Symmetry of Stationary Hypersurfaces in Hyperbolic Space

Abstract

We deposit a prescribed amount of liquid on an umbilical hypersurface Π of the hyperbolic space $\mathbb{H}^{n+1}$. Under the presence of a uniform gravity vector field directed towards Π, we seek the shape of such a liquid drop in a state of equilibrium of the mechanical system. The liquid-air interface in then modeled by a hypersurface under the condition that its mean curvature is a function of the distance from Π, together with the fact that the angle that makes with Π along its boundary is constant. We show that the hypersurface is rotational symmetric with respect to a geodesic orthogonal to Π. We extend this result to other configurations, for example, liquid bridges trapped between two umbilical hypersurfaces. Finally, we obtain a result which says that, under some assumptions on the mean curvature, an embedded hypersurface inherits a certain symmetry from its boundary.