On the spinor representation of surfaces in Euclidean \(3\)-space (Q1299355): Difference between revisions

The Weierstraß formula describes a conformal minimal immersion of a Riemann surface \(M^2\) into the 3-dimensional Euclidean space \(\mathbb{R}^3\). It expresses the immersion in terms of a holomorphic function \(g\) and a holomorphic 1-form \(\mu\) as the integral \(f=Re(\int(1-g^2,i (1+g^2),2g) \mu): M^2 \to\mathbb{R}^3\). The Cauchy-Riemann equation for \(g\) and \(\mu\) is equivalent to the Dirac equation \(D(\varphi)=0\). A similar description for an arbitrary surface \(M^2\hookrightarrow\mathbb{R}^3\) is possible and has been pointed out probably for the first time by Eisenhart. This representation of any surface in \(\mathbb{R}^3\) by a spinor field \(\varphi\) on \(M^2\) satisfying the Dirac equation \(D(\varphi)=H\varphi\) involves the mean curvature \(H\) of the surface. The author clarifies the relationship between immersions of surfaces and solutions of the Dirac equation, proving the following Theorem. Let \((M^2,g)\) be an oriented, 2-dimensional Riemannian manifold and \(H:M^2\to\mathbb{R}^1\) a smooth function. Then there is a correspondence between the following data: 1. An isometric immersion \((\widetilde M^2,g)\to\mathbb{R}^3\) of the universal covering \(\widetilde M^2\) into the Euclidean space \(\mathbb{R}^3\) with mean curvature \(H\). 2. A solution \(\varphi\) with constant length \(|\varphi|\equiv 1\) of the Dirac equation \(D (\varphi) =H\cdot \varphi\). 3. A pair \((\varphi,E)\) consisting of a symmetric endomorphism \(E\) such that \(Tr(E)=-H\) and a spinor field \(\varphi\) satisfying the equation \(\nabla_X\varphi= E(X)\cdot\varphi\).