Natural PDE's of Linear Fractional Weingarten surfaces in Euclidean Space

We prove that the natural principal parameters on a given Weingarten surface are also natural principal parameters for the parallel surfaces of the given one. As a consequence of this result we obtain that the natural PDE of any Weingarten surface is the natural PDE of its parallel surfaces. We show that the linear fractional Weingarten surfaces are exactly the surfaces satisfying a linear relation between their three curvatures. Our main result is classification of the natural PDE's of Weingarten surfaces with linear relation between their curvatures.Comment: 16 page

An Invariant Theory of Spacelike Surfaces in the Four-dimensional Minkowski Space

We consider spacelike surfaces in the four-dimensional Minkowski space and introduce geometrically an invariant linear map of Weingarten-type in the tangent plane at any point of the surface under consideration. This allows us to introduce principal lines and an invariant moving frame field. Writing derivative formulas of Frenet-type for this frame field, we obtain eight invariant functions. We prove a fundamental theorem of Bonnet-type, stating that these eight invariants under some natural conditions determine the surface up to a motion. We show that the basic geometric classes of spacelike surfaces in the four-dimensional Minkowski space, determined by conditions on their invariants, can be interpreted in terms of the properties of the two geometric figures: the tangent indicatrix, and the normal curvature ellipse. We apply our theory to a class of spacelike general rotational surfaces.Comment: 23 pages; to appear in Mediterr. J. Math., Vol. 9 (2012