Surfaces in Classical Geometries: A Treatment by Moving Frames

The book pursues significant results beyond the standard topics of an introductory differential geometry course. A sample of these results includes the Willmore functional, the classification of cyclides of Dupin, the Bonnet problem, constant mean curvature immersions, isothermic immersions, and the duality between minimal surfaces in Euclidean space and constant mean curvature surfaces in hyperbolic space. The book concludes with Lie sphere geometry and its spectacular result that all cyclides of Dupin are Lie sphere equivalent. The exposition is restricted to curves and surfaces in order to emphasize the geometric interpretation of invariants and other constructions. Working in low dimensions helps students develop a strong geometric intuition. Aspiring geometers will acquire a working knowledge of curves and surfaces in classical geometries. Students will learn the invariants of conformal geometry and how these relate to the invariants of Euclidean, spherical, and hyperbolic geometry. They will learn the fundamentals of Lie sphere geometry, which require the notion of Legendre immersions of a contact structure. Prerequisites include a completed one semester standard course on manifold theory.