Obstruction to Symplectic Embeddings between Toric Domains

Abstract

We study symplectic embeddings between four-dimensional toric domains using embedded contact homology. Extending Hutchings' criterion for embeddings between convex toric domains, we obtain obstructions for embeddings from convex toric domains into concave toric domains, from semi-weakly convex toric domains into convex toric domains, and from concave toric domains into concave toric domains. The obstructions are formulated in terms of factorizations of convex, concave, and semi-weakly convex generators together with combinatorial constraints relating their ECH indices and actions. As applications, we recover the sharp obstruction for symplectic embeddings of a polydisk into a union of cylinders, and obtain sharp results for embeddings of certain quadrilateral toric domains into balls and ellipsoids. We also show that these obstructions are in some cases strictly stronger than those coming only from ECH capacities.