Affine classification of points of multidimensional surfaces (Q752494)

The points of a regular surface \(F^{\ell}\subset E^ n\) are classified with respect to the group of affine transformations of the Euclidean space \(E^ n\). For that purpose the bundle of second fundamental forms of the surface \(F^{\ell}\) is used and the concept of external nil-index r(q) in the point \(q\in F^{\ell}\) is introduced (that is the dimension of the maximal subspace \(L(q)\subset T_ qF^{\ell},\) such that for any vector y from L(q) the condition \(Ay=0\) is satisfied, where A is the matrix of any second fundamental form of the surface \(F^{\ell}\) in the point q). The cases when the points of the surface \(F^{\ell}\) can be subdivided into a finite number of classes are exhibited. It is proved that two points of a surface with zero nil-index are affinely equivalent if and only if: 1) the bundles of second fundamental forms of the surface in these points have equal numbers and degrees of linear and quadratic elementary divisors; 2) the powers of asymptotic directions of the surface in these points coincide. The case \(F^ 3\subset E^ 5\) is investigated in more detail.