Solvability of Monge-Amp\`ere equations and tropical affine structures on reflexive polytopes

Abstract

Given a reflexive polytope with a height function, we prove a necessary and sufficient condition for solvability of the associated Monge-Amp\`ere equation. When the polytope is Delzant, solvability of this equation implies the metric SYZ conjecture for the corresponding family of Calabi-Yau hypersurfaces. We show how the location of the singularities in the tropical affine structure is determined by the PDE in the spirit of a free boundary problem and give positive and negative examples, demonstrating subtle issues with both solvability and properties of the singular set. We also improve on existing results regarding the SYZ conjecture for the Fermat family by showing regularity of the limiting potential.