Minimal isoparametric submanifolds of $\mathbb{S}^7$ and octonionic eigenmaps (Q2414135)

Using the octonionic multiplication \(\cdot\) of \(S^7\), the authors associate to each unit normal section \(\eta\) of a submanifold \(M\) of \(S^7\) an octonionic Gauss map \(\gamma_\eta:M\to S^6,\ \gamma_\eta(x)=x^{-1}\cdot\eta(x),\ x\in M\), where \(S^6\) is the unit sphere of \(T_1S^7\), 1 is the neutral element of \(\cdot\) in \(S^7\). They use the shape operator \(S_\eta\) of \(M\) determined by the normal \(\eta\), to define the bundle homomorphism \(B:{\mathcal N}(M)\to{\mathcal E}(M)\) by \(B(\eta)=S_\eta\), where \({\mathcal N}(M)\) is the vector bundle of normal sections of \(M\) and \({\mathcal E}(M)\) is the vector bundle of sections of the vector bundle of endomorphisms of \(TM\) equipped with the Hilbert-Schmidt metric. In Theorem 1.1, they prove that if \(M\) is a minimal submanifold of \(S^7\) and \(\eta\in{\mathcal N}(M)\) is unitary and parallel on the normal connection, then \(\gamma_\eta\) is harmonic if and only if \(\eta\) is an eigenvector of \(B*B :{\mathcal N}(M)\to{\mathcal N}(M)\), where \(B*\) is the adjoint of \(B\). In Theorem 1.3, they show that if \(M\) is an isoparametric compact minimal submanifold of codimension \(k\) of \(S^7\) then \(B*B\) has constant non negative eigenvalues \(0\le\sigma_1\le\cdots\le\sigma_k\) and the associated eigenvectors \(\eta_1,\dots,\eta_k\) form an orthonormal basis of \({\mathcal N}(M)\), parallel on the normal connection, such that each \(\gamma_{\eta_j}\) is an eigenmap of \(M\) with eigenvalue \(7-k+\sigma_j\); moreover, \(\sigma_j=\|S_{\eta_j}\|^2\),\ \(1\le j\le k\). As a consequence of the theorems, they obtain a similar result for minimal submanifolds of arbitrary codimension of \(S^7\).