On the Ricci curvature of compact spacelike hypersurfaces in de Sitter space (Q1125238)

Let \(L^{n+2}\) be the \((n+2)\)-dimensional Lorentz-Minkowski space and let \(S_1^{n+1}\subset L^{n+2}\) be the \((n+1)\)-dimensional unitary de Sitter space. As is well known, for \(n\geq 2\), the de Sitter space is the standard simply connected Lorentzian space form of positive constant sectional curvature. A connected hypersurface \(M^n\) immersed in \(S_1^{n+1}\) is said to be a spacelike hypersurface if the induced metric is a Riemannian metric on \(M^n\). In the present paper, the author derives an integral formula for compact spacelike hypersurfaces in de Sitter space involving the Ricci curvature and the scalar curvature of the hypersurface. Using this integral formula, he establishes a sufficient condition for such a hypersurface to be spherical in terms of a pinching condition for the Ricci curvature.