A new structural approach to isoparametric hypersurfaces in spheres (Q1689303): Difference between revisions

The paper deals with the classification of isoperimetric hypersurfaces in spheres with six distinct principal curvatures. The classification is still not complete but the paper gives a new structural approach to the problem. The only allowable number of distinct principal curvatures are 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and a review of known results is given. Consider a 1-parameter family \(F_t\) of parallel hypersurfaces \(M^n\) in the sphere \(\mathbb S^{n+1}\) with normal field \(\nu_t(p)\), \(p\in M^n\), and the associated submanifold \({\mathfrak L}(M^n)\) in the Grassmannian \(\mathrm{Gr}_2^+(\mathbb R^{n+2})\) defined by sending \(p\) to the plane spanned by \(F_t(p)\) and \(\nu_t(p)\). Then \({\mathfrak L}(M^n)\) becomes a Lagrangian submanifold in \(\mathrm{Gr}_2^+(\mathbb R^{n+2})\) with respect to its Kähler structure. The paper utilizes a set of three invariants defined on \({\mathfrak L}(M^n)\) consisting of the induced metric \(\hat g\) from the Kähler metric on \(\mathrm{Gr}_2^+(\mathbb R^{n+2})\) and two others which depend on the shape operator of \(F_t\) mapping \(M^n\) into \(\mathbb S^{n+1}\). The embedding \(F_0\) is said to be \textit{isoparametric} if its principal curvature functions, \(\lambda_j(0)\), are constant and one may order them as \(\lambda_1(0)>\cdots>\lambda_6(0)\). Denote the curvature distribution of \(\lambda_j(0)\) by \(D_j\) and the projection of \(TM^n\) onto \(D_j\) by \(\pi_j\). The main result of the paper, Theorem 4.7, gives a number of equivalent conditions for the homogeneity of isoparametric hypersurfaces in spheres with six distinct principal curvatures. For example, \(R(\pi_iX,\pi_{i+3}Y,\pi_{i+3}Y,\pi_iX)=0,\forall i\in\{1,\dots,6\}\) where \(R\) is the curvature tensor of \({\mathfrak L}(M^n)\).