Umbilical and zero curvature equations in a class of second order ODE's

Abstract

The class of second order ODE's cubic with respect to the first order derivative is considered. Using geometric structures associated with these equations, the subclasses of umbilical equations, zero mean curvature equations, and zero Gaussian curvature equations are defined. Zero mean curvature equations are studied within the framework of the first case of intermediate degeneration with the stress on their pseudoscalar and scalar invariants.