Total Mean Curvature and Submanifolds of Finite Type

Book excerpt: The purpose of this book is to introduce the reader to two interesting topics in geometry which have developed over the last fifteen years, namely, total mean curvature and submanifolds of finite type. The theory of total mean curvature is the study of the integral of the n-th power of the mean curvature of a compact n-dimensional submanifold in a Euclidean m-space and its applications to other branches of mathematics. The relation of total mean curvature to analysis, geometry and topology are discussed in detail. Motivated from these studies, the author introduces and studies submanifolds of finite type in the last chapter. Some applications of such submanifolds are also given. This book is self-contained. The author hopes that the reader will be encouraged to pursue his studies beyond the confines of the present book.