Tsz-Kiu Aaron Chow

Normal Curvature and the Projective Systole

For a smooth immersion $F:\mathbb{R}\mathbb{P}^m\looparrowright \overline{\mathbb{B}}^{N}(1)$, we observe that the sharp systolic inequality forces a sharp lower bound on its maximal normal curvature $\kappa(F)$. In dimensions $m=2,3$, the sharp inequalities of Pu and Bray--Brendle--Eichmair--Neves therefore give $\kappa(F)^2\ge \frac{2m}{m+1}$. Equality holds precisely for the Veronese embedding. This recovers Petrunin's theorem for $\mathbb{R}\mathbb{P}^2$ and, for $\mathbb{R}\mathbb{P}^3$, confirms the first open case of his question for real projective spaces.