A new structural approach to isoparametric hypersurfaces in spheres (Q1689303)

The paper deals with the classification of isoperimetric hypersurfaces in spheres with six distinct principal curvatures. The classification is still not complete but the paper gives a new structural approach to the problem. The only allowable number of distinct principal curvatures are 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and a review of known results is given. Consider a 1-parameter family \(F_t\) of parallel hypersurfaces \(M^n\) in the sphere \(\mathbb S^{n+1}\) with normal field \(\nu_t(p)\), \(p\in M^n\), and the associated submanifold \({\mathfrak L}(M^n)\) in the Grassmannian \(\mathrm{Gr}_2^+(\mathbb R^{n+2})\) defined by sending \(p\) to the plane spanned by \(F_t(p)\) and \(\nu_t(p)\). Then \({\mathfrak L}(M^n)\) becomes a Lagrangian submanifold in \(\mathrm{Gr}_2^+(\mathbb R^{n+2})\) with respect to its Kähler structure. The paper utilizes a set of three invariants defined on \({\mathfrak L}(M^n)\) consisting of the induced metric \(\hat g\) from the Kähler metric on \(\mathrm{Gr}_2^+(\mathbb R^{n+2})\) and two others which depend on the shape operator of \(F_t\) mapping \(M^n\) into \(\mathbb S^{n+1}\). The embedding \(F_0\) is said to be \textit{isoparametric} if its principal curvature functions, \(\lambda_j(0)\), are constant and one may order them as \(\lambda_1(0)>\cdots>\lambda_6(0)\). Denote the curvature distribution of \(\lambda_j(0)\) by \(D_j\) and the projection of \(TM^n\) onto \(D_j\) by \(\pi_j\). The main result of the paper, Theorem 4.7, gives a number of equivalent conditions for the homogeneity of isoparametric hypersurfaces in spheres with six distinct principal curvatures. For example, \(R(\pi_iX,\pi_{i+3}Y,\pi_{i+3}Y,\pi_iX)=0,\forall i\in\{1,\dots,6\}\) where \(R\) is the curvature tensor of \({\mathfrak L}(M^n)\).