The Bonnet problem for surfaces in homogeneous 3-manifolds (Q1011991)

After the recent work of \textit{U. Abresch} and \textit{H. Rosenberg} [Acta Math. 193, No.~2, 141--174 (2004; Zbl 1078.53053)], the theory of surfaces in Riemannian homogeneous 3-manifolds with a 4-dimensional isometric group is experiencing a renewed interest and this paper is a contribution in that direction. In this well written and interesting paper the authors Jose A. Galvez, Antonio Martinez and Pablo Mira solve the Bonnet problem for surfaces in homogeneous manifolds with a 4-dimensional isometry group. The authors mainly clarify the following question. How much geometric information of a surface in a homogeneous 3-manifold is uniquely determined by its first fundamental form and its principal curvature? In fact the authors prove that a simply connected and real analytic surface is uniquely determined pointwise by its metric and principal curvature if and only if it is not a minimal or a properly helicoidal surface. In the remaining three types of homogeneous 3-manifolds the authors show that except for constant mean curvature surfaces and helicoidal surfaces, all simply connected real analytic surfaces are pointwise determined by their metric and principal curvatures. The paper concludes with a section 7 containing some open problems for further study and research.