- EXISTENCE OF KAHLER-EINSTEIN METRICS 71
where w = Hwa~dza /\ dz/3 and wa~ = Wf3a·
PROOF. This is a standard result in the theory of Kahler manifolds; see
the book by Zheng [383] for example. D
REMARK 2.27. More generally, we have the following. Let b be a (p, q)-
form, where p, q > 0. If b is d-closed and either d-, 8-, or 8-exact, then
there exists a (p - 1, q - 1)-form <p such that 881.p = b. When p = q and bis
real, we may take H<p to be real. See Lemma 9.1 on p. 221 of [383] for
example.
A fundamental problem in Kahler geometry is the Calabi conjecture,
which was solved by Yau [378, 379] and says the following. (Also see
Theorem 2.30 below.)
THEOREM 2.28 (Calabi conjecture: prescribing the Ricci form in a
Kahler class). Let (Mn, go) be a closed Kahler manifold with Kahler class
[wo]. For any closed real (1, l)-form w E c1 (M), there exists a Kahler metric
g with [w] = [wo] such that its Ricci form is the prescribed form:
(2.25) p = 27rw.
Since Po = HRc (go)a~ dza /\ dz/3 is a real (1, 1)-form in the same
cohomology class 27rc 1 (M) as 2nw = 27rHwa~dza /\ dz/3, by Lemma 2.26
there exists a real-valued function f such that
Re (go) a~ - 27rwa~ = 8a813f.
Therefore equation (2.25), which in local coordinates is Ra~ = 27rwa~' is
equivalent to
8a_813f =Re (go)a~ - Ra~
(^82) ( )^82
= - 8 za 8 z/3 log det (go) 7 J + 8 za 8 z/3 log det (9 7 5).
Since M is closed, this implies
det (9 7 5)
log ( ) = f + log C
det (go) 7 J
for some constant C > 0. Since the real (1, 1)-forms wo and w are in the
same cohomology class, using Lemma 2.26 again, we see that there exists a
real-valued function <p such that
97J = (go)'YJ + 87801.p.
Thus we may rewrite (2.25) as a complex Monge-Ampere equation:
det ( (go) 7 J + 87 851.p)
-~------- eel
det ( (go) 7 J) -.