Let K be a real quadratic number field and let p be a prime number which is inert in K. We denote the completion of K at the place p by Kp. We propose a p-adic construction of special elements in Kp× and formulate the conjecture that they should be p-units lying in narrow ray class fields of K. The truth of this conjecture would entail an explicit class field theory for real quadratic number fields. This construction can be viewed as a natural generalization of a construction obtained by Darmon and Dasgupta who proposed a p-adic construction of p-units lying in narrow ring class fields of K.

We prove that the Iitaka conjecture Cn,m for algebraic fibre spaces holds up to dimension six, that is, when n≤6.

We consider the problem of preservation of stability under the Fourier–Mukai transform ℱℰ:D(X)→D(Y ) on an abelian surface and a K3 surface. If Y is the moduli space of μ-stable sheaves on X with respect to a polarization H, we have a canonical polarization on Y and we have a correspondence between (X,H) and . We show that the stability with respect to these polarizations is preserved under ℱℰ, if the degree of stable sheaves on X is sufficiently large.

This paper provides congruences between unstable and stable automorphic forms for the symplectic similitude group GSp(4). More precisely, we raise the level of certain CAP representations Π arising from classical modular forms. We first transfer Π to π on a suitable inner form G; this is achieved by θ-lifting. For π, we prove a precise level-raising result that is inspired by the work of Bellaiche and Clozel and which relies on computations of Schmidt. We thus obtain a congruent to π, with a local component that is irreducibly induced from an unramified twist of the Steinberg representation of the Klingen parabolic. To transfer back to GSp(4), we use Arthur’s stable trace formula. Since has a local component of the above type, all endoscopic error terms vanish. Indeed, by results due to Weissauer, we only need to show that such a component does not participate in the θ-correspondence with any GO(4); this is an exercise in using Kudla’s filtration of the Jacquet modules of the Weil representation. We therefore obtain a cuspidal automorphic representation of GSp(4), congruent to Π, which is neither CAP nor endoscopic. It is crucial for our application that we can arrange for to have vectors fixed by the non-special maximal compact subgroups at all primes dividing N. Since G is necessarily ramified at some prime r, we have to show a non-special analogue of the fundamental lemma at r. Finally, we give an application of our main result to the Bloch–Kato conjecture, assuming a conjecture of Skinner and Urban on the rank of the monodromy operators at the primes dividing N.

In this paper we generalize the definitions of singularities of pairs and multiplier ideal sheaves to pairs on arbitrary normal varieties, without any assumption on the variety being ℚ-Gorenstein or the pair being log ℚ-Gorenstein. The main features of the theory extend to this setting in a natural way.

In a recent paper, Bondarko [Weight structures vs. t-structures; weight filtrations, spectral sequences, and complexes (for motives and in general), Preprint (2007), 0704.4003] defined the notion of weight structure, and proved that the category DMgm(k) of geometrical motives over a perfect field k, as defined and studied by Voevodsky, Suslin and Friedlander [Cycles, transfers, and motivic homology theories, Annals of Mathematics Studies, vol. 143 (Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 2000)], is canonically equipped with such a structure. Building on this result, and under a condition on the weights avoided by the boundary motive [J. Wildeshaus, The boundary motive: definition and basic properties, Compositio Math. 142 (2006), 631–656], we describe a method to construct intrinsically in DMgm(k) a motivic version of interior cohomology of smooth, but possibly non-projective schemes. In a sequel to this work [J. Wildeshaus, On the interior motive of certain Shimura varieties: the case of Hilbert–Blumenthal varieties, Preprint (2009), 0906.4239], this method will be applied to Shimura varieties.

We study some basic properties of schematic homotopy types and the schematization functor. We describe two different algebraic models for schematic homotopy types, namely cosimplicial Hopf alegbras and equivariant cosimplicial algebras, and provide explicit constructions of the schematization functor for each of these models. We also investigate some standard properties of the schematization functor that are helpful for describing the schematization of smooth projective complex varieties. In a companion paper, these results are used in the construction of a non-abelian Hodge structure on the schematic homotopy type of a smooth projective variety.

For a fixed parabolic subalgebra 𝔭 of we prove that the centre of the principal block 𝒪0𝔭 of the parabolic category 𝒪 is naturally isomorphic to the cohomology ring H*(ℬ𝔭) of the corresponding Springer fibre. We give a diagrammatic description of 𝒪0𝔭 for maximal parabolic 𝔭 and give an explicit isomorphism to Braden’s description of the category PervB(G(k,n)) of Schubert-constructible perverse sheaves on Grassmannians. As a consequence Khovanov’s algebra ℋn is realised as the endomorphism ring of some object from PervB(G(n,n)) which corresponds under localisation and the Riemann–Hilbert correspondence to a full projective–injective module in the corresponding category 𝒪0𝔭. From there one can deduce that Khovanov’s tangle invariants are obtained from the more general functorial invariants in [C. Stroppel, Categorification of the Temperley Lieb category, tangles, and cobordisms via projective functors, Duke Math. J. 126(3) (2005), 547–596] by restriction.

We show an arithmetic generalization of the recent work of Lazarsfeld–Mustaţǎ which uses Okounkov bodies to study linear series of line bundles. As applications, we derive a log-concavity inequality on volumes of arithmetic line bundles and an arithmetic Fujita approximation theorem for big line bundles.

We resolve the local semistable reduction problem for overconvergent F-isocrystals at monomial valuations (Abhyankar valuations of height 1 and residue transcendence degree zero). We first introduce a higher-dimensional analogue of the generic radius of convergence for a p-adic differential module, which obeys a convexity property. We then combine this convexity property with a form of the p-adic local monodromy theorem for so-called fake annuli.

We describe the maximal torus and maximal unipotent subgroup of the Picard variety of a proper scheme over a perfect field.

Let K be a local field of equal characteristic p>2, let XK/K be a smooth proper relative curve, and let ℱ be a rank 1 smooth l-adic sheaf (l≠p) on a dense open subset UK⊂XK. In this paper, under some assumptions on the wild ramification of ℱ, we prove a conductor formula that computes the Swan conductor of the etale cohomology of the vanishing cycles of ℱ. Our conductor formula is a generalization of the conductor formula of Bloch, but for non-constant coefficients.

Let 𝒱 be a complete discrete valuation ring of unequal characteristic with perfect residue field. Let be a separated smooth formal 𝒱-scheme, 𝒵 be a normal crossing divisor of , be the induced formal log-scheme over 𝒱 and be the canonical morphism. Let X and Z be the special fibers of and 𝒵, T be a divisor of X and ℰ be a log-isocrystal on overconvergent along T, that is, a coherent left -module, locally projective of finite type over . We check the relative duality isomorphism: . We prove the isomorphism , which implies their holonomicity as -modules. We obtain the canonical morphism ρℰ : uT,+(ℰ)→ℰ(†Z). When ℰ is moreover an isocrystal on overconvergent along T, we prove that ρℰ is an isomorphism.

The moduli space of n-pointed stable curves of genus g is stratified by the topological type of the curves being parameterized: the closure of the locus of curves with k nodes has codimension k. The one-dimensional components of this stratification are smooth rational curves called F-curves. These are believed to determine all ample divisors. F-conjecture 

A divisor on  is ample if and only if it positively intersects theF-curves.

We give a rigorous definition of tropical fans (the ‘local building blocks for tropical varieties’) and their morphisms. For a morphism of tropical fans of the same dimension we show that the number of inverse images (counted with suitable tropical multiplicities) of a point in the target does not depend on the chosen point; a statement that can be viewed as one of the important first steps of tropical intersection theory. As an application we consider the moduli spaces of rational tropical curves (both abstract and in some ℝr) together with the evaluation and forgetful morphisms. Using our results this gives new, easy and unified proofs of various tropical independence statements, e.g. of the fact that the numbers of rational tropical curves (in any ℝr) through given points are independent of the points.

The face ring of a homology manifold (without boundary) modulo a generic system of parameters is studied. Its socle is computed and it is verified that a particular quotient of this ring is Gorenstein. This fact is used to prove that the algebraic g-conjecture for spheres implies all enumerative consequences of its far-reaching generalization (due to Kalai) to manifolds. A special case of Kalai’s conjecture is established for homology manifolds that have a codimension-two face whose link contains many vertices.

We define and study virtual representation spaces for vectors having both positive and negative dimensions at the vertices of a quiver without oriented cycles. We consider the natural semi-invariants on these spaces which we call virtual semi-invariants and prove that they satisfy the three basic theorems: the first fundamental theorem, the saturation theorem and the canonical decomposition theorem. In the special case of Dynkin quivers with n vertices, this gives the fundamental interrelationship between supports of the semi-invariants and the tilting triangulation of the (n−1)-sphere.

For a Whitney stratification S of a space X (or, more generally, a topological stratification in the sense of Goresky and MacPherson) we introduce the notion of an S-constructible stack of categories on X. The motivating example is the stack of S-constructible perverse sheaves. We introduce a 2-category EP≤2(X,S), called the exit-path 2-category, which is a natural stratified version of the fundamental 2-groupoid. Our main result is that the 2-category of S-constructible stacks on X is equivalent to the 2-category of 2-functors 2Funct(EP≤2(X,S),Cat) from the exit-path 2-category to the 2-category of small categories.

In this paper we give a re-normalization of the Reshetikhin–Turaev quantum invariants of links, using modified quantum dimensions. In the case of simple Lie algebras these modified quantum dimensions are proportional to the usual quantum dimensions. More interestingly, we give two examples where the usual quantum dimensions vanish but the modified quantum dimensions are non-zero and lead to non-trivial link invariants. The first of these examples is a class of invariants arising from Lie superalgebras previously defined by the first two authors. These link invariants are multivariable and generalize the multivariable Alexander polynomial. The second example is a hierarchy of link invariants arising from nilpotent representations of quantized at a root of unity. These invariants contain Kashaev’s quantum dilogarithm invariants of knots.

In this paper, we show that there is an equivalence between the 2-category of smooth Deligne–Mumford stacks with torus embeddings and actions and the 1-category of stacky fans. To this end, we prove two main results. The first is related to a combinatorial aspect of the 2-category of toric algebraic stacks defined by I. Iwanari [Logarithmic geometry, minimal free resolutions and toric algebraic stacks, Preprint (2007)]; we establish an equivalence between the 2-category of toric algebraic stacks and the 1-category of stacky fans. The second result provides a geometric characterization of toric algebraic stacks. Logarithmic geometry in the sense of Fontaine–Illusie plays a central role in obtaining our results.