Plurisubharmonic exhaustion functions and almost complex Stein structures (Q2518792)

Let \((M,J)\) be an almost complex manifold. The main results of the paper are the following theorems. Let \(\varOmega\subset M\) be a relatively compact Levi convex domain with \(\mathcal C^3\) boundary such that there exists a \(\mathcal C^2\) strictly plurisubharmonic function \(\psi\) in a neighborhood \(U\) of \(\partial\varOmega\). Let \(r\) be a \(\mathcal C^3\) defining function for \(\varOmega\cap U\). Then there exist a neighborhood \(U'\) of \(\partial\varOmega\) and constants \(A>0\), \(0<\eta_0<1\), such that for any \(0<\eta\leq\eta_0\) the function \(\rho=-(-re^{-A\psi})^\eta\) is strictly plurisubharmonic on \(\varOmega\cap U'\). If \(U\) is a neighborhood of \(\overline\varOmega\), then \(\rho\) is strictly plurisubharmonic on \(\varOmega\). Let \(\varOmega\subset M\) be relatively compact pseudoconvex domain with \(\mathcal C^3\) boundary. Assume that \(M\) admits a strictly plurisubharmonic function. Then the following conditions are equivalent: (i) \(\varOmega\) is Levi convex; (ii) \(\varOmega\) is disc-convex; (iii) \(\varOmega\) admits a bounded strictly plurisubharmonic exhaustion function; (iv) \(\varOmega\) is pseudoconvex; \(\varOmega\) is a Stein domain. If \(M\) admits a strictly plurisubharmonic function, then any relatively compact pseudoconvex domain with \(\mathcal C^3\) boundary is taut.