The Schl\"afli Fan

Abstract

Smooth tropical cubic surfaces are parametrized by maximal cones in the unimodular secondary fan of the triple tetrahedron. There are $344\, 843 \,867$ such cones, organized into a database of $14\,373\,645$ symmetry classes. The Schl\"afli fan gives a further refinement of these cones. It reveals all possible patterns of lines on tropical cubic surfaces, thus serving as a combinatorial base space for the universal Fano variety. This article develops the relevant theory and offers a blueprint for the analysis of big data in tropical geometry.