The Cauchy problem for the homogeneous Monge-Ampère equation. III: Lifespan (Q516851)

This paper is devoted to the study of the Cauchy problem for the homogeneous complex/real Monge-Ampère equation on \(S_T\times M\), where \(S_T=[0,T]\times{\mathbb R}\) is a strip and \((M,\omega)\) is a compact Kähler manifold. As shown by Donaldson, Mabuchi and Semmes, this problem is equivalent to an initial value problem for geodesics in the space of Kähler metrics on \(M\) in the class of \(\omega\). The main results describe necessary and/or sufficient conditions for the existence of solutions, showing that the homogeneous complex Monge-Ampère Cauchy problem is generally ill-posed. The necessary condition (Theorem 2.2) and the sufficient condition (Theorem 2.3) are expressed in terms of the holomorphic extension to \(S_T\) of a Hamiltonian flow on \((M,\omega)\) depending on the initial data, and in terms of the invertibility of a family of maps induced by the Hamiltonian flow, and are very close to each other almost giving a necessary and sufficient condition. As a consequence, the authors are able to prove that for a dense set of \(C^3\)-initial data the homogeneous complex Monge-Ampère Cauchy problem has no \(C^3\) solution, showing the ill-posedness of the problem (Theorem 2.7). For the homogeneous real Monge-Ampère equation, the authors show that the results obtained in a previous paper [\textit{Y. A. Rubinstein} and \textit{S. Zelditch}, Adv. Math. 228, No. 6, 2989--3025 (2011; Zbl 1273.35147)] are optimal, in the sense that the solution obtained there using a Legendre transform method is the only possible solution, it is smooth and the convex lifespan introduced there coincides with the usual lifespan of the solution. The main tool in the proof of this result consists in reducing the homogeneous real Monge-Ampère equation to a suitable Hamilton-Jacobi equation.