Scalar curvature of minimal hypersurfaces in a sphere (Q5920358)

Continuing the work of Simons, Lawson, Chern, do Carmo and Kobayashi, and the authors \textit{C.-K. Peng} and \textit{C.-L. Terng} published the following rigidity result [Math. Ann. 266, 105--113 (1983; Zbl 0508.53060)]: For each dimension \(n\leq 5\) there exists a constant \(\delta(n)> 0\) with the following property: If the squared length \(S\) of the second fundamental form of a compact minimal hypersurface \(M\) of the unit sphere \(\mathbb{S}^{n+1}\) satisfies \(n\leq S\leq n+\delta(n)\), then in fact \(S\equiv n\) and therefore \(M\) is a Clifford torus of \(\mathbb{S}^{n+1}\). The present authors extend this result to the dimensions \(n= 7,8\). Furthermore, they show that the article of \textit{K. Ogiue} and \textit{H. Sun} in [Tôhoku Math. J. (2) 49, No. 3, 423--429 (1997; Zbl 0938.53029)], in which they derived this theorem for arbitrary \(n\), is incorrect.