Surfaces in \(S^n\) with prescribed Gauss map (Q854374): Difference between revisions

Let \(S=(M,S^n,X)\) be a surface in \(S^n\). Here \(M\) is a connected Riemannian surface, the ambient space \(S^n\) is an \(n\)-dimensional Euclidean unit sphere and \(X:M\to S^n\) is a conformal immersion. The author regards \(S\) as a surface in the \((n+1)\)-dimensional Euclidean space \(\mathbb R^{n+1}\) and considers the (generalized) Gauss map \(G:M\to Q_{n-1}\), where \(Q_{n-1}\) is the complex quadric in the \(n\)-dimensional complex projective space. He studies the question of existence of surfaces in \(S^n\) with prescribed Gauss map and proves the local existence theorem 3.2. Next he proves in theorem 5.1 that if \(M\) is a torus \(T^2\), there exists a covering space \((\widehat T^2,T^2, \widehat\pi)\) over \(T^2\) \((\widehat\pi\) is the projection \(\widehat\pi\): \(\widehat T^\to T^2)\), and a surface \(S=(\widehat T^2,S^n,X)\) such that the Gauss map of \(S\) is \(G\circ \widehat\pi\). He also shows in theorem 6.1 that there exists a surface \(S= (M,\mathbb R P^n,X)\) in the \(n\)-dimensional real projective space \(\mathbb R P^n\) with the property that a neighbourhood of each point of \(X(M)\) is covered by a surface in \(S^n\) such that the Gauss map is \(G\).