On cylindricity of submanifolds of nonnegative Ricci curvature in a Minkowski space (Q778997)

Hartman in 1970 has proved that if \(M^n\) is a complete regular submanifold of the Euclidean space with nonnegative sectional curvature, and the index of relative nullity at every point is bounded below by \(k\ge 1\), then \(M^n\) is a cylinder with a \(k\)-dimensional generatrix. More recently the first author has replaced the condition of nonnegative sectional curvature by the the condition of nonnegative Ricci curvature, see [the first author, Russ. Math. Surv. 52, No. 6, 1141--1190 (1997; Zbl 0935.53004); translation from Usp. Mat. Nauk 52, No. 6, 3--52 (1997)], and later he has extended the theorem to the case of hypersurfaces in a Randers space [Sb. Math. 205, No. 7, 936--952 (2014; Zbl 1321.53039); translation from Mat. Sb. 205, No. 7, 25--42 (2014)]), thus obtaining an analogue of Hartman theorem in a Finsler setting. In this paper the authors have been able to generalize the latter theorem to submanifolds of codimension 1 or 2 in a Minkowski space. To state their results we need to define two integer invariants. Let \(M^n\) be a complete connected regular submanifold in a Minkowski space \(\mathbb{M}^{n+p}\). The index of relative nullity \(\mu(P)\) at a point \(P\in M^n\) is the dimension of the common kernel of all shape operators of~\(M^n\) at~\(P\). The type j\((P)\) is the minimum of the positive index of inertia of the second fundamental forms at~\(P\) relative to the normals for which the rank of the shape operator is maximal. Assume now that \(M^n\) is a complete connected regular submanifold with nonnegative Ricci curvature of a Minkowski space~\(\mathbb{M}^{n+p}\), with \(p=1\) or \(p=2\). Assume that for no \(P\in M^n\) we have j\((p)\in\{1,p\}\). Then the authors have proved that if \(p=1\) and \(M^n\) contains a straight line of~\(\mathbb{M}^{n+1}\) then \(M^n\) is a cylinder; and that if \(p=2\) and \(\mu(P)=k\ge 1\) for all \(P\in M^n\) then \(M^n\) is a cylinder with a \(k\)-dimensional generatrix.