Extremal metrics on toric surfaces: a continuity method (Q936509)

The author proves some existence theorems for solutions of the 4-th order Abreu's equation \( u^{ij}_{,ij} = -A\) where \(u^{ij}\) is the inverse of the Hessian \(u_{,ij}\) of an unknown function \(u\) in an open polygon \(P \subset \mathbb{R}^2\) and \(A\) is a smooth function in the closure \(\bar P\). Geometrically, the expression \( - u^{ij}_{,ij}\) is one half of the scalar curvature of the Kähler metric \[ g = u_{,ij} dx^i dx^i + u^{ij}d \theta_i d\theta_j \] on the 4-manifold \(P \times \mathbb{R}^2/ 2 \pi \mathbb{Z}^2\). In a special case, the problem of existence of solutions is equivalent to the existence of an extremal Kähler metric on a compact toric surface \(X\) which is an extension of \(P \times \mathbb{R}^2/ 2 \pi \mathbb{Z}^2\). Using a continuity method together with ``blow-up'' arguments, the author obtains a general existence results under some analytic ``M-condition''.