The Second Gap and Rigidity in Chern's Conjecture with Constant Cubic Trace

Abstract

Let $M^n\subset\mathbb{S}^{n+1}(1)$ be a closed minimal hypersurface with constant $S=|h|^2$ and constant $f_3=\operatorname{tr} h^3$, where $h$ is the shape operator. We prove that $S>n$ implies $S\geq2n$, and that the equality images are precisely the minimal Cartan isoparametric hypersurfaces with three principal curvatures, which occur only in dimensions $n=3, 6, 12, 24$.