Hypersurfaces in equiaffine differential geometry (Q802150)

The author obtains some new results on the global equiaffine differential geometry of (locally strongly) convex hypersurfaces in \((n+1)\)- dimensional real affine space (n\(\geq 2)\). In the first part he computes the Laplacian of the Pick invariant (thus extending his earlier results for \(p=2\) [in Abh. Math. Semin. Univ. Hamb. 53, 225-226 (1983; Zbl 0518.53013)] and uses this, together with some old and new estimates, to prove a characterization of hypersurfaces of second order by means of an inequality involving the Pick invariant and equiaffine curvature functions. The second part is devoted to deformations of convex hypersurfaces in affine differential geometry. Using results of \textit{E. Calabi}, [Am. J. Math. 104, 91-126 (1982; Zbl 0501.53037)] and the reviewer [Math. Z. 101, 375-406 (1967; Zbl 0156.201)], the author finds a number of conditions under which an allowable normal deformation must be trivial. For example, it is proved that any infinitesimal normal deformation of an ovaloid which preserves the affine volume element is trivial.