An application of the moving frame method to integral geometry in the Heisenberg group (Q1692225)

The authors study the fundamental theorems of curves and surfaces in the 3-dimensional Heisenberg group \(H_1\). They define the \(p\)-curvature \(k(s)\) and the contact normality \(\tau(s)\) for a horizontally regular curve \(\gamma(s)\) parametrized by horizontal arc-length \(s\) (see Theorem 1.4 for explicit formulas when the curve is not parametrized by horizontal arc-length). They are invariant under pseudo-Hermitian transformations. Here, horizontally regular curve (also called Legendrian curve) means that the orthogonal projection of \(\gamma'(s)\) on the standard contact bundle \(\xi\) along the Reeb vector field \(T\) with respect to the adapted metric never vanishes. The fundamental Theorem 1.2 for curves in \(H_1\) states that horizontally regular curves are completely characterized by the functions \(k(s)\) and \(\tau(s)\), up to pseudo-Hermitian transformations. Moreover, geodesics are the horizontally regular curves with constant \(p\)-curvature and zero contact normality, see Theorem 1.6. For surfaces in \(H_1\), the fundamental Theorem 1.10 states that the Riemannian metric \(g_\Theta\) induced by the adapted metric, the \(p\)-mean curvature \(l\), and the \(p\)-variation \(\alpha\) give a complete set of invariants, up to a Heisenberg rigid motion. The result is generalized to hypersurfaces embedded in higher-dimensional Heisenberg group in [\textit{H.-L. Chiu} and \textit{S.-H. Lai}, Calc. Var. Partial Differ. Equ. 54, No. 1, 1091--1118 (2015; Zbl 1320.32039)]. As an application, the Crofton formula in \(H_1\) is proven in Theorem 1.11, which relates the \(p\)-area of a fixed surface and the number of intersections for the surface and oriented horizontal lines passing throught it. The proofs are based on Cartan's method of moving frames and Lie group theory. The applications make a connection between CR geometry and integral geometry.