Extremal Kähler metrics on projective bundles over a curve (Q550396)

The framework of the paper under review is the Tian-Yau-Donaldson conjecture: given a (smooth) polarized projective manifold \((X,L)\), the existence of a constant scalar curvature (CSC) Kähler metric in the class \(c_1(L)\) should be related to a certain form of stability of the pair \((X,L)\) (the K-stability is the most commonly accepted). This is established (Theorem 1) for a special class of manifolds, namely the total space of a projective bundle over a curve. If \(E\) is a vector bundle over \(C\) with \(g(C)\geq2\), \(X=\mathbb{P}(E)\) admits a CSC Kähler metric in some (and hence any) Kähler class if and only if \(E\) is polystable (sum of stable bundles of same slope). More generally, the paper is mainly concerned with the existence problem of extremal Kähler metrics (the critical points of the \(L^2\) norm of the scalar curvature in a given Kähler class) on the same kind of manifolds. Inspired by the conjecture above, they formulate the following one (Conjecture 1): an extremal Kähler metric exists in some Kähler class on \(\mathbb{P}(E)\) if and only if \(E\) is a direct sum of stable bundles. As a partial answer, the authors show (Theorem 2) that this is the case if the Kähler class is far enough from the boundary of the Kähler cone. This statement can be seen as a particular case of more general existence results which are established in the setting of rigid semisimple toric bundles (Theorems 3 and 4), this notion being introduced by the authors in [J. Differ. Geom. 68, No. 2, 277--345 (2004; Zbl 1079.32012)]. The proofs of these results are, in some way, obtained via deformation arguments. In case of Theorem 1, the bundle \(E\) is firstly shown to split, using the action of a maximal torus of some automorphism group, in a direct sum of subbundles. Each factor of the decomposition is then put into a one-parameter family and the existence of a CSC metric on the central fiber is used to show that these subbundles have the same slope. Concerning the situation of rigid toric bundles, the existence of a (compatible) extremal Kähler metric is reduced to an Abreu-type equation and Theorems 3 and 4 follow from a general stability statement for the solutions of this equation (under small perturbations). The last part of the paper deals with functionals related to (compatible) extremal Kähler metrics on rigid toric bundles.