A note on some developments on Carathéodory conjecture on umbilic points (Q1293798)

The authors investigate the index of umbilic points of \(C^r\) ovaloids (\(r\geq 3\)): without loss of generality, a surface in Euclidean \({\mathbb R}^3\) may be parametrized in the form \((x,y)\mapsto (x,y,f(x,y))+f(x,y)\cdot n(x,y)\), where the function \(n\) is at the same time the surface's normal vector (a Ribaucour parametrization with Ribaucour function \(f\)). If it has an umbilic at \(x=y=0\), then this umbilic is said to satisfy an \(L\)-inequality of order \(k\), if the vector field \(\phi=(f_{xx}-f_{yy},2f_{xy})\) satisfies \(\|\phi(x,y)\|\leq \|(x,y)\|^k\) in a neighbourhood of \((0,0)\) (\(0<k<r-1\)). The authors show that the \(k\)-th order Taylor polynomial of \(f\) defines a surface (which is then analytic), having an umbilic of the same index as the original one. Then Loewner's conjecture about the index of isolated umbilics, which has been verified for analytic surfaces, gives a partial affirmative answer to Carathéodory's conjecture: all \(C^r\) ovaloids with at least one umbilic satisfying an \(L\)-inequality of order \(k\) have at least one further umbilic.