Submanifolds with parallel mean curvature vector in Riemannian and indefinite space forms

Abstract

A submanifold of a pseudo-Riemannian manifold is said to have parallel mean curvature vector if the mean curvature vector field H is parallel as a section of the normal bundle. Submanifolds with parallel mean curvature vector are important since they are critical points of some natural functionals. In this paper, we survey some classical and recent results on submanifolds with parallel mean curvature vector. Special attention is paid to the classification of space-like and Lorentz surfaces with parallel mean curvature vector in Riemannian and indefinite space forms.