Research article

Harmonic Maps Surfaces and Relativistic Strings

  • Received: 26 March 2015 Accepted: 06 April 2016 Published: 14 April 2016
  • The harmonic map is introduced and several physical applications are presented. The classical nonlinear σ model can be looked at as the embedding of a two-dimensional surface in a threedimensional sphere, which is itself embedded in a four-dimensional space. A system of nonlinear evolution equations are obtained by working out the zero curvature condition for the Gauss equations relevant to this geometric formulation.

    Citation: Paul Bracken. Harmonic Maps Surfaces and Relativistic Strings[J]. AIMS Mathematics, 2016, 1(1): 1-8. doi: 10.3934/Math.2016.1.1

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  • The harmonic map is introduced and several physical applications are presented. The classical nonlinear σ model can be looked at as the embedding of a two-dimensional surface in a threedimensional sphere, which is itself embedded in a four-dimensional space. A system of nonlinear evolution equations are obtained by working out the zero curvature condition for the Gauss equations relevant to this geometric formulation.


    1. Introduction

    One area in which linear and nonlinear equations appear to be in very close relationship is the embedding of Riemannian manifolds into manifolds of higher dimension. The embedded manifold is constructed by means of linear differential equations. These equations form an overdetermined set and the integrability conditions they obey in order for a solution to exist are in general nonlinear differential equations. They would be obeyed by the metric or second fundamental form of the embedded manifold, for example.

    2. Discussion

    The term harmonic map generally refers to a class of nonlinear field equations [1] which have a surprising number of applications. There are various applications such as the description of theories with broken symmetries, with or instead of Yang-Mills equations. They can also be quite similar to the Einstein equations for gravitation and to some of the equations which appear in string theory [2,3]. The wave or Laplace equation for a scalar field φ(x)

    xμ(ggμνφxν)=0 (1)
    characterizes harmonic functions φ from which the class of harmonic maps takes its name. The usual nonlinear geodesic equation is also a specialized subclass of the harmonic maps. The general harmonic map combines aspects of both these equations in the nonlinear partial differential equation which can be obtained from the action
    A=12ggμν(x)φaxμφbxνGab(φ)dnx. (2)

    For example, physical theories of this class would be those where gμν(x) is flat Minkowski space. A nontrivial example of this class of theories is the nonlinear σ-model where Gab(φ) is the metric of a sphere and the φa are independent fields. In fact, Minkowski spacetime can be replaced by any d-dimensional spacetime M with a Lorentz or Euclidean signature metric Gab. The action of a spin-0 particle of mass m propagating in d-dimensional spacetime is

    A=g(12gμν(x)φaxμφbxνGab(φ)12m2)dnx.
    In a quantum theory, this action would lead to the massive Klein-Gordon equation in curved spacetime which determines a wavefunction.

    Harmonic maps can be used to create surfaces and of course there continues to be great interest in differential equations which can be used to induce surfaces {\cal [4,5,6]}. Let M and M be two pseudo-Riemannian manifolds with {xμ} coordinates on M and φa coordinates on M. If M is thought of as spacetime, its metric ds2=gμν(x)dxμdxν can be restricted to flat Minkowski or Euclidean space. The M manifold is the set of possible values for some nonlinear field φa. Nonlinearity enters because the metric on M can be thought of as being curved

    dS2=Gab(φ)dφadφb.

    Therefore, a mapping ϕ:MM, xϕ(x) is represented in coordinates as ϕa(xμ), and will be referred to as a harmonic map if it satisifes the Euler-Lagrange equations obtained from (2). For example, let M be a flat Euclidean or Minkowski space and take M to be the sphere S2 with the usual metric

    dS2=dθ2+sin2θdϕ2. (3)

    A mapping is a pair of fields θ(xμ), ϕ(xμ) which are obtained by requiring they satisfy differentiability requirements which arise from the structures of S2 and the spacetime M. The action in this case takes the form,

    A=12dnx[(θ)2+sin2(ϕ)2] (4)

    and (4) leads to the following field equations

    μμθ+sinθcosθ(ϕ)2=0, (5)
    μμϕ2cotθ(θ)(ϕ)=0. (6)
    When (ϕ)2 is constant, this system reduces to the sine-Gordon equation.

    In addition to harmonic functions with dimM=1 and geodesics with dimM=1, any isometry MM or covering of Riemannian manifolds MM is a harmonic map. Minimal hypersurfaces are coordinate conditions in constructing solutions of Einstein's equations. In fact, any minimal immersion MM of Riemannian manifolds is a harmonic map.

    Harmonic maps can help in understanding some of the nonlinearities that occur in the Einstein equations of general relativity as the Yang-Mills equations have done. In two space-time dimensions, the classical nonlinear σ model may be studied as the embedding of a two-dimensional surface in a three-dimensional sphere which is itself embedded in four-dimensional Euclidean space.

    The nonlinear σ model in two-dimensional space-time which will be studied here consists of four scalar fields φi(x1,x2), i=1,,4, which undergo self-interaction defined by the constraint

    φiφi=1. (7)

    The Lagrangian density for this system is given by

    L=12μφiμφi+12λ(φiφi1), (8)
    and λ in (8) is a Lagrange multiplier with i=1,2. The equations of motion which result from (8) are
    μμφiλφi=0, (9)
    φiφi=1. (10)
    The fields φi in these equations can be interpreted as the components of a vector in a four-dimensional space which is Euclidean. Constraint (10) implies that this vector must reside on the surface of a three-dimensional sphere. A solution φi of (9) describes a two-dimensional surface embedded in this sphere. The problem of solving (9)} and (10) then reduces to the problem of embedding a surface in a three-dimensional sphere which in turn is itself embedded in a four-dimensional Euclidean space. The metric on the four-dimensional Euclidean space has the form,
    ds2=dφidφi. (11)
    This induces a metric on the two-dimensional surface φi(σ,τ) given by
    ds2=φiσφiσdσdσ+2φiσφiτdσdτ+φiτφiτdτdτ. (12)
    In this context, it is always possible to choose the coordinates σ, τ so that the following system holds:
    φiσφiσ+φiτφiτ=1,φiσφiτ=0. (13)
    Consequently, the metric (12) of the surface can be expressed in terms of a single scalar field ϑ(σ,τ) as follows
    ds2=cos2ϑdσ2+sin2ϑdτ2. (14)
    To complete the description of a surface embedded in a higher-dimensional space, the second fundamental form is required.

    The extrinsic curvature is given by a symmetric tensor Ωμν which has the following four components

    Ω11=2φσ2X3,Ω12=Ω21=2φστX3,Ω22=2φτ2X3. (15)

    As φτ, φσ span the tangent plane to the three-sphere X=n is defined to be a unit vector which is orthogonal to these vectors. Let X1, X2 be unit vectors parallel to φσ and φτ, respectively. To generate an orthonormal tetrad in the surrounding Euclidean space, it suffices to include the element X4=φ as the final element in the set.

    The components of the metric tensor gμν can be obtained from (14),

    g11=cos2ϑ,g12=g21=0,g22=sin2ϑ.
    Expanding out equations (9) in terms of the (σ,τ)-variables, φ must satisfy
    2φσ22φτ2=λφ. (16)

    By writing the scalar product of (16) with n3 using (15) and the identification φ=n4, the following important constraint is obtained

    Ω11Ω22=λφn3=0. (17)
    Therefore, equation (17) implies that the diagonal components of Ω are equal, Ω11=Ω22. The Gauss-Weingarten equations assume the following form,
    ˉNσ=AˉN,ˉNτ=BˉN. (18)

    Once the Gauss-Weingarten equations have been obtained, they can be used to construct a surface. The integrability conditions for (18) are the Gauss-Codazzi equations. The quantity ˉN is a four-component object which consists of the four vectors ni,

    ˉN=(n1n2n3n4) (19)

    The matrices A and B which appear in (18) are given explicitly in the following form,

    A=(0ϑτΩ11cosϑcosϑϑτ0Ω12sinϑ0Ω11cosϑΩ12sinϑ00cosϑ000) (20)
    B=(0ϑσΩ12cosϑ0ϑσ0Ω11sinϑsinϑΩ12cosϑΩ11sinϑ000sinϑ00) (21)

    Substituting A and B into the pair of equations (18) and working out the components of each one, the following five equations result,

    2ϑτ22ϑσ2+1sinϑcosϑ(Ω212Ω211)sinϑcosϑ=0, (22)
    τ(Ω11cosϑ)+σ(Ω12cosϑ)+Ω12sinϑϑσΩ11sinϑϑτ=0 (23)
    τ(cosϑ)+sinϑϑτ=0, (24)
    τ(Ω12sinϑ)+σΩ11sinϑΩ11cosϑϑσ+Ω12cosϑϑτ=0, (25)
    σsinϑ+cosϑϑσ=0. (26)
    Equation (22) can be written in the form,
    sinϑcosϑ(2ϑτ22ϑσ2)sin2ϑcos2ϑ+Ω212Ω211=0. (27)

    The two quantities Ω11 and Ω12 satisfy the equation

    sinϑv(Ωcosϑ)+Ωϑv=v(sinϑcosϑΩ)
    for v=σ,τ and Ω=Ω11,Ω12, respectively,
    τ(tanϑΩ11)=σ(tanϑΩ12). (28)
    From (28), it follows there exists a function or field called β(σ,τ) such that Ω11 and Ω12 can be expressed as
    Ω11=cotϑβσ,Ω12=cotϑβτ. (29)

    This choice puts (27) into the form of a compatibility condition for β, and the remaining two equations (25)-(26) then take the form,

    sinϑcosϑ(2ϑτ22ϑσ2)sin2ϑcos2ϑ+cot2ϑ((βτ)2(βσ)2)=0,τ(cot2ϑβτ)=σ(cot2ϑβσ). (30)

    The matrices A and B defined in equations (20) and (21) are elements of the Lie algebra O(4)=O(3)O(3) and they are uniquely determined by two three-dimensional rotations

    A=C+D,B=E+F. (31)
    In fact, C and E can be put in the following forms
    C=(0ϑτ1sinϑβσϑτ0cosϑcosϑsin2ϑβτ1sinϑβϑcosϑ+cosϑsin2ϑβτ0) (32)
    E=(0ϑσsinϑ1sinθβτϑσ0cosϑsinϑβσsinϑ+1sinϑβτcosϑsin2ϑβσ0) (33)

    The matrices D and F can be obtained from the matrices C and E by means of the discrete transformation

    ϑπϑ,cosϑcosϑ,sinϑsinϑ,ββ. (34)

    The matrices D and F have the following structure

    D=(0ϑτ1sinϑβτϑτ0cosϑcosϑsin2ϑβτ1sinϑβσcosϑ+cosϑsin2ϑβτ0) (35)
    F=(0ϑτsinϑ+1sinϑβτϑσ0cosϑsin2ϑβσsinϑ1sinϑβτcosϑsin2ϑβσ0) (36)

    The transformation leaves the metric and extrinsic curvature of the surface unaltered. It is possible to introduce a set of unit vectors Yi, Zi, i=1,2,3 in three-dimensional space so that the system (18) takes the following form

    ˉYσ=CˉY,ˉZσ=DˉZ, (37)
    ˉYτ=EˉY,ˉZτ=FˉZ. (38)

    Differentiating both (37) and (38) with respect to τ and σ respectively, the zero-curvature condition for ˉY implies the following relation satisifed by C and E,

    CτEσ+CEEC=0. (39)
    Similarly, the ˉZ field implies the following relation satisifed by D and F,
    DτFσ+DFFD=0. (40)
    It should be stated that D and F are in a one-to-one correspondence with C and E, so it suffices to work out just one of these equations. Substituting the matrices (33) and (34) into (39), the diagonal elements of the zero curvature condition are found to sum to zero, and we are left with the following nontrivial results. After simplifying the first column and second row, the following equation is obtained
    ϑττϑσσsinϑcosϑcosϑsin3ϑ((βτ)2(βσ)2)=0. (41)
    From the first column and third row we have
    τ(1sinϑβσ)+σ(sinϑ1sinϑβτ)ϑσ(cosϑ+cosϑsin2ϑβτ)+ϑτcosϑsin2ϑβσ=0. (42)
    This can be put in the form of an identity
    cosϑϑτβσ+sinϑ2βτσ+cosϑϑσβτsinϑ2βτσ=0.
    Finally, from the second column and the third row, the last equation is found to be
    τ(cosϑsin2ϑβτ)σ(cosϑsin2ϑβσ)+1sinϑβσϑσ1sinϑϑτβτ=0. (43)
    Applying the product rule, the following relation holds
    τ(1cosϑcot2ϑβτ)=1sinϑϑτβτ+1cosϑτ(cot2ϑβτ). (44)
    Using (44), (43) can be put in the following form after some simplification
    τ(cot2ϑβτ)=σ(cot2ϑβσ). (45)
    These constitute the system of equations which result as a consequence of applying zero curvature condition (39) from the ˉY field. Therefore, the following Theorem has been proved and it is summarized below.

    Theorem. Compatibility condition (39) resulting from (37) for the 3×3 matrix problem defined by the matrices (32) and (33) is equivalent to the following system of coupled partial differential equations for ϑ and β,

    2ϑτ22ϑσ2sinϑcosϑ+cosϑsin2ϑ((βτ)2(βσ)2)=0, (46)
    τ(cot2ϑβτ)=σ(cot2ϑβσ). (47)
    Moreover, the results in these equations are completely consistent with the equations in (30) which were obtained from Gauss-Weingarten equations (18). □

    3. Conclusion

    This is not the first time these equations have appeared. Equations (46) and (47) have also been obtained by Pohlmeyer [7] by means of a study of the nonlinear σ model in field theory. This approach however is more geometric than the one in Pohlmeyer [7]. It should also be stated that this model has led to a system of two coupled, Lorentz-invariant, nonlinear equations in two independent variables which will possess solitary wave solutions. From the theorem, it is seen that one of the fields is massless and moves in a background geometry that has a dynamical evolution of its own specified by a second field which has a sine-Gordon type self-interaction.

    [1] P. Bracken, A. M. Grundland, On Certain Classes of Solutions of the Weierstrass-Enneper System Inducing Constant Mean Curvature Surfaces, J. Nonlin. Math. Phys. 6 (1999), 294-313.
    [2] P.Bracken, A. M. Grundland, Properties and Explicit Solutions of the Generalized Weierstrass System, J. Math. Phys. 42 (2001), 1250-1282.
    [3] S. Helgason, Di erential Geometry and Symmetric Spaces, Academic Press, New York, 1962.
    [4] F. Lund, T. Regge, Unified Approach to Strings and Vortices with Soliton Solutions, Phys. Rev. D, 14 (1976), 1524.
    [5] F. Lund, Note on the Geometry of the Nonlinear σ Model in Two Dimensions, Phys. Rev. D, 15 (1977), 1540-1543.
    [6] C. W. Misner, Harmonic maps as models for physical theories, Phys. Rev. D, 18 (1978), 4510-4524.
    [7] K. Pohlmeyer, Integrable Hamiltonian Systems and Interactions through Quadratic Constraints, Commun. Math. Phys. 46 (1976), 207-221.
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