Conformal invariants and spherical contacts of surfaces in \(\mathbb R^4\) (Q365119)

In [Indag. Math. 12, No. 3, 369--382 (2001; Zbl 1006.53009)], \textit{A. Montesinos Amilibia} et al. studied the conformal curvatures of curves in \(\mathbb{R}^{n+1}\), using the fact that conformal maps preserve the contacts between submanifolds and hyperspheres. This technique was later used by the authors of the present paper in [Beiträge Algebra Geom. 45, No. 2, 615--635 (2004; Zbl 1093.53018)], where they defined some conformal invariants for a hypersurface \(M\) and obtained some differential 1-forms defined along the curvature lines of \(M\) which are preserved by conformal maps. In this paper, applying the same method, the authors introduce the notion of strong principal lines on surfaces in \(\mathbb{R}^4\) and obtain conformally invariant differential 1-forms along them. Moreover, they derive some interesting results concerning the zeros of these 1-forms and prove that for a closed orientable surface generically immersed in \(\mathbb{R}^4\) there are at least two semiumbilic points of higher order. In the last section of the paper they give a geometrical interpretation of these conformally invariant 1-forms in de Sitter space \(S^5_1\) and in the 5-dimensional light cone.