A second variation formula for Perelman's \(\mathcal W\)-functional along the modified Kähler-Ricci flow (Q2636983)

In his proof of Thurston's geometrization conjecture, Perelman used an entropy type functional \(\mathcal{W}\), whose gradient coincides with Perelman's modified Ricci flow. The work under review provides a second-variation formula for \(\mathcal{W}\) along the Kähler-Ricci flow, respectively, along the modified Kähler-Ricci flow on a Fano variety. In order to formulate the result precisely, let us recall that for an arbitrary compact oriented Riemannian manifold \((X,g)\) of \(\dim _{\mathbb R} X = 2n\) and an arbitrary smooth real valued function \(f\) on \(X\), Perelman's \(\mathcal{W}\)-functional is defined (up to a constant) as \(\mathcal{W} (g,f) := \int _X 2H(g,f) e^{-f} dV_g\), where \(2H(g,f) := 2 \Delta _g f - |\nabla _gf|^2_g + \text{Scal} _g + 2f - 2n\). On a Fano manifold \((X, J_0)\) let us consider the Kähler-Ricci flow \((\widehat{g}_t ) _{t \geq 0}\) with \(\frac{d}{dt} \widehat{g}_t = - \text{Ric} ( \widehat{g}_t ) + \widehat{g}_t\), its associated symplectic form \(\widehat{\omega} _t := \widehat{g}_t J_0 \in 2 \pi c_1 (X)\) and the Riemannian curvature operator \(\text{Rm} _{g_t} \in C^{\infty} (X, \text{End} ( \Lambda ^2 T_X))\). Denote by \(( \widehat{f}_t) _{t \in [0, T]}\) the solution of Perelman's backwards heat equation \(2 \frac{d}{dt} \widehat{f}_t = - \Delta _{\widehat{g}_t} \widehat{f}_t + | \nabla _{\widehat{g}_t} \widehat{f}_t|^2 _{\widehat{g}_t} - \text{Scal} _{\widehat{g}_t} + 2n\) and put \(\alpha := \widehat{\omega} - \text{Ric} - i \partial \overline{\partial} \widehat{f}\), \(A := \overline{\partial} \nabla \widehat{f}\). Making use of integration by parts along the Kähler-Ricci flow, the author derives the second-variation identity \[ \frac{d\mathcal{W}}{dt^2} = \int _X \left[ 2 \langle \alpha \text{Rm}, \alpha \rangle + 2 |\nabla \widehat{H}|^2 - |\nabla \alpha ^*|^2 - |\nabla A|^2 \right] e^{ - \widehat{f}} d V_{\widehat{g}}. \] Let \(( \Psi _t ) _{t \in [0, T]}\) be the flow of diffeomorphisms, given by the equation \(2 \frac{d}{dt} \Psi _t = - ( \nabla _{\widehat{g}_t} \widehat{f}_t) \circ \Psi _t\), \(g_t := \Psi ^* _t \widehat{g}_t\), \(J_t := \Psi ^* _t J_0\) for the complex structure \(J_0\) on \(X\) at time \(t=0\), \(\omega _t := \Psi ^*_t \widehat{\omega} _t\), \(f_t := \widehat{f}_t \circ \Psi _t\). By means of Perelman's version of the twice contracted Bianchi identity, the author derives the second variation formula \[ \frac{d\mathcal{W}}{dt^2} = \int _X \left[ 2 \langle \dot{\omega}_t.\text{Rm} _{g_t}, \dot{\omega }_t \rangle _t + 2 | \nabla _t H_t|^2_t - | \nabla _t \dot{g}_t |^2 _t \right] e^{ - \widehat{f}_0} d V_{\widehat{g}_0} \] along the modified Kähler-Ricci flow \((X, J_t, \omega _t) _{t \in [0, T]}\).