Characterizations of minimal helicoidal surfaces by means of vertical isophotes and horizontal shadow limits (Q1266496)

The author first introduces a suitable parametrization \({\mathbf x} (u,v)\) for a \(C^r\)-surface \(\Phi\), \(r\geq 2\), in Euclidean 3-space \(E^3\), without parabolic points, such that the normal vector field and the support function of \(\Phi\) take the form \({\mathbf n}(u,v)=\left({\cos u\over \cosh u}, {\sin u\over \cosh u},{\sinh u \over \cosh u}\right)\) resp. \({\mathbf x}(u,v)\cdot {\mathbf n} (u,v)=:{\psi(u,v)\over\cosh u}\). In this parametrization the v-curves are vertical isophotes of \(\Phi\) (i.e., along them the angle between the normal vector \({\mathbf n}(u,v)\) and the \(x_3\)-axis is constant). The surface \(\Phi\) is minimal iff the function \(\psi(u,v)\) satisfies the partial differential equation \(\psi_{uu}+ \psi_{vv}-2\tanh u\psi_u+ \psi=0\). In the latter case, (a) the parameters \(u,v\) are isothermal and (b) both the surface \(\Phi\) and the ``generating'' function \(\psi(u,v)\) are determined in terms of the other. The author next proves many propositions, which include characterizations of minimal helicoidal surfaces, by setting additional demands on the vertical isophotes \((v\)-curves) and their orthogonal trajectories \((u\)-curves), the so-called ``Horizontalschattengrenzen'' (horizontal shadow boundaries) for (horizontal) parallel illumination. Some of these demands are: to be geodesics, lines of constant Gaussian curvature, lines of curvature, etc. Especially, Proposition 3 contains characterizations for the right helicoid, Propositions 4 and 5 characterizations for the catenoid and Propositions 6 and 7 for Scherk's second surface.