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arXiv · 2504.17377

Minimal Surfaces via Complex Quaternions

Amedeo Altavilla·Hans-Peter Schröcker·Zbyněk Šír·Jan Vršek
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Abstract

Minimal surfaces play a fundamental role in differential geometry, with applications spanning physics, material science, and geometric design. In this paper, we explore a novel quaternionic representation of minimal surfaces, drawing an analogy with the well-established theory of Pythagorean Hodograph (PH) curves. By exploiting the algebraic structure of complex quaternions, we introduce a new approach to generating minimal surfaces via quaternionic transformations. This method extends classical Weierstra\ss-Enneper representations and provides insights into the interplay between quaternionic analysis, PH curves, and minimal surface geometry. Additionally, we discuss the role of the Sylvester equation in this framework and demonstrate practical examples, including the construction of Enneper surface patches. The findings open new avenues in computational geometry and geometric modeling, bridging abstract algebraic structures with practical applications in CAD and computer graphics.

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Amedeo Altavilla, Hans-Peter Schröcker, Zbyněk Šír, Jan Vršek. 2025-04-24. Minimal Surfaces via Complex Quaternions. https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.17377

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