The Cauchy problem for the homogeneous Monge-Ampere equation, III. Lifespan

We prove several results on the lifespan, regularity, and uniqueness of solutions of the Cauchy problem for the homogeneous complex and real Monge-Ampere equations (HCMA/HRMA) under various a priori regularity conditions. We use methods of characteristics in both the real and complex settings to bound the lifespan of solutions with prescribed regularity. In the complex domain, we characterize the C^3 lifespan of the HCMA in terms of analytic continuation of Hamiltonian mechanics and intersection of complex time characteristics. We use a conservation law type argument to prove uniqueness of solutions of the Cauchy problem for the HCMA. We then prove that the Cauchy problem is ill-posed in C^3, in the sense that there exists a dense set of C^3 Cauchy data for which there exists no C^3 solution even for a short time. In the real domain we show that the HRMA is equivalent to a Hamilton--Jacobi equation, and use the equivalence to prove that any differentiable weak solution is smooth, so that the differentiable lifespan equals the convex lifespan determined in our previous articles. We further show that the only obstruction to C^1 solvability is the invertibility of the associated Moser maps. Thus, a smooth solution of the Cauchy problem for HRMA exists for a positive but generally finite time and cannot be continued even as a weak C^1 solution afterwards. Finally, we introduce the notion of a "leafwise subsolution" for the HCMA that generalizes that of a solution, and many of our aforementioned results are proved for this more general object

The Ricci iteration and its applications

In this Note we introduce and study dynamical systems related to the Ricci operator on the space of Kahler metrics as discretizations of certain geometric flows. We pose a conjecture on their convergence towards canonical Kahler metrics and study the case where the first Chern class is negative, zero or positive. This construction has several applications in Kahler geometry, among them an answer to a question of Nadel and a construction of multiplier ideal sheaves.Comment: v2: shortened introduction. v3: corrected some typos. v4: shortened to fit in C. R. Acad. Sci. Pari

On the construction of Nadel multiplier ideal sheaves and the limiting behavior of the Ricci flow

In this note we construct Nadel multiplier ideal sheaves using the Ricci flow on Fano manifolds. This extends a result of Phong, Sesum and Sturm. These sheaves, like their counterparts constructed by Nadel for the continuity method, can be used to obtain an existence criterion for Kahler-Einstein metrics.Comment: v2: 1. added details for the case n=1. 2. added some references. v3: minor changes. To appear in Transactions of the American Mathematical Societ

On energy functionals, Kahler-Einstein metrics, and the Moser-Trudinger-Onofri neighborhood

We prove that the existence of a Kahler-Einstein metric on a Fano manifold is equivalent to the properness of the energy functionals defined by Bando, Chen, Ding, Mabuchi and Tian on the set of Kahler metrics with positive Ricci curvature. We also prove that these energy functionals are bounded from below on this set if and only if one of them is. This answers two questions raised by X.-X. Chen. As an application, we obtain a new proof of the classical Moser-Trudinger-Onofri inequality on the two-sphere, as well as describe a canonical enlargement of the space of Kahler potentials on which this inequality holds on higher-dimensional Fano Kahler-Einstein manifolds.Comment: v2: 1. style and exposition changes made, 2. added Remark 4.5, 3. added several references. v3: added footnote on p. 8. v4: minor changes. To appear in Journal of Functional Analysi

Ricci flow and the metric completion of the space of Kahler metrics

We consider the space of Kahler metrics as a Riemannian submanifold of the space of Riemannian metrics, and study the associated submanifold geometry. In particular, we show that the intrinsic and extrinsic distance functions are equivalent. We also determine the metric completion of the space of Kahler metrics, making contact with recent generalizations of the Calabi-Yau Theorem due to Dinew, Guedj-Zeriahi, and Kolodziej. As an application, we obtain a new analytic stability criterion for the existence of a Kahler-Einstein metric on a Fano manifold in terms of the Ricci flow and the distance function. We also prove that the Kahler-Ricci flow converges as soon as it converges in the metric sense