Variational Problems in Geometry

A minimal length curve joining two points in a surface is called a geodesic. One may trace the origin of the problem of finding geodesics back to the birth of calculus. Many contemporary mathematical problems, as in the case of geodesics, may be formulated as variational problems in surfaces or in a more generalized form on manifolds. One may characterize geometric variational problems as a field of mathematics that studies global aspects of variational problems relevant in the geometry and topology of manifolds. For example, the problem of finding a surface of minimal area spanning a given frame of wire originally appeared as a mathematical model for soap films. It has also been actively investigated as a geometric variational problem. With recent developments in computer graphics, new aspects of the study on the subject have begun to emerge. This book is intended to be an introduction to some of the fundamental questions and results in geometric variational problems, studying variational problems on the length of curves and the energy of maps.