Constant mean curvature surfaces in hyperbolic 3-space via loop groups

In hyperbolic 3-space H-3 surfaces of constant mean curvature H come in three types, corresponding to the cases 0 <= H < 1, H = 1, H > 1. Via the Lawson correspondence the latter two cases correspond to constant mean curvature surfaces in Euclidean 3-space E-3 with H = 0 and H not equal 0, respectively. These surface classes have been investigated intensively in the literature. For the case 0 <= H < 1 there is no Lawson correspondence in Euclidean space and there are relatively few publications. Examples have been difficult to construct. In this paper we present a generalized Weierstrass type representation for surfaces of constant mean curvature in H-3 with particular emphasis on the case of mean curvature 0 <= H < 1. In particular, the generalized Weierstrass type representation presented in this paper enables us to construct simultaneously minimal surfaces (H = 0) and non-minimal constant mean curvature surfaces (0 < H < 1).