Khovanskii-finite valuations, rational curves, and torus actions (Q2194416)

The authors study valuations \(\nu\) of coordinate rings \(R\) of irreducible affine varieties \(X=\mathrm{Spec}\,R\) over an algebraically closed field \(\mathbb K\). The image of \(R\) under \(\nu\) is a semigroup \(S(R,\nu)\) known as the value semigroup. The authors introduce the notion of a Khovanskii-finite valuation \(\nu\) (with respect to \(R\)), that is the case, when \(S(R,\nu)\) is finitely generated as a semigroup. The paper is devoted to studying the various important situations in which \(\nu\) is Khovanskii-finite. Knowing this holds may be used to obtain valuable geometric information about \(X\). On the other hand, the authors are showing how to construct Khovanskii-finite valuations for a fixed \(R\). A particularly important classes of valuations is formed by the homogeneous valuations. That is the case, when the affine variety \(X\) admits an action by an algebraic torus \(T\), or equivalently, its coordinate ring \(R\) is graded by the character lattice \(M\) of \(T\). Then a homogeneous valuation can be defined as a valuation which is completely determined by its values on homogeneous elements of \(R\). The first main result of the paper shows that when considering Khovanskii-finiteness for homogeneous valuations, it is always possible to reduce to the \(\mathbb Z\)-graded case. Then the authors consider the class of almost toric varieties, that is, a rational not-necessarily-normal variety with a faithful action of a codimension-one torus. They prove that such varieties are typically not homogeneously Khovanskii-finite. Finally, the authors come up with with an analysis of Khovanskii-finiteness for affine cones over projective rational curves. They also relate their results to the tropical geometry setting and address several questions posed in the paper by \textit{K. Kaveh} and \textit{C. Manon} [SIAM J. Appl. Algebra Geom. 3, No. 2, 292--336 (2019; Zbl 1423.13145)], showing, in particular, that the procedure of \textit{L. Bossinger} et al. [Fields Inst. Commun. 80, 247--281 (2017; Zbl 1390.14194)] for producing tropical prime cones will not terminate in general.