Timelike surfaces with zero mean curvature in Minkowski 4-space (Q375894)

The local theory of time-like surfaces with zero mean curvature in the 4-dimensional Minkowski space \(\mathbb R_1^4\) is studied. Special isothermal (canonical) parameters are introduced on any time-like surface with zero mean curvature free of flat points. Using the canonical parameters and canonical directions of such a surface one introduces a moving frame field at each point of the surface. It is shown that the Frenet-type derivative formulas with respect to this geometric frame field determine two invariant functions \(\mu\) and \(\nu\). The fundamental result of the paper is that any time-like surface with zero mean curvature free of flat points is determined up to a motion in \(\mathbb R_1^4\) by two natural partial differential equations satisfied by the invariants \(\mu\) and \(\nu\) and conversely. Equivalently, these equations can be expressed in functions of the Gauss curvature \(K\) and the normal curvature \(\chi\) as unknown quantities. The results are applied to the class of time-like rotational surfaces of Moore type. The meridian curves of all such surfaces are obtained. It is shown that for this class of surfaces the curvatures \(K\) and \(\chi\) are functions of only one variable. The respective surfaces determine a one-parameter family of solutions to the system of natural partial differential equations describing time-like surfaces with zero mean curvature. Finally, a survey of the background systems of partial differential equations is given for the cases of the surfaces with zero mean curvature in Euclidean space \(\mathbb R^4\) or Minkowski space \(\mathbb R_1^4\) in terms of the Gauss curvature \(K\) and the normal curvature \(\chi\).