Index of the critical catenoid (Q1736091)

Let $\mathcal C_a$, $a>0$, be the catenoid in $\mathbb R^3$ parametrized by \[ X_a(t,\theta)=(a\cosh(t/a)\cos(\theta),a\cosh(t/a)\sin(\theta),t). \] Then there exists a unique value of the parameter $a$, such that $\mathcal C_a$ intersects the unit sphere orthogonally. For this value of $a$, the part of $\mathcal C_a$ lying inside the unit ball is called the critical catenoid. \par In this paper, the author is concerned with the index of the critical catenoid as a free-boundary minimal surface of the unit ball in $\mathbb R^3$. The index has been extensively studied for closed hypersurfaces, in which case it is simply equal to the number of negative eigenvalues of the Jacobi operator. However, for free-boundary minimal hypersurfaces, the presence of a boundary term makes things more difficult. The author shows that the critical catenoid has index $4$, and also proves that a free-boundary minimal surface of the unit ball in $\mathbb R^3$, that is not a flat disk, has index at least $4$.