Toric degenerations and Batyrev-Borisov duality (Q2574157)

The paper under review constitutes a part of the series of articles on toric degenerations of Calabi-Yau varieties by \textit{M. Gross} and \textit{B. Siebert} [Turk. J. Math. 27, 33--60 (2003; Zbl 1063.14048); Mirror symmetry via logarithmic degeneration data I, \texttt{math.AG/0309070}; Torus fibrations and toric degenerations, in preparation]. In particular, this paper (authored by Gross alone) presents examples of such toric degenerations for constructing mirror pairs of Calabi-Yau varieties. The goal of these endeavor is to produce a method of constructing mirror pairs which combines the (differential geometric) method of Strominger-Yau-Zaslow construction with the (algebro-geometric) method of the Batyrev-Borisov construction. This new construction is based on toric degenerations. Given a toric degeneration \({\mathcal X}\to {\mathcal S}\) of Calabi-Yau varieties, one can associate a dual intersection complex \(B\), which is an integral affine manifold with singularities. (Here \({\mathcal S}\) is assumed to be a one-dimensional non-singular base.) If the family \({\mathcal X}\to{\mathcal S}\) is polarized with a relatively ample divisor, then \(B\) comes along with a convex, piecewise linear multi-valued function \(\varphi\). To construct the dual objects, the notion of the discrete Legendre transform is introduced, and with that one obtains a new affine manifold with singularities \(\check B\) and a new function \(\check\varphi\). Then \(\check B\) may be regarded as the dual intersection complex of a new degeneration \(\check{\mathcal X}\to{\mathcal S}\). (Though, the existence of smoothing is yet to be worked out.) This approach contains crucial information about the topology of the general fiber \({\mathcal X}_t\). Recall that \(B\) is an integral affine manifold with singularities, there is an open set \(B_0\subseteq B\) which carries an integral affine structure with \(\Gamma:=B \setminus B_0\) a locally finite union of locally closed submanifolds of codimension at least two. Let \(y_1, \dots,y_n\) be local affine coordinates on \(B_0\) and define a local system \(\Lambda\subseteq{\mathcal T}_{B_0}\) to be the family of lattices generated by \(\partial/\partial y_1,\dots,\partial/\partial y_n\). Define a topological space \(X(B_0):={\mathcal T}_{B_0}/\Lambda\); this is a torus bundle over \(B_0\) and it carries a complex structure. In addition, given an element \({\mathbf B}\in H^1(B_0,\Lambda\otimes(\mathbb{R}/\mathbb{Z}))\), twist the torus bundle by this element to obtain a new torus bundle \(X(B_0,{\mathbf B})\to B_0\). The following results have been proved in Gross and Siebert [Torus fibrations and toric degenerations, in preparation]. Theorem. Let \({\mathcal X}\to {\mathcal S}\) be a toric degeneration, with dual intersection complex \(B\). Then the following assertions hold: (a) For \(t\neq 0\), \({\mathcal X}_t\) is a topological compactification of \(X(B_0,{\mathcal B})\) for some \({\mathbf B}\in H^1(B_0,\Lambda \otimes(\mathbb{R}/\mathbb{Z}))\). (b) If \(B\) is simple, then there exists a \({\mathbf B}\in H^1(B,i_* \Lambda\otimes(\mathbb{R}/\mathbb{Z}))\) (with \(i^*:B_0 \hookrightarrow B\) is the inclusion) and an algorithm for compactifying \(X(B_0, {\mathbf B}) \to B_0\) to a torus fibration \(X(B,{\mathbf B})\to B\) so that \(X(B,{\mathbf B})\) is homeomorphic to \({\mathcal X}_t\). Given a pair of toric degenerations \({\mathcal X}\to{\mathcal S}\) and \(\check{\mathcal X}\to{\mathcal S}\) whose dual intersection complexes are related by a discrete Legendre transform, the torus bundles \(X(B_0,{\mathbf B})\to B_0\) and \(X(\check B_0,\check{\mathbf B})\to\check B_0\) are in fact dual. This method is tested on the old Batyrev-Borisov construction of toric hypersurface mirror pairs. Let \(M={\mathbb{Z}}^n\), \(M_{\mathbb{R}}=M\otimes{\mathbb{R}}\), \(\Delta \subseteq M_{\mathbb{R}}\) be a reflexive polytope with 0 as unique interior integral point with reflexive dual \(\Delta^*\). \(\Delta\) gives rise to a projective toric variety \({\mathbb{P}}_\Delta\) defined by a fan \(\check \Sigma\) in \(M_{\mathbb{R}}\), and similarly, \(\Delta^*\) to \({\mathbb{P}}_{\Delta^*}\). Now a toric degeneration is constructed as follows. Let \(s_0\) be the section of \({\mathcal O}_{{\mathbb{P}}_\Delta}(1)\) corresponding to \(0\in\Delta\). Choose a height function \(h:\Delta\cap M\to{\mathbb{Z}}\), and consider the equation \[ s_0+\sum_{m\in\Delta\cap M}t^{h(m)} z^m=0.\tag{*} \] Impose the condition on \(h\) that it must be a restriction of an integral piecewise linear function on a subdivision of \(\check\Sigma\) giving a partial crepant resolution \(\check\pi: \widetilde{\mathbb{P}}_{\Delta^*}\to{\mathbb{P}}_{\Delta^*}\) of \({\mathbb{P}}_{\Delta^*}\). The existence of such a function determines a divisor \(H_{\Delta^*}\) on \(\widetilde{\mathbb{P}}_{\Delta^*}\) which has the properties that \(H_{\Delta^*}\) is ample and \(H_{\Delta^*}+K_{{\mathbb{P}}_{\Delta^*}}\) is nef. Then the family defined by (*) is birationally equivalent to a toric degeneration \({\mathcal X}\to{\mathcal S}\), with general fiber being a Calabi-Yau hypersurface in \(\widetilde{\mathbb{P}}_\Delta\), where \(\pi:\widetilde{\mathbb{P}}_\Delta\) is any partial crepant projective resolution. From this toric degeneration, one obtains a dual intersection complex \(B\). If \(\pi\) and \(\check\pi\) are maximal partial crepant projective resolutions of \({\mathbb{P}}_\Delta\) and \({\mathbb{P}}_{\Delta^*}\), then \(B\) is simple. So the theorem applies to this situation. If \(H_\Delta\) is an ample polarization on \(\widetilde{\mathbb{P}}_\Delta\) induced by a piecewise linear function \(\check h\), one obtains a polarization on the generic fiber of \({\mathcal X}\to{\mathcal S}\). When this polarization extends to \({\mathcal X}\), performing a discrete Legendre transform on \(B\), one obtains a dual complex \(\check B\) and this is the dual intersection complex of a toric degeneration \(\check{\mathcal X}\to{\mathcal S}\) obtained by the Batyrev-Borisov mirror symmetry (i.e., switching \(\Delta,h\) with \(\Delta^*,\check h.)\) The discrete Legendre transform provides a more elaborate form of the Batyrev-Borisov duality. One hitch is the existence of the polarization on \({\mathcal X}\). To remedy this, a weaker existence result is obtained, and that is sufficient for the arguments to go through. Another example discussed in this paper is \textit{C. Schoen}'s Calabi-Yau threefold obtained as a fibered product of two rational elliptic surfaces with section [Math. Z. 197, 177--199 (1988; Zbl 0631.14032)]. This Calabi-Yau threefold \(X\) has \(h^{1,1}(X)= h^{2,1}(X)=19\) and \(\chi(X)=0\), and hence is self-mirror. For this example, the toric degeneration approach gives more flexible picture than the Batyrev-Borisov approach, e.g. a Strominger-Yau-Zaslow fibration.