Metric geometry of normal K\"ahler spaces, energy properness, and existence of canonical metrics

TL;DR

This paper establishes a new metric framework on the space of K"ahler potentials for normal K"ahler spaces, linking energy properness to the existence of K"ahler-Einstein metrics on log Fano pairs, and extends to K"ahler-Ricci solitons.

Contribution

It introduces a geodesic metric structure on K"ahler potentials and characterizes the existence of K"ahler-Einstein metrics via energy properness for log Fano pairs.

Findings

Existence of K"ahler-Einstein metrics is equivalent to properness of the K-energy.

First characterization of log Fano pairs admitting K"ahler-Einstein metrics.

Extension of results to K"ahler-Ricci solitons on Fano varieties.

Abstract

Let $(X,\omega)$ be a compact normal K\"ahler space, with Hodge metric $\omega$. In this paper, the last in a sequence of works studying the relationship between energy properness and canonical K\"ahler metrics, we introduce a geodesic metric structure on $\mathcal H_{\omega}(X)$, the space of K\"ahler potentials, whose completion is the finite energy space $\mathcal E^1_{\omega}(X)$. Using this metric structure and the results of Berman-Boucksom-Eyssidieux-Guedj-Zeriahi as ingredients in the existence/properness principle of Rubinstein and the author, we show that existence of K\"ahler-Einstein metrics on log Fano pairs is equivalent to properness of the K-energy in a suitable sense. To our knowledge, this result represents the first characterization of general log Fano pairs admitting K\"ahler-Einstein metrics. We also discuss the analogous result for K\"ahler-Ricci solitons on Fano varieties.