On canonical radial Kähler metrics (Q6171980)

An extremal metric on a compact Kähler manifold \(M\) in the Kähler class is defined as a critical point of the Calabi functional which is the square integral of the scalar curvature \(S\). It is known that a metric \(\omega\) is extremal if and only if \(\text{grad}^{1,0}S(\omega)\) is a holomorphic vector field. Extremal Kähler metrics are a generalization of constant scalar curvature (cscK) and of Kähler-Einstein (KE) metrics. Although extremal metrics in the noncompact case cannot be defined as a solution of the variational problem, alternatively these metrics can be defined as metrics such that the \((1,0)\)-part of the Hamiltonian vector field associated to the scalar curvature is holomorphic. In the present paper, the set of extremal metrics on a complex manifold \(M\) is denoted by \(\mathcal{E}xt(M)\). Both cscK and extremal metrics are generalization of KE metrics. Another generalization are Kähler-Ricci solitons (KRS). A KRS on a complex manifold \(M\) is a pair \((g,X)\) of a Kähler metric \(g\) and a holomorphic vector field \(X\) such that \(\rho=\lambda\omega+L_X\omega\) for some \(\lambda\in\mathbb{R}\), where \(\omega\) and \(\rho\) are the Kähler form and the Ricci form of the metric \(g\), respectively, and \(L_X\omega\) denotes the Lie derivatives of \(\omega\) with respect to \(X\). Since any KE metric \(g\) gives a trivial KRS by taking \(X=0\) or \(X\) Killing with respect to \(g\), KRS metrics generalize KE metrics. The set of Kähler metrics \(g\) such that \((g,X)\) is a KRS is denoted by \(\mathcal{K}\mathcal{R}\mathcal{S}(M)\). Let \(\mathcal{C}_k(M)\) denote the set of Kähler metrics \(g\) on \(M\) such that the \(k\)-generalized scalar curvature \(\rho_k(g)\) is constant, where \(\rho_k(g)\) is defined by \(\det(g_{i\bar{j}}+s\text{Ric}_{i\bar{j}})=(1+\sum_{k=1}^n\rho_k(g)s^k)\cdot\det(g_{i\bar{j}})\). Letting \(\mathcal{K}\mathcal{E}(M)\) be the set of KE metrics on \(M\), one has \(\mathcal{K}\mathcal{E}(M)\subseteq\mathcal{K}\mathcal{R}\mathcal{S}(M)\), \(\mathcal{K}\mathcal{E}(M)\subseteq\mathcal{C}_k(M)\) and \(\mathcal{K}\mathcal{E}(M)\subseteq\mathcal{C}_1(M)\subseteq\mathcal{E}xt(M)\). It is interesting to know what conditions are necessary for a canonical Kähler metric of these types to become KE. For instance, in the compact case, it is known that if \(g\in\mathcal{E}xt(M)\cap\mathcal{K}\mathcal{R}\mathcal{S}(M)\) and additionally if the holomorphic sectional curvature of \(g\) does not change sign, then the metric \(g\) is Kähler ((b2) of Theorem A). In the present paper, the metric is restricted to those called radial metrics on noncompact complex manifolds admitting a global Kähler potential depending only on the sum \(|z|^2=|z_1|^2+\cdots+|z_n|^2\) of the local coordinates' moduli. The authors show that a radial Kähler metric \(g\) is KE if one of the following conditions (i)--(iv) holds: \begin{itemize} \item[(i)] \(g\in\mathcal{E}xt(M)\cap\mathcal{K}\mathcal{R}\mathcal{S}(M)\); \item[(ii)] \(g\in\mathcal{C}_k(M)\cap\mathcal{C}_h(M)\) for \(\forall k,h\ge1\), \(k\not=h\); \item[(iii)] \(g\in\mathcal{C}_k(M)\cap\mathcal{E}xt(M)\) for \(\forall k\ge1\); \item[(iv)] \(g\in\mathcal{C}_k(M)\cap\mathcal{K}\mathcal{R}\mathcal{S}(M)\) for \(\forall k\ge1\). \end{itemize} For the proofs of these main results, the authors consider the function \(\psi(y):=\psi(r(y))\) by inverting the map \(r\mapsto y(r)\) on \((r_{\inf},r_{\sup})\), where \(y(r):=rf'(r)\), \(\psi(r):=ry'(r)\) for a radial potential \(f\) of the radial Kähler metric \(g\). In [J. Geom. Anal. 31, No. 8, 7842--7865 (2021; Zbl 1483.53088), Lemma 2.1; Pac. J. Math. 316, No. 1, 183--205 (2022; Zbl 1487.32136), Proposition 2.2], the authors have given explicit expressions of radial extremal and radial KRS in terms of the functions \(y\) and \(\psi(y)\). In this paper, the authors show that the \(k\)-th generalized scalar curvature for a radial Kähler metric is constant if and only if \(\sigma(y)=n-y(A_k+\frac{B_k}{y^n})^{\frac{1}{k}}\), where \(\sigma(y):=\frac{1}{y^{n-1}}\frac{d}{dy}[y^{n-1}\psi(y)]\), \(A_k:=\rho_k\frac{k!(n-k)!}{n!}\) and \(B_k\) is constant. By combining these expressions for each type of canonical Kähler metric, the authors prove the conditions for a radial Kähler metric to be KE. In the last section of the paper, they exhibit radial extremal metrics and non-trivial radial KRS with sign-changing holomorphic sectional curvature in order to compare the condition (i) for a radial Kähler metric with (b2) of Theorem A.