Isometric embedding of negatively curved disks in the Minkowski space (Q2470773)

The author studies the problem of isometric embedding of a complete negatively curved two-dimensional simply connected manifold \((M,g)\) into the Minkowski space \(\mathbb{R}^{2,1}\). Problems concerning isometric embedding of surfaces into the Euclidean space \(\mathbb{R}^3\) have received much attention, starting with the Weyl problem of isometric embedding of \(\mathbb{S}^2\) endowed with a smooth metric of positive curvature. Related questions have involved the isometric embedding of a surface with prescribed boundary conditions. The author shows here the problem of isometric embedding of \((M,g)\) into \(\mathbb{R}^{2,1}\) to be equivalent to the existence of a solution of a certain Monge-Ampére type equation on \(M\), and is then able to show: Theorem 1. Let \(g\) be a smooth metric of negative curvature on a compact 2-disk \(D\) with smooth boundary of positive geodesic curvature. Then there exists a smooth isometric embedding of \((D,g)\) into \(\mathbb{R}^{2,1}\) for which the boundary lies on the set \(\{x_3=0\}\). Theorem 2. Let \(g\) be a smooth metric of negative curvature on a compact 2-disk \(D\) with smooth boundary geodesically starshaped with respect to some interior point. Then \((D,g)\) admits a smooth isometric embedding into \(\mathbb{R}^{2,1}\).