Geometry of surfaces in \(\mathbb{R}^5\) through projections and normal sections (Q1979351)

The main focus of the article is the study of geometry of surfaces in \(\mathbb{R}^5\). The first approach used by the authors is to relate the geometry of a surface in \(\mathbb{R}^5\) to that of corresponding (both regular and singular) surfaces in \(\mathbb{R}^4\) obtained by orthogonal projections. In particular, relations between the asymptotic directions of the original surface and those of the projected surface are obtained. It is interesting to note here that the asymptotic directions for surfaces in \(\mathbb{R}^5\), unlike those in \(\mathbb{R}^4\), do not depend only on the second order geometry of the surface. The authors also establish relations between the umbilical curvatures for surfaces in \(\mathbb{R}^5\) [\textit{S. I. R. Costa} et al., Differ. Geom. Appl. 27, No. 3, 442--454 (2009; Zbl 1176.53015)] and their projected surfaces in \(\mathbb{R}^4\). The authors study the contact between the projected surfaces with spheres in \(\mathbb{R}^4\) and show that there exists a unique umbilical focal hypersphere at a point of the surface if and only if there exists a unique umbilic focal hypersphere at the corresponding point on the projected surface. Surfaces in \(\mathbb{R}^5\) can also be obtained as normal sections of 3-manifolds in \(\mathbb{R}^6\), so the authors then go on to consider the geometry of surfaces in \(\mathbb{R}^5\) by relating the asymptotic directions at a point in the 3-manifold with asymptotic directions at the corresponding point in the normal section. By introducing an appropriate umbilic curvature for 3-manifolds, they then study the contact with spheres using this invariant and relate it to the contact between spheres and the surface in \(\mathbb{R}^5\) obtained as a normal section.