Volume and lattice points of reflexive simplices

We prove sharp upper bounds on the volume and the number of lattice points on edges of higher-dimensional reflexive simplices. These convex-geometric results are derived from new number-theoretic bounds on the denominators of unit fractions summing up to one. The main algebro-geometric application is a sharp upper bound on the anticanonical degree of higher-dimensional Q-factorial Gorenstein toric Fano varieties with Picard number one, where we completely characterize the case of equality.Comment: AMS-LaTeX, 19 pages; paper reorganized, introduction added, bibliography updated; typos correcte

Complete toric varieties with reductive automorphism group

We give equivalent and sufficient criteria for the automorphism group of a complete toric variety, respectively a Gorenstein toric Fano variety, to be reductive. In particular we show that the automorphism group of a Gorenstein toric Fano variety is reductive, if the barycenter of the associated reflexive polytope is zero. Furthermore a sharp bound on the dimension of the reductive automorphism group of a complete toric variety is proven by studying the set of Demazure roots.Comment: AMS-LaTeX, 20 pages with 1 figur

A Simple Combinatorial Criterion for Projective Toric Manifolds with Dual Defect

We show that any smooth lattice polytope P with codegree greater or equal than (dim(P)+3)/2 (or equivalently, with degree smaller than dim(P)/2), defines a dual defective projective toric manifold. This implies that P is Q-normal (in the terminology of a recent paper by Di Rocco, Piene and the first author) and answers partially an adjunction-theoretic conjecture by Beltrametti and Sommese. Also, it follows that smooth lattice polytopes with this property are precisely strict Cayley polytopes, which completes the answer of a question of Batyrev and the second author in the nonsingular case.Comment: 12 page