Varifold-based matching of curves via Sobolev-type Riemannian metrics

Second order Sobolev metrics are a useful tool in the shape analysis of curves. In this paper we combine these metrics with varifold-based inexact matching to explore a new strategy of computing geodesics between unparametrized curves. We describe the numerical method used for solving the inexact matching problem, apply it to study the shape of mosquito wings and compare our method to curve matching in the LDDMM framework.