The lightlike flat geometry on spacelike submanifolds of codimension two in Minkowski space (Q2472423)

Space-like submanifolds of codimension two in Minkowski space \(M^{n+2}\) are considered. Given a space-like submanifold \(F^n\subset M^{n+2}\), there are two well-defined null direction fields \(n_1\), \(n_2\) normal to \(F^n\). One of these two fields being chosen, say \(n_1\), a (normalized) lightcone Gauss map \(L\) from \(F^n\) to the space of null straight lines through the origin \(O\in M^{n+2}\) may be defined in an invariant way. Its differential is interpreted as the shape operator of \(F^n\) with respect to \(n_1\). As a consequence, the authors define such geometrically consistent notions as lightcone principal curvatures, lightcone Gauss-Kronecker curvature, light-like umbilical (parabolic, flat) points, etc. For instance, the Gauss-Kronecker curvature describes the contact of \(F^n\) with light-like hyperplanes in \(M^{n+2}\). A formula of Gauss-Bonnet type is obtained: if \(F^n\) is a closed orientable space-like submanifold \(F^n\) of even dimension \(n\) in \(M^{n+2}\), then its total normalized lightcone Gauss-Kronecker curvature \(\widetilde K_l\) is equal to \(\int_M\widetilde K_l \,dV=\frac{1}{2}v_{n}\chi (M)\), where \(\chi (M)\) and \(v_n\) are the Euler characteristic of \(M^n\) and the volume of the unit \(n\)-sphere, respectively. Particular examples of closed space-like curves in \(M^3\) and closed space-like surfaces in \(M^4\) are analyzed. Finally, space-like submanifolds with parallel normal frames in \(M^{n+2}\) are studied, typical examples (submanifolds immersed in hyperbolic space \(H^{n+1}\subset M^{n+2}\), de Sitter space \(S^{n+1}_1\subset M^{n+2}\), (\(n+1\))-dimensional lightcone and hyperplanes of \(M^{n+2}\)) are discussed.