On the stability of the equator map for higher order energy functionals

Abstract: Let

B^{n} s u b s e t {m a t h b b R}^{n}

and

{m a t h b b S}^{n} s u b s e t {m a t h b b R}^{n + 1}

denote the Euclidean

n

-dimensional unit ball and sphere respectively. The extit{extrinsic

k

-energy functional} is defined on the Sobolev space

W^{k, 2} l e f t (B^{n}, {m a t h b b S}^{n} i g h t)

as follows:

E_{k}^{m e x t} (u) = i n t_{B^{n}} | D e l t a^{s} u |^{2}, d x

when

k = 2 s

, and

E_{k}^{m e x t} (u) = i n t_{B^{n}} | a b l a D e l t a^{s} u |^{2}, d x

when

k = 2 s + 1

. These energy functionals are a natural higher order version of the classical extrinsic bienergy, also called Hessian energy. The equator map

u^{*} : B^{n} o {m a t h b b S}^{n}

, defined by

u^{*} (x) = (x / | x |, 0)

, is a critical point of

E_{k}^{m e x t} (u)

provided that

n g e q 2 k + 1

. The main aim of this paper is to establish necessary and sufficient conditions on

k

and

n

under which

u^{*} : B^{n} o {m a t h b b S}^{n}

is minimizing or unstable for the extrinsic

k

-energy.

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