Analysis of timelike Thomsen surfaces (Q2303815)

Time-like Thomsen surfaces are time-like minimal surfaces that are also affine minimal. In this paper, the authors make use of both the Lorentz conformal coordinates and the null coordinates, and their respective representation theorems of time-like minimal surfaces, to obtain a complete global classification of these surfaces and to characterize them using a geometric invariant called light-like curvatures. As a result, they reveal the relationship between time-like Thomsen surfaces, and time-like minimal surfaces with planar curvature lines. As an application, they give a deformation of null curves preserving the pseudo-arclength parametrization and the constancy of the light-like curvatures.