English

Null Cartan Normal Helices in Minkowski Space-Time

General Mathematics 2026-06-18 v1

Abstract

A complete theory of null Cartan normal helices in Minkowski space-time E14\mathbb{E}^4_1 is developed. Two algebraic conditions, obtained by successive differentiation of the helix invariant along a unit CC-constant normal field, fully characterize null Cartan helices; the quadratic condition yields two mutually orthogonal helix axes in the Lorentzian metric. Special field types are analyzed and null Cartan cubics are shown to be normal helices. On a timelike hypersurface, a Darboux frame with six curvature functions is constructed from first principles, the normal isophotic condition is shown to reduce to a linear first-order ODE, and the existence of normal silhouettes in E14\mathbb{E}^4_1 is established.

Cite

@article{arxiv.2607.01262,
  title  = {Null Cartan Normal Helices in Minkowski Space-Time},
  author = {Derya Sağlam and Umut Selvi},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2607.01262},
  year   = {2026}
}