A variational problem for submanifolds in a sphere (Q2466850)

The authors associate geometric functionals to immersions \(x:M\to S^{n+p}\) of a compact \(n\)-dimensional manifold \(M\) into a sphere. In the case \(n=2\), the Willmore functional attracted much interest, in particular due to its invariance under the action of the Möbius group on \(S^{2+p}\). For \(n>2\), two generalizations of the Willmore functional are defined by the authors: the functional \(W\) is defined as the \(L^{n/2}\)-norm of the tracefree part of the second fundamental form, and the functional \(F\) is defined as the \(L^2\)-norm of the same tensor. The functional \(W\) is invariant under the Möbius group as well, and was the subject of a previous article by the authors. The functional \(F\) studied in the article under review has the advantage that its Euler-Lagrange equation is simpler (see Theorem 1.1 of the article). The other main theorem of the article derives a Simon's type inequality for critical points of the functional \(F\).