Uniqueness of spacelike hypersurfaces with constant higher order mean curvature in generalized Robertson–Walker spacetimes

• Published in: Mathematical proceedings of the Cambridge Philosophical Society Vol. 143; no. 3; pp. 703 - 729
• Main Authors: ALÍAS, LUIS J., COLARES, A. GERVASIO
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.11.2007
• Subjects: Geometry; Mathematics
• ISSN: 0305-0041; 1469-8064
• DOI: 10.1017/S0305004107000576

In this paper we study the problem of uniqueness for spacelike hypersurfaces with constant higher order mean curvature in generalized Robertson–Walker (GRW) spacetimes. In particular, we consider the following question: under what conditions must a compact spacelike hypersurface with constant higher order mean curvature in a spatially closed GRW spacetime be a spacelike slice? We prove that this happens, essentially, under the so called null convergence condition. Our approach is based on the use of the Newton transformations (and their associated differential operators) and the Minkowski formulae for spacelike hypersurfaces.