A genus-zero surface with bounded curvature enclosing less volume than the unit sphere

Abstract

We produce a family of bodies in $\mathbb R^3$ parameterized by $\varepsilon > 0$, each bounded by a smooth topological sphere with principal curvatures in $[-1, 1]$, and having volume arbitrarily close to $ 16 - 4\sqrt 3 + \left(10 \sqrt 3 - 14\right) \pi - \left(\frac{10}{3} - \sqrt 3\right) \pi^2 \approx 3.70.$ Thus, in contrast to the two-dimensional case, the unit sphere (which bounds a ball of volume $\frac{4 }{ 3} \pi \approx 4.19$) does not enclose the minimal volume among all smooth spheres in $\mathbb R^3$ with principal curvatures in $[-1,1]$. This answers a folklore question of Dmitri Burago and Anton Petrunin.