Let $K$ be the field of fractions of a local Henselian discrete valuation ring ${\mathcal{O}}_{K}$ of characteristic zero with perfect residue field $k$. Assuming potential semi-stable reduction, we show that an unramified Galois action on the second $\ell$-adic cohomology group of a K3 surface over $K$ implies that the surface has good reduction after a finite and unramified extension. We give examples where this unramified extension is really needed. Moreover, we give applications to good reduction after tame extensions and Kuga–Satake Abelian varieties. On our way, we settle existence and termination of certain flops in mixed characteristic, and study group actions and their quotients on models of varieties.

Let $G$ be a reductive group over an algebraically closed subfield $k$ of $\mathbb{C}$ of characteristic zero, $H\subseteq G$ an observable subgroup normalised by a maximal torus of $G$ and $X$ an affine $k$-variety acted on by $G$. Popov and Pommerening conjectured in the late 1970s that the invariant algebra $k[X]^{H}$ is finitely generated. We prove the conjecture for: (1) subgroups of $\operatorname{SL}_{n}(k)$ closed under left (or right) Borel action and for: (2) a class of Borel regular subgroups of classical groups. We give a partial affirmative answer to the conjecture for general regular subgroups of $\operatorname{SL}_{n}(k)$.

We show that the automorphic étale cohomology of a (possibly noncompact) PEL-type or Hodge-type Shimura variety in characteristic zero is canonically isomorphic to the cohomology of the associated nearby cycles over most of their mixed characteristics models constructed in the literature.

Given a smooth variety $X$ and an effective Cartier divisor $D\subset X$, we show that the cohomological Chow group of 0-cycles on the double of $X$ along $D$ has a canonical decomposition in terms of the Chow group of 0-cycles $\text{CH}_{0}(X)$ and the Chow group of 0-cycles with modulus $\text{CH}_{0}(X|D)$ on $X$. When $X$ is projective, we construct an Albanese variety with modulus and show that this is the universal regular quotient of $\text{CH}_{0}(X|D)$. As a consequence of the above decomposition, we prove the Roitman torsion theorem for the 0-cycles with modulus. We show that $\text{CH}_{0}(X|D)$ is torsion-free and there is an injective cycle class map $\text{CH}_{0}(X|D){\hookrightarrow}K_{0}(X,D)$ if $X$ is affine. For a smooth affine surface $X$, this is strengthened to show that $K_{0}(X,D)$ is an extension of $\text{CH}_{1}(X|D)$ by $\text{CH}_{0}(X|D)$.

In this paper, we consider the family of hyperelliptic curves over $\mathbb{Q}$ having a fixed genus $n$ and a marked rational non-Weierstrass point. We show that when $n\geqslant 9$, a positive proportion of these curves have exactly two rational points, and that this proportion tends to one as $n$ tends to infinity. We study rational points on these curves by first obtaining results on the 2-Selmer groups of their Jacobians. In this direction, we prove that the average size of the 2-Selmer groups of the Jacobians of curves in our family is bounded above by 6, which implies a bound of $5/2$ on the average rank of these Jacobians. Our results are natural extensions of Poonen and Stoll [Most odd degree hyperelliptic curves have only one rational point, Ann. of Math. (2) 180 (2014), 1137–1166] and Bhargava and Gross [The average size of the 2-Selmer group of Jacobians of hyperelliptic curves having a rational Weierstrass point, in Automorphic representations and$L$-functions, Tata Inst. Fundam. Res. Stud. Math., vol. 22 (Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, 2013), 23–91], where the analogous results are proved for the family of hyperelliptic curves with a marked rational Weierstrass point.

In this article we study various forms of $\ell$-independence (including the case $\ell =p$) for the cohomology and fundamental groups of varieties over finite fields and equicharacteristic local fields. Our first result is a strong form of $\ell$-independence for the unipotent fundamental group of smooth and projective varieties over finite fields. By then proving a certain ‘spreading out’ result we are able to deduce a much weaker form of $\ell$-independence for unipotent fundamental groups over equicharacteristic local fields, at least in the semistable case. In a similar vein, we can also use this to deduce $\ell$-independence results for the cohomology of smooth and proper varieties over equicharacteristic local fields from the well-known results on $\ell$-independence for smooth and proper varieties over finite fields. As another consequence of this ‘spreading out’ result we are able to deduce the existence of a Clemens–Schmid exact sequence for formal semistable families. Finally, by deforming to characteristic $p$, we show a similar weak version of $\ell$-independence for the unipotent fundamental group of a semistable curve in mixed characteristic.