Hamiltonian 2-forms in Kähler geometry. I: General theory (Q2497120)

A \((1,1)\)-form \(\phi\) on a \(2m\)-dimensional Kähler manifold \((M^{2m}, g, J, \omega)\) is called a Hamiltonian 2-form if it satisfies the equation \[ \nabla_X \phi = 1/2d (\text{tr}_{\omega}\phi) \wedge g \circ JX - J d(\text{tr}_{\omega}\phi )\wedge g \circ X \] for any vector field \(X\). The authors prove that a Kähler manifold \(M^{2m}\), \(m >1\), is weakly Bochner-flat (i.e., has the co-closed Bochner tensor) if and only if the normalized Ricci form \(\widetilde \rho := \rho_0 + \frac{\text{scal}}{2m (m+1)}\omega\) is a Hamilton 2-form, where \(\rho_0\) is the traceless part of the Ricci form. They also construct a Hamiltonian 2-form of a conformally Kähler-Einstein manifold of dimension greater than 4. The main result of the paper is a local classification of Kähler manifolds which admit a non-zero Hamiltonian 2-form \(\phi\). The key feature of Hamiltonian 2-form is that the Hamiltonian vector fields \(K_i = J \text{grad}( \sigma_i)\), associated with the elementary symmetric functions \(\sigma_i\) of the eigenvalues of the endomorphism \(\omega^{-1} \circ \phi\), are commuting Killing fields. The order of \(\phi\) is defined as the number \(\ell\) such that the system \((K_1, \dots , K_m)\) has rank \(\ell\) on an open dense submanifold of \(M\). In this case, the Killing fields \(K_i\) define a local Hamiltonian \(\ell\)-torus action by isometries on \(M\) and \(M\) can be described by the Pedersen-Poon construction as a fibration with \(2\ell\)-dimensional toric fibres over a \(2(m-\ell)\)-dimensional complex manifold equipped with a family of Kähler quotient metrics parameterized by the momentum map of the local \(\ell\)-torus action. Moreover, the Hamiltonian torus action associated with a Hamiltonian 2-form is orthotoric, rigid and semisimple. The first condition means that the gradient of the roots of the polynomial \(\sum_{i=0}^m (-1)^i \sigma_i t^{m-i}\) are orthogonal, where \((\sigma_1,\dots , \sigma_m)\) is the momentum map. The last two conditions mean that the metric on the orbits depends only on the momentum map and that the Kähler quotient metrics are simultaneously diagonalizable and have common Levi-Civita connection. Conversely, a Kähler manifold with an orthotoric rigid semisimple \(\ell\)-torus action admits a Hamiltonian 2-form. From this deep result, the authors deduce a local classification of weakly Boch\-ner-flat Kähler metrics, which is a generalization of R. Bryant's classification of Boch\-ner-flat Kähler metrics and get a new proof of the Derdzinski-Maschler classification of conformally Kähler-Einstein metrics.