Submanifold geometry in symmetric spaces (Q1914751)

Let \(N= G/K\) be a symmetric space, and \(M\) a submanifold of \(N\). The normal bundle \(\nu(M)\) is called Abelian if \(\exp(\nu(M)_x)\) is a totally geodesic flat submanifold of \(N\) for all \(x\in M\). A real number \(r\) is called a multiplicity \(m\) focal radius of \(M\) along \(v\in \nu(M)_x\) if \(\exp(rv)\) is a multiplicity \(m\) focal point of \(M\) with respect to \(x\). \(M\) is called equifocal (weakly equifocal) if \(\nu(M)\) is globally flat and Abelian, and the focal radii along any parallel normal field are constant (have constant multiplicities). It is easy to see that a submanifold \(M\) in \(\mathbb{R}^n\) is (weakly) equifocal if and only if it is (weakly) isoparametric. In this paper, we extend the theory of (weakly) isoparametric submanifolds in \(\mathbb{R}^n\) to a theory of (weakly) equifocal submanifolds in compact symmetric spaces. We prove that the parallel translation map \(\phi\) from the Hilbert space \(V\) of \(L^2\)-integrable maps from \([0, 1]\) to the Lie algebra \(\mathcal G\) of \(G\) and the natural projection \(\pi: G\to G/K\) preserve focal structures of submanifolds with flat Abelian normal bundles. This implies that a submanifold \(M\) in \(G/K\) is (weakly) equifocal if and only if \(\widetilde M= \phi^{- 1}(\pi^{- 1}(M))\) is (weakly) isoparametric in \(V\). So many of the geometric and topological properties of \(\widetilde M\) can be pushed down to \(M\).