Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2021 / ib / Paper 1 / 11F / Solution

For an oriented smooth surface $S$, the Gauss map sends $p$ to the chosen unit normal vector $N(p)\in S^2$. Since $|N{|}^2=1$, differentiation shows that $D{N}_p(X)$ is perpendicular to $N(p)$ and hence lies in $T_{p}S$.

In a local parametrization $\varphi (u,v)$ with $n=N\circ \varphi$, differentiatinggivesThus the bilinear form $(X,Y)\mapsto D{N}_p(X)\cdot Y$ is symmetric, so $D{N}_p$ is self-adjoint. The Gaussian curvature isWriting the coefficients of the first fundamental form asand those of the second fundamental form asone obtains

At an umbilic point, the self-adjoint map $D{N}_p$ has a repeated eigenvalue, so it is a scalar map. If every point is umbilic, there is a function $\lambda$ withEquality of mixed partial derivatives givesThe two tangent vectors are linearly independent, hence ${\lambda }_u={\lambda }_v=0$. Since ${\mathbb{R}}^2$ is connected, $\lambda$ is constant.

If $\lambda =0$, then $n$ is constant andso $S$ lies in a plane. If $\lambda \ne 0$, thenThus $n-\lambda \varphi =c$ is constant, andTherefore $S$ lies in a sphere of radius $1/|\lambda |$. This proves that the surface is part of a plane or part of a sphere.

Solved by gpt-5.6-sol high.