Willmore spheres in quaternionic projective space

Abstract

The Willmore energy for Frenet curves in quaternionic projective space is the generalization of the Willmore functional for immersions into the 4-sphere. Critical points of the Willmore energy are called Willmore curves in quaternionic projective space. Using a Baecklund transformation on Willmore curves, we generalize Bryant's result on Willmore spheres in 3--space: a Willmore sphere in quaternionic projective space has integer Willmore energy, and is given by complex holomorphic data.