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Bertrand–Diquet–Puiseux theorem

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In the mathematical study of the differential geometry of surfaces, the Bertrand–Diquet–Puiseux theorem expresses the Gaussian curvature of a surface in terms of the circumference of a geodesic circle, or the area of a geodesic disc. The theorem is named for Joseph Bertrand, Victor Puiseux, and C.F. Diquet.

Let p be a point on a smooth surface M. The geodesic circle of radius r centered at p is the set of all points whose geodesic distance from p is equal to r. Let C(r) denote the circumference of this circle, and A(r) denote the area of the disc contained within the circle. The Bertrand–Diquet–Puiseux theorem asserts that

K ( p ) = lim r 0 + 3 2 π r C ( r ) π r 3 = lim r 0 + 12 π r 2 A ( r ) π r 4 .

The theorem is closely related to the Gauss–Bonnet theorem.

References

Bertrand–Diquet–Puiseux theorem Wikipedia