Paper 4, Section II, H

Differential Geometry
Part II, 2009

(a) Let XX be a compact surface (without boundary) in R3\mathbb{R}^{3}. State the global GaussBonnet formula for XX, identifying all terms in the formula.

(b) Let XR3X \subset \mathbb{R}^{3} be a surface. Define what it means for a curve γ:IX\gamma: I \rightarrow X to be a geodesic. State a theorem concerning the existence of geodesics and define the exponential map.

(c) Let ψ:XY\psi: X \rightarrow Y be an isometry and let γ\gamma be a geodesic. Show that ψγ\psi \circ \gamma is a geodesic. If KXK_{X} denotes the Gaussian curvature of XX, and KYK_{Y} denotes the Gaussian curvature of YY, show that KYψ=KXK_{Y} \circ \psi=K_{X}.

Now suppose ψ:XY\psi: X \rightarrow Y is a smooth map such that ψγ\psi \circ \gamma is a geodesic for all γ\gamma a geodesic. Is ψ\psi necessarily an isometry? Give a proof or counterexample.

Similarly, suppose ψ:XY\psi: X \rightarrow Y is a smooth map such that KYψ=KXK_{Y} \circ \psi=K_{X}. Is ψ\psi necessarily an isometry? Give a proof or counterexample.