2013/09/25 by Daniel J. F. Fox, Fox, Daniel, Joe S. Wang +1 · 2 citations
Mathematics · #35A27 #53C43 #Algebraic Geometry and Number Theory #Differential Geometry (math.DG) #FOS: Mathematics #Geometric Analysis and Curvature Flows #Geometry and complex manifolds
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1309.6606
openalex publication_date 2013/09/25 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The exterior differential system for constant mean curvature (CMC) surfaces in a 3-dimensional space form is an elliptic Monge-Ampere system defined on the unit tangent bundle. We determine the infinite sequence of higher-order symmetries and conservation laws via an enhanced prolongation modelled on a loop algebra valued formal Killing field. As a consequence we establish Noether's theorem for the CMC system and there is a canonical isomorphism between the symmetries and conservation laws. A geometric interpretation of the \mathbbS1-family of associate surfaces leads to an integrable extension for a non-local symmetry called spectral symmetry. We show that the corresponding spectral conservation law exists as a secondary characteristic cohomology class. For a compact linear finite type CMC surface of arbitrary genus, we observe that the monodromies of the associated flat \mathfraksl(2,ℂ)-connection commute with each other. It follows that a single spectral curve is defined as the completion of the set of eigenvalues of the entire monodromies. This agrees with the recent result that a compact high genus linear finite type CMC surface necessarily factors through a branched covering of a torus. We introduce a sequence of Abel-Jacobi maps defined by the periods of conservation laws. For the class of deformations of CMC surfaces which scale the Hopf differential by a real parameter, we compute the first order truncated Picard-Fuchs equation. The resulting formulae for the first few terms exhibit a similarity with the Griffiths transversality theorem for variation of Hodge structures.