Semiumbilic points for minimal surfaces in Euclidean 4-space (Q2452168)

A point of a surface \(M\) in \(\mathbb{R}^4\) is called \textit{semiumbilic} if its normal curvature \(K_N\) vanishes. The authors prove that the set of semiumbilic points is isolated if the normal curvature never changes sign and does not vanish identically. For minimal surfaces, the notions of semiumbilic points and \textit{inflection points} (points where the curvature ellipse degenerates and contains the origin of the normal space) coincide. Thus, this result gives a partial answer to the question for the typical structure of inflection points on a minimal surface in \(\mathbb{R}^4\), raised by \textit{D. K. H. Mochida} et al. [in: Proceedings of the 1st international meeting on geometry and topology, Braga, Portugal, 1997. Braga: Univ. do Minho, Centro de Matemática. 175--183 (1997; Zbl 0938.57021)]. In combination with a result by \textit{J. A. Little} [Ann. Mat. Pura Appl. (4) 83, 261--335 (1970; Zbl 0187.18903)], this yields that a minimal surface in \(\mathbb{R}^4\) with flat normal bundle is contained in an affine 3-space. It is contained in an affine plane if it is an entire graph of a 2-dimensional subspace of \(\mathbb{R}^4\). Complex analytic curves different from affine planes have only isolated semiumbilic points, and minimal rotational surfaces have no semiumbilic points.