Weierstrass representations of Laguerre minimal surfaces in \({\mathbb{R}}^3\) (Q2519381): Difference between revisions

Laguerre geometry can be considered as a subgeometry of Lie sphere geometry, the Laguerre group consisting of those Lie sphere transformations (contact transformations) that fix the complex of hyperplanes in \(\mathbb R^3\) --- similarly to Möbius geometry, where the complex of point spheres is fixed. It can be modelled on Minkowski \(4\)-space \(\mathbb R^3\oplus \mathbb R^{0,1}\), where oriented spheres are given by their center \(c\in \mathbb R^3\) and (signed) radius \(r\in \mathbb R^{0,1}\). To an oriented surface with non-vanishing principal curvatures one can associate a Laguerre invariant sphere congruence, its ``mean curvature radii congruence'' (``Mittenkugelkongruenz'' in classical terminology), similarly to the central sphere congruence in Möbius geometry. Its induced metric is conformal to the third fundamental form of the surface and its area defines a Laguerre invariant functional for the surface. In terms of the surface in Euclidean space this functional becomes \(\int_M{H^2-K\over K}dA\), where \(H\) and \(K\) are the mean and Gauss curvatures of the surfaces, respectively. Critical surfaces of this functional are the ``Laguerre minimal'' surfaces, that is, surfaces whose mean curvature radii congruence is minimal. In this well written paper, besides providing an alternative proof of a duality theorem for Laguerre minimal surfaces [\textit{E. Musso} and \textit{L. Nicolodi}, Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 348, No.~11, 4321--4337 (1996; Zbl 0864.58017)], see also [\textit{W. Blaschke}, Vorlesungen über Differentialgeometrie III. Berlin: Springer (1929; JFM 55.0422.01), \S81], the author provides Weierstrass-type representation formulas for minimal sphere congruences in Laguerre geometry; the enveloping Laguerre minimal surfaces are then obtained by algebra and differentiation only.