
= k1 L N,
= k2 L.

(2.1)

Here, the curve
, which satises the assumptions above, is called a Cartan
curve with the Cartan frame {L, N, W1 , W2 }, and the Cartan curvatures {k1 , k2 }.

CARTAN CURVATURES OF A NULL CURVE IN MINKOWSKI SPACETIME

73

Since the Cartan frame is unique up to orientation, the number of the Cartan curvatures is minimum and the Cartan curvatures are invariant under Lorentz transformations, the set {L, N, W1 , W2 , k1 , k2 } corresponds to the Frenet apparatus of a
space curve (see for details [6]).
A direct computation shows that the values of the Cartan curvatures are
k1 =

  2 
1
(3) (3)

,


+
2aa

4
a


,
2a 2

k2 =

1
det(  ,  , (3) , (4) ),
a4

where a =
 ,  1/2 . Using pseudo-arc parameter, dened as

 t
s(t) =
 (u) ,  (u)1/4 du,
t0

simplies computations, since a = 1 in this case.

Null straight lines, being the only null curves that arent Cartan curves, have the
parametrization
(t) = At + B,
where A and B are constant vectors.
Null curves with k2 = 0 completely lie in a three-dimensional Minkowski space,
and the one with k1 = k2 = 0 is called the null cubic and its equation given in [2] is


6s + s 3 s 2
6s s 3
(t) =
, , 0,

12 2 4
12 2
Null curves which have constant k1 and k2 not both zero are called null helices,
and their equations are given in [2] as follows: In case k2 = 0,


1
1
1
1
1
sinh s, cosh s, sin s, cos s ,
(s) =

2 + 2
where = [(k12 + k22 ) k1 ]1/2 and = [(k12 + k22 ) k1 ]1/2 . In case k2 = 0, if k1 > 0,
1
( s, sin s, 0, cos s),
2

where = 2k1 and if k1 < 0,

(s) =

1
(sin s, cos s, 0, s),
2

where = k1 .
(s) =

A. CEYLAN C
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74

3. Pseudo-spherical Null Curves in M4

This section deals with pseudo-spherical null curves, that is, null curves that completely lie on a pseudo-sphere of radius r > 0 and of center A, and denoted by
S13 (r) = {X M4 ;
X A, X A = r 2 }
(see for denition [13]). To have a characterization for pseudo-spherical null curves
we use the osculating pseudo-sphere dened as below.
DEFINITION 3.1. Let
be a Cartan curve in M4 . Then the pseudo-sphere having ve-point contact with
is called the osculating pseudo-sphere of
. (see for
the Euclidean case [11])
LEMMA 3.1. The center point of the osculating pseudo-sphere at a point (s0 ) is
A(s0 ) = (s0 ) +

1
W2 (s0 ).
k2 (s0 )

Proof. Let be the pseudo-arc parameter and {L, N, W1 , W2 } be the Cartan

frame. Then for any s0 the position vector A(s) (s), can be written as a linear
combination of the frame in the form
A(s0 ) (s0 ) = m1 (s0 )L(s) + m2 (s0 )N (s0 ) + m3 (s0 )W1 (s0 ) + m4 (s0 )W2 (s0 ), where
mi , 1
i
4 are differentiable functions on R. Next, consider the function
f (s) =
A(s) (s), A(s) (s) r 2 ,
where r is the radius of the osculating pseudo-sphere, then the equations
f (s0 ) = f  (s0 ) = f  (s0 ) = f (3) (s0 ) = f (4) (s0 ) = 0,
are satised due to the denition of the osculating pseudo-sphere at s0 . Then a
straightforward computation leads to
m1 (s0 ) = m2 (s0 ) = m3 (s0 ) = 0

and m4 (s0 ) =

1
.
k2 (s0 )

Thus the result follows.

Observe that r = |1/k2 | in the notations above.
THEOREM 3.2. Let
M4 be a Cartan curve. Then
is a pseudo-spherical curve
iff k2 is a nonzero constant.
Proof. Suppose that
lies on S13 (r). Then the osculating pseudo-spheres at all
points of the curve are exactly S13 (r), and so r and k2 are constant.
Conversely, if k2 is a nonzero constant, then all of the osculating pseudo-spheres
have the same radius. Moreover, if we consider the function

CARTAN CURVATURES OF A NULL CURVE IN MINKOWSKI SPACETIME

A(s) = (s) +

75

1
W2 (s),
k2

giving the central point of the osculating pseudo-sphere, its derivative is zero everywhere, so it is constant. Consequently,
lies on S13 (r), since the equation

A(s) (s), A(s) (s) = r 2
is valid for all s.
Null curves that have k2 as a nonzero constant lie on a pseudo-sphere but they
may not be its geodesics, since null geodesics of pseudo-sphere are null straight
lines of M4 . Null helices of k2 = 0 are pseudo-spherical, while the other null helices
and the null cubic arent. More generally, there is no three dimensional null curve
that lies on a pseudo-sphere in Minkowski space-time (see also [14]).
A similar argument shows that the hyperbolic space
H03 (r) = {X M4 ;
X, X = r 2 }
may not contain any null curve (see also [4]).
COROLLARY 3.3. A Cartan curve
M4 fully lies on a pseudo-sphere iff there
exists a xed point A such that for each s I

A (s),  (s) = 0.

4. Bertrand Null Curves

In this section, we study the notion of Bertrand curves, a classical idea in
Euclidean geometry (see, for instance [11]), for Cartan curves.
DEFINITION 4.1. Let
and
be two Cartan curves. If the normal line to

and the normal line to
coincide at corresponding points, then
is called a
Bertrand null mate for
. A Cartan curve that has a Bertrand null mate is said to
be a Bertrand null curve.
LEMMA 4.1. The distance between corresponding points of a Bertrand null curve
and of its Bertrand mate is a constant.
Proof. Let
and
be Bertrand curves and suppose that {L, N, W1 , W2 } and
{L , N , W1 , W2 } are their Cartan fames, respectively. Then we may write
= + W1 ,

(4.1)

since the normal lines coincide. Suppose s and s are the pseudo-arc parameters
of
and
, respectively, then by differentiating (4.1) with respect to s we have
ds
L = (1 k1 )L N +  W1 .
ds

A. CEYLAN C
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76
On the other hand, the condition

L , W1  = 0
holds for Bertrand curves, hence
 = 0

and so is a constant. This means that the norm

|| ||
is also a constant.
THEOREM 4.2. A Cartan curve in M4 is a Bertrand null curve iff k1 is a non-zero
constant and k2 is zero.
Proof. Suppose that
is a Bertrand mate for
. Then the previous theorem
allows us to write
= + W1 ,

(4.2)

where is the distance between the curves. By taking a derivative of (4.2) with
respective to s, we have
ds
L = (1 k1 )L N.
ds

(4.3)

But L is null, hence

(1 k1 ) = 0,
and then
=

1
.
k1

(4.4)

Inserting (4.4) into (4.3) yields

ds
1
L = N.
ds
k1
If we rewrite (4.5) as

1
1
ds
N
L =
ds
k1
and differentiate (4.6), we obtain

1

2 2

1
d s 1
k2
ds
ds
ds
ds
W1 +
N

W2 .
W1 =
2
ds
ds
ds
ds
k1
ds k1

(4.5)

(4.6)

CARTAN CURVATURES OF A NULL CURVE IN MINKOWSKI SPACETIME

77

Since W1 and W1 have to coincide (up to ), we immediately obtain d2 s /ds 2 = 0

and k2 = 0.
Conversely, suppose that
is a Cartan curve with k1 and k2 as in the hypothesis. Then consider a curve
with coordinate function
= +

1
W1 ,
k1

(4.7)

and differentiate (4.7) with respect to pseudo-arc parameter s, then

( ) =

1
N
k1

shows that
is null. Moreover,
is a Cartan curve, since differentiating the last
equation gives
( ) = W1 .
Thus the pseudo-arc parameters of
and
are the same, and the normal vector of
equals to (minus) the normal vector of
at the same parameter values.
From these two facts and (4.7) we conclude that the normal lines of the two curves
coincide at corresponding points.
Consequently, we say that the only Bertrand null curves in M4 are null helices
with k2 = 0. Now we want to give an additional property of this type of null helices
by the following theorem.
THEOREM 4.3. Let
be a Cartan curve in M4 . Then,
is a three-dimensional
null helix iff there exists a xed direction U such that

L, U  = a,

(4.8)

N, U  = b,

(4.9)

where a and b are nonzero constants and {L, N, W1 , W2 } is the Cartan frame of
.
Proof. Suppose that U is a xed direction satisfying (4.8) and (4.9). Then, after
taking derivatives of (4.8) and (4.9) with respect to the pseudo-arc parameter, we
have
k1 =

b
a

and k2 = 0.

Conversely, assume that
is a null helix with k2 = 0. Then set

U = k1 L N,
so it is easy to see that U is a xed direction and (4.8) and (4.9) hold.

Acknowledgement
We are thankful to the reviewer for comments.

78

A. CEYLAN C
OKEN
AND UNVER
C
IFTC
I

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