A Hopf theorem for non-constant mean curvature and a conjecture of A. D. Alexandrov (Q343152)

Given a real-valued \(C^1\) function \(\mathcal H\) of the 2-sphere \({\mathbf S}^2\) and an immersed oriented surface \(\Sigma\) in Euclidean 3-space \({\mathbb R}^3\) with Gauss map \(\nu : \Sigma \rightarrow {\mathbf S}^2\), one says that \(\Sigma\) has prescribed mean curvature \(\mathcal H\) if \[ H_\Sigma(p) = {\mathcal H}(p) \] for every \(p \in {\mathbf S}^2\), where \(H_\Sigma\) is the mean curvature of \(\Sigma\). The authors prove that strictly convex spheres with prescribed mean curvature \({\mathcal H}\) in \({\mathbb R}^3\) are unique up to translation. In fact, they prove uniqueness up to translation for spheres with prescribed mean curvature in simply connected Riemannian homogeneous manifolds of dimension three which are not isometric to the product manifold \({\mathbf S}^2(\kappa)\times {\mathbb R}\). This result extends a Theorem of \textit{H. Hopf} on constant mean curvature spheres [Differential geometry in the large. Seminar lectures New York University 1946 and Stanford University 1956. With a preface by S. S. Chern. 2nd ed. Berlin etc.: Springer-Verlag (1989; Zbl 0669.53001)], and proves a special case of a conjecture of \textit{A. D. Aleksandrov} [Vestn. Leningr. Univ., Mat. Mekh. Astron. 15, No. 2, 5--13 (1960; Zbl 0113.16101)].