On an invariant on isometric immersions into spaces of constant sectional curvature

Abstract

In the present paper, we give an invariant on isometric immersions into spaces of constant sectional curvature. This invariant is a direct consequence of the Gauss equation and the Codazzi equation of isometric immersions. We apply this invariant on some examples. Further, we apply it to codimension 1 local isometric immersions of 2-step nilpotent Lie groups with arbitrary leftinvariant Riemannian metric into spaces of constant nonpositive sectional curvature. We also consider the more general class, namely, three-dimensional Lie groups G with nontrivial center and with arbitrary left-invariant metric. We show that if the metric of G is not symmetric, then there are no local isometric immersions of G into Q c 4.