Batyrev (et. al.) constructed a family of Calabi-Yau varieties using small toric degenerations of the full flag variety G/B. They conjecture this family to be mirror to generic anti-canonical hypersurfaces in G/B. Recently Alexeev and Brion, as a part of their work on toric degenerations of spherical varieties, have constructed many degenerations of G/B. For any such degeneration we construct a family of varieties, which we prove coincides with Batyrev's in the small case. We prove that any two such families are birational, thus proving that mirror families are independent of the choice of degeneration. The birational maps involved are closely related to Berenstein and Zelevinsky's geometric lifting of tropical maps to maps between totally positive varieties.
We give a method to estimate Seshadri constants on toric varieties at any point. By using the estimations and toric degenerations, we can obtain some new computations or estimations of Seshadri constants on non-toric varieties. In particular, we investigate Seshadri constants on hypersurfaces in projective spaces and Fano 3-folds with Picard number one in detail.
We study semi-stable degenerations of toric varieties determined by certain partitions of their moment polytopes. Analyzing their defining equations we prove a property of uniqueness.
We show that the counting of rational curves on a complete toric variety that are in general position to the toric prime divisors coincides with the counting of certain tropical curves. The proof is algebraic-geometric and relies on degeneration techniques and log deformation theory. This generalizes results of Mikhalkin obtained by different methods in the surface case to arbitrary dimensions.
We study the real loci of toric degenerations of complex varieties with reducible central fibre. We show that the topology of such degenerations can be explicitly described via the Kato-Nakayama space of the central fibre as a log space. We furthermore provide generalities of real structures in log geometry and their lift to Kato-Nakayama spaces. A key point of this paper is a description of the Kato-Nakayama space of a toric degeneration and its real locus, both as bundles determined by combinatorial data. We provide several examples including real toric degenerations of K3-surfaces and a tor…
This note constructs the flat toric degeneration of the manifold FL_n of flags in C^n from [Gonciulea-Lakshmibai 96] as an explicit GIT quotient of the Gr"obner degeneration in [Knutson-Miller 03]. This implies that Schubert varieties degenerate to reduced unions of toric varieties, associated to faces indexed by rc-graphs (reduced pipe dreams) in the Gel'fand-Cetlin polytope. Our explicit description of the toric degeneration of FL_n provides a simple explanation of how Gel'fand-Cetlin decompositions for irreducible polynomial representations of GL_n arise via geometric quantization.
We provide a construction of examples of semistable degeneration via toric geometry. The applications include a higher dimensional generalization of classical degeneration of K3 surface into 4 rational components, an algebraic geometric version of decomposing K3 as the fiber sum of two E(1)'s as well as it's higher dimensional generalizations, and many other new examples.
We show that the moduli space of stable n-pointed rational curves can be flatly degenerated to a projective toric variety. We arrive at this by showing that the Chow quotients of the Grassmannians admit toric degenerations, which in turn, follows from a theorem that we prove for toric degenerations of more general Chow quotients. Along the way, we also argued that GIT quotient of a flat family is again flat. In particular, all GIT quotients of flag varieties by maximal tori can be flatly degenerated to projective toric varieties ([9] and [12]).
In this paper we construct a degeneration of Bott-Samelson-Demazure-Hansen varieties to toric varieties in an algebraic family and study the geometry of the resulting toric varieties. We give a natural set of torus invariant curves that generate the Chow group of $1$-cycles of the limiting toric variety and express the ample cone of this toric variety as a sub-cone of the ample cone of the corresponding Bott-Samelson-Demazure-Hansen variety. We also give a description of Extremal and Mori rays and determine when this toric variety is Fano.
For an appropriate class of Fano complete intersections in toric varieties, we prove that there is a concrete relationship between degenerations to specific toric subvarieties and expressions for Givental's Landau-Ginzburg models as Laurent polynomials. As a result, we show that Fano varieties presented as complete intersections in partial flag manifolds admit degenerations to Gorenstein toric weak Fano varieties, and their Givental Landau-Ginzburg models can be expressed as corresponding Laurent polynomials. We also use this to show that all of the Laurent polynomials obtained by Coates, Kasp…
We show that every rank one smooth Fano threefold has a weak Landau-Ginzburg model coming from a toric degeneration. The fibers of these Landau-Ginzburg models can be compactified to K3 surfaces with Picard lattice of rank 19. We also show that any smooth Fano variety of arbitrary dimension which is a complete intersection of Cartier divisors in weighted projective space has a very weak Landau-Ginzburg model coming from a toric degeneration.
Building on our earlier work on toric residues and reduction, we give a proof for the mixed toric residue conejecture of Batyrev and Materov. We simplify and streamline our technique of tropical degenerations, which allows one to interpolate between two localization principles: one appearing in the intersection theory toric quotients and the other in the calculus of toric residues. This quickly leads to the proof of the conjecture, which gives a closed form for the summation of a generating series whose coefficients are certain variants of the "numbers" of rational curves on toric complete int…
The $k$-secant degree is studied with a combinatorial approach. A planar toric degeneration of any projective toric surface $X$ corresponds to a regular unimodular triangulation $D$ of the polytope defining $X$. If the secant ideal of the initial ideal with respect to $D$ coincides with the initial ideal of the secant ideal, then $D$ is said to be delightful and the $k$-secant degree of $X$ can be easily computed. All delightful triangulations of toric surfaces having sectional genus $g\leq1$ are completely classified and, for $g\geq2$, a lower bound for the $2$- and $3$-secant degree, by mean…
We develop a theory of multi-stage degenerations of toric varieties over finite rank valuation rings, extending the Mumford--Gubler theory in rank one. Such degenerations are constructed from fan-like structures over totally ordered abelian groups of finite rank. Our main theorem describes the geometry of successive special fibers in the degeneration in terms of the polyhedral geometry of a system of recession complexes associated to the fan.
In this paper we study the geometry of toric degeneration of a Bott-Samelson-Demazure-Hansen (BSDH) variety. We give some applications to BSDH varieties. Precisely, we classify Fano, weak Fano and log Fano BSDH varieties and their toric limits in Kac-Moody setting. We prove some vanishing theorems for the cohomology of tangent bundle (and line bundles) on BSDH varieties. We also recover the results in arXiv:1604.01998, by toric methods.
For fixed degree $d\leq 12$, we study the Hilbert scheme of degree $d$ smooth Fano threefolds in their anticanonical embeddings. We use this to classify all possible degenerations of these varieties to toric Fano varieties with at most canonical Gorenstein singularities.
Given a smooth Mori dream space $X$ we construct a model dominating all the small $\mathbb{Q}$-factorial modifications via tropicalization. This construction allows us to recover a Minkowski basis for the Newton-Okounkov bodies of divisors on $X$ and hence the movable cone of $X$. The existence of such basis allows us to prove the polyhedrality of the global Newton-Okounkov body and the existence of toric degenerations.
We discuss the behavior of Landau-Ginzburg models for toric orbifolds near the large volume limit. This enables us to express mirror symmetry as an isomorphism of Frobenius manifolds which aquire logarithmic poles along a boundary divisor. If the toric orbifold admits a crepant resolution we construct a global moduli space on the B-side and show that the associated tt^*-geometry exists globally.
An irrational toric variety X is an analytic subset of the simplex associated to a finite configuration of real vectors. The positive torus acts on X by translation, and we consider limits of sequences of these translations. Our main result identifies all possible Hausdorff limits of translations of X as toric degenerations using elementary methods and the geometry of the secondary fan of the vector configuration. This generalizes work of Garcia-Puente et al., who used algebraic geometry and work of Kapranov, Sturmfels, and Zelevinsky, when the vectors were integral.
A Mustafin degeneration is a degeneration of a flag variety induced by a vertex configuration in the Bruhat-Tits building of the projective linear group over a field with a non-archimedean discrete valuation. In the case where the flag type is projective space, Mustafin degenerations have been studied previously. We generalize the construction to the case of arbitrary flag types. We examine the special fiber of a Mustafin degeneration for reducedness and study the behavior of its components under a natural projection morphism between Mustafin degenerations, which arises from the inclusion of f…
Let $R$ be a complete equicharacteristic noetherian local domain and $ν$ a valuation of its field of fractions whose valuation ring dominates $R$ with trivial residue field extension. The semigroup of values of $ν$ on $R\setminus \{0\}$ is not finitely generated in general. We produce equations in an appropriate generalized power series ring for the algebra encoding the degeneration of $R$ to the toric graded algebra ${\rm gr}_νR$ associated to the filtration defined by $ν$. We apply this to represent $ν$ as the limit of a sequence of Abhyankar semivaluations (valuations on quotients) of $R$ w…
Using the method of degenerating a Grassmannian into a toric variety, we calculate recursive formulas for the dimensions of the eigenspaces of the action of an n-dimensional torus on a Grassmannian of planes in an n-dimensional space. In order to verify our result we compare it with the polynomial describing the Euler characteristic of invertible sheaves on a projective space with four blown-up points.
In this survey I summarize the constructions of toric degenerations obtained from valuations and Gröbner theory and describe in which sense they are equivalent. I show how adapted bases can be used to generalize the classical Newton polytope to what is called a $\mathbb B$-Newton polytope. The $\mathbb B$-Newton polytope determines the Newton--Okounkov polytopes of all Khovanskii-finite valuations sharing the adapted standard monomial basis $\mathbb B$.
Anderson proved that the finite generation of the value semigroup $Γ_{Y_\bullet}(D)$ in the construction of the Newton-Okounkov body $Δ_{Y_\bullet}(D)$ induces a toric degeneration of the corresponding variety $X$ to some toric variety $X_0$. In this case the normalization of $X_0$ is the normal toric variety corresponding to the rational polytope $Δ_{Y_\bullet}(D)$. Since $X_0$ is not normal in general this correspondence is rather implicit. In this article we investigate in conditions to assure that $X_0$ is normal, by comparing the Hilbert polynomial with the Ehrhart polynomial. In the case…
The Losev-Manin moduli space parametrizes pointed chains of projective lines. In this paper we study a possible generalization to families of pointed degenerate toric varieties. Geometric properties of these families, such as flatness and reducedness of the fibers, are explored via a combinatorial characterization. We show that such families are described by a specific type of polytope fibration which generalizes the twisted Cayley sums, originally introduced to characterize elementary extremal contractions of fiber type associated to projective $\mathbb{Q}$-factorial toric varieties with posi…
The most fundamental example of mirror symmetry compares the Fermat hypersurfaces in P^n and P^n/G, where G is a finite group that acts on P^n and preserves the Fermat hypersurface. We generalise this to hypersurfaces in Grassmannians, where the picture is richer and more complex. There is a finite group G that acts on the Grassmannian Gr(n,r) and preserves an appropriate Calabi-Yau hypersurface. We establish how mirror symmetry, toric degenerations, blow-ups and variation of GIT relate the Calabi-Yau hypersurfaces inside Gr(n,r) and Gr(n,r)/G. This allows us to describe a compactification of …
PBW degenerations are a particularly nice family of flat degenerations of type A flag varieties. We show that the cohomology of any PBW degeneration of the flag variety surjects onto the cohomology of the original flag variety, and that this holds in an equivariant setting too. We also prove that the same is true in the symplectic setting when considering Feigin's linear degeneration of the symplectic flag variety.
In this paper we propose and discuss a mirror construction for complete intersections in partial flag manifolds $F(n_1, ..., n_l, n)$. This construction includes our previous mirror construction for complete intersection in Grassmannians and the mirror construction of Givental for complete flag manifolds. The key idea of our construction is a degeneration of $F(n_1, ..., n_l, n)$ to a certain Gorenstein toric Fano variety $P(n_1, ..., n_l, n)$ which has been investigated by Gonciulea and Lakshmibai. We describe a natural small crepant desingularization of $P(n_1, ..., n_l, n)$ and prove a gene…
The space of torus translations and degenerations of a projective toric variety forms a toric variety associated to the secondary fan of the integer points in the polytope corresponding to the toric variety. This is used to identify a moduli space of real degenerations with the secondary polytope. A configuration A of real vectors gives an irrational projective toric variety in a simplex. We identify a space of translations and degenerations of the irrational projective toric variety with the secondary polytope of A. For this, we develop a theory of irrational toric varieties associated to arb…
We will use toric degenerations of the projective plane ${\mathbb{P}^ 2}$ to give a new proof of the triple points interpolation problems in the projective plane. We also give a complete list of toric surfaces that are useful as components in this degeneration.
We study the algebra of Weyl modules in types $A$ and $C$ using the methods of arcs over toric degenerations and functional realization of dual space. We compute the generators and relations of this algebra and construct its basis.
We study algebraic, combinatorial and geometric aspects of weighted PBW-type degenerations of (partial) flag varieties in type $A$. These degenerations are labeled by degree functions lying in an explicitly defined polyhedral cone, which can be identified with a maximal cone in the tropical flag variety. Varying the degree function in the cone, we recover, for example, the classical flag variety, its abelian PBW degeneration, some of its linear degenerations and a particular toric degeneration.
We define a toric degeneration of an integrable system on a projective manifold, and prove the existence of a toric degeneration of the Gelfand-Cetlin system on the flag manifold of type A. As an application, we calculate the potential function for a Lagrangian torus fiber of the Gelfand-Cetlin system.
In this paper, we give a tropical method for computing Gromov-Witten type invariants of Fano manifolds of special type. This method applies to those Fano manifolds which admit toric degenerations to toric Fano varieties with singularities allowing small resolutions. Examples include (generalized) flag manifolds of type A, and some moduli space of rank two bundles on a genus two curve.
Let Δbe the Okounkov body of a divisor D on a projective variety X. We describe a geometric criterion for Δto be a lattice polytope, and show that in this situation X admits a flat degeneration to the corresponding toric variety. This degeneration is functorial in an appropriate sense.
In this thesis we study toric degenerations of projective varieties. We compare different constructions to understand how and why they are related as s first step towards developing a global framework. In focus are toric degenerations obtained from representation theory, tropical geometry and cluster algebras. Often those rely on valuations and the theory of Newton-Okounkov bodies. Toric degenerations can be seen as a combinatorial shadow of the original objects. The goal is therefore to understand why the different theories are so closely related, by understanding the toric degenerations they…
This is an outline of work in progress concerning an algebro-geometric form of the Strominger-Yau-Zaslow conjecture. We introduce a limited type of degeneration of Calabi-Yau manifolds, which we call toric degenerations. For these, the degenerate fibre is a union of toric varieties meeting along toric strata. In addition, the total space must look locally toric outside of some singular set. This is a generalisation of both Mumford-type degenerations of abelian varieties and degenerations of Calabi-Yau hypersurfacesin toric varieties. From such a degeneration, we construct a dual intersection g…
This is a short companion paper to arXiv:0810.3470. We construct an integrable system on an open subset of a Fano manifold equipped with a toric degeneration, and compute the potential function for its Lagrangian torus fibers if the central fiber is a toric Fano variety admitting a small resolution.
We prove that any affine, resp. polarized projective, spherical variety admits a flat degeneration to an affine, resp. polarized projective, toric variety. Motivated by Mirror Symmetry, we give conditions for the limit toric variety to be a Gorenstein Fano, and provide many examples. We also provide an explanation for the limits as boundary points of the moduli space of stable pairs whose existence is predicted by the Minimal Model Program.
We show that a weight variety, which is a quotient of a flag variety by the maximal torus, admits a flat degeneration to a toric variety. In particular, we show that the moduli spaces of spatial polygons degenerate to polarized toric varieties with the moment polytopes defined by the lengths of their diagonals. We extend these results to more general Flaschka-Millson hamiltonians on the quotients of products of projective spaces. We also study boundary toric divisors and certain real loci.
In the paper "Birational geometry via moduli spaces" by I. Cheltsov, L. Katzarkov, and V. Przyjalkowski a new structure connecting toric degenerations of smooth Fano threefolds by projections was introduced; using Mirror Symmetry these connections were transferred to the side of Landau--Ginzburg models. In the paper mentioned above a nice way to connect of Picard rank one Fano threefolds was found. We apply this approach to all smooth Fano threefolds, connecting their degenerations by toric basic links. In particular, we find a lot of Gorenstein toric degenerations of smooth Fano threefolds we…
We prove that every toric quiver flag variety $Y$ is isomorphic to a fine moduli space of cyclic modules over the algebra $\text{End}(T)$ for some tilting bundle $T$ on $Y$. This generalises the well known fact that $\mathbb{P}^n$ can be recovered from the endomorphism algebra of $\bigoplus_{0\leq i\leq n} \mathcal{O}_{\mathbb{P}^n}(i)$.
We establish an explicit bijection between the toric degenerations of the Grassmannian $\textrm{Gr}(2,n)$ arising from maximal cones in tropical Grassmannians and the ones coming from plabic graphs corresponding to $\textrm{Gr}(2,n)$. We show that a similar statement does not hold for $\textrm{Gr}(3,6)$.
We investigate the class of degenerations of smooth cubic surfaces which are obtained from degenerating their Cox rings to toric algebras. More precisely, we work in the spirit of Sturmfels and Xu who use the theory of Khovanskii bases to determine toric degenerations of Del Pezzo surfaces of degree 4 and who leave the question of classifying these degenerations in the degree 3 case as an open problem. In order to carry out this classification we describe an approach which is closely related to tropical geometry and present partial results in this direction.
We address the following question: Given a polarized toric surface (S,L), and a general integral curve C of geometric genus g in the linear system |L|, do there exist degenerations of C in |L| to general integral curves of smaller geometric genera? We give an affirmative answer to this question for surfaces associated to h-transverse polygons, provided that the characteristic of the ground field is large enough. We give examples of surfaces in small characteristic, for which the answer to the question is negative. In case the answer is affirmative, we deduce that a general curve C as above is …
The Hodge algebra structures on the homogeneous coordinate rings of Grassmann varieties provide semi-toric degenerations of these varieties. In this paper we construct these semi-toric degenerations using quasi-valuations and triangulations of Newton-Okounkov bodies.
We study toric degenerations of opposite Schubert and Richardson varieties inside degenerations of Grassmannians and flag varieties. These degenerations are parametrized by matching fields in the sense of Sturmfels and Zelevinsky. We construct so-called restricted matching field ideals whose generating sets are understood combinatorially through tableaux. We determine when these ideals are toric and coincide with Gröbner degenerations of Richardson varieties using the well established standard monomial theory for Grassmannians and flag varieties.
We compute local Gromov-Witten invariants of cubic surfaces at all genera. We use a deformation of a cubic surface to a nef toric surface and the deformation invariance of Gromov-Witten invariants.
In this note we study linear systems on complete toric varieties $X$ with an invariant point, whose orbit under the action of the automorphism group of $X$ contains the dense torus $T$ of $X$. We give a characterization of such varieties in terms of its defining fan and introduce a new definition of expected dimension of linear systems which consider the contribution given by certain toric subvarieties. Finally, we study degenerations of linear systems on these toric varieties induced by toric degenerations.
Linear degenerate flag varieties are degenerations of flag varieties as quiver Grassmannians. For type A flag varieties, we obtain characterizations of flatness, irreducibility and normality of these degenerations via rank tuples. Some of them are shown to be isomorphic to Schubert varieties and can be realized as highest weight orbits of partially degenerate Lie algebras, generalizing the corresponding results on degenerate flag varieties. To study normality, cell decompositions of quiver Grassmannians are constructed in a wider context of equioriented quivers of type A.
