The geometric Cauchy problem for surfaces with Lorentzian harmonic Gauss maps

ABSTRACT. The geometric Cauchy problem for a class of surfaces in a pseudo-Riemannian manifold of dimension 3 is to find the surface which contains a given curve with a prescribed tangent bundle along the curve. We consider this problem for constant negative Gauss curvature surfaces (pseudospherical surfaces) in Euclidean 3-space, and for timelike constant non-zero mean curvature (CMC) surfaces in the Lorentz-Minkowski 3-space. We prove that there is a unique solution if the prescribed curve is non-characteristic, and for characteristic initial curves (asymptotic curves for pseudospherical surfaces and null curves for timelike CMC) it is nec-essary and sufficient for similar data to be prescribed along an additional characteristic curve that intersects the first. The proofs also give a means of constructing all solutions using loop group techniques. The method used is the infinite dimensional d’Alembert type representation for surfaces as-sociated with Lorentzian harmonic maps (1-1 wave maps) into symmetric spaces, developed since the 1990’s. Explicit formulae for the potentials in terms of the prescribed data are given, and some applications are consid-ered. 1