The stability of hypersurfaces revisited (Q2634826)

Given integers \(r\) and \(s\) satisfying the inequalities \(0\leq r\leq s\leq n-2\), and non-negative numbers \(a_i\), \(r\leq i\leq s\), at least one of which being different from zero, the authors consider the functional \(\mathcal{B}_{r,s}:=\sum_{i=r}^s a_i \mathcal{A}_i\), defined on the space of compact hypersurfaces immersed in the Euclidean space \(\mathbb{ R}^{n+1}\). The functional \({\mathcal A}_i\) is the \(i\)-area functional defined by \({\mathcal A}_i:=\int_M S_idM\), where \(S_i\) is the \(i\)-th elementary symmetric function of the mean curvatures of the hypersurface. In this paper, the authors consider \((r,s)\)-stable hypersurfaces, i.e., second-order minima of the functional \(\mathcal{B}_{r,s}\) under a volume constraint, and prove in Theorem 1 that \(x:M\to\mathbb{R}^{n+1}\) is \((r,s)\)-stable if and only if \(x(M)\) is a geodesic sphere. The proof makes use of the second variation of the associated Jacobi functional, computed in Proposition 1, and of a suitable test function (a linear function of the support function of the immersion). The strategy of the proof is similar to the one in the classical paper by \textit{J. L. Barbosa} and \textit{M. P. do Carmo} [Math. Z. 185, 339--353 (1984; Zbl 0513.53002)]. Previous results were obtained by the last two authors and two collaborators in [Geom. Phys. 60, 1402--1410 (2010; Zbl 1197.53074)].