Moderate degeneration of Kähler-Einstein manifolds with negative Ricci curvature (Q2279513)

This paper studies degeneration of negatively curved Kähler-Einstein manifolds. Let $f: X\to C$ be a projective surjective morphism from a normal variety $X$ to a smooth pointed curve $0\in C$, such that the general fiber $X_t$ is a smooth canonically polarized variety. Let $\omega_t$ be the Kähler-Einstein metric on $X_t$ with fixed negative Ricci curvature. Assume that the diameter of $(X_t,\omega_t)$ has a uniform upper bound for any $t$ in some punctured analytic neighborhood of $0\in C$. Then the author shows that after a finite base change $C'\to C$, we have a birational map $X'=X\times_C C'\dashrightarrow X'_{\text{can}}$ to the relative canonical model such that the central fiber $X'_{\text{can}, 0'}$ has at worst Kawamata log terminal (klt) singularities. To prove this result, the author uses an important result of \textit{S. Donaldson} and \textit{S. Sun} [Acta Math. 213, No. 1, 63--106 (2014; Zbl 1318.53037)], which says that under a volume non-collapsing condition the Gromov-Hausdorff limit of $(X_t,\omega_t)$ exists as a normal projective variety with klt singularities, and the convergence is indeed algebraic in a suitable Hilbert scheme. Note that this volume non-collapsing condition is implied by the diameter upper bound as shown in an earlier work of the author [J. Math. Sci., Tokyo 22, No. 1, 469--489 (2015; Zbl 1337.14011)] where he studied a similar question about Calabi-Yau varieties. Then he uses the uniqueness of relative canonical model to conclude the proof. We remark that the condition on uniform upper bound on diameters is also necessary for $X'_{\text{can}, 0'}$ to have klt singularities by a result of \textit{J. Song} [``Degeneration of Kahler-Einstein manifolds of negative scalar curvature'', Preprint, \url{arXiv:1706.01518}]. Finally, in contrast to the Calabi-Yau case where the Gromov-Hausdorff limit has at worst canonical singularities, in the canonically polarized case the author gives an example where $X'_{\text{can}, 0'}$ has klt but non-canonical singularities.