All Questions
1,114 questions
86
votes
4
answers
15k
views
Etale cohomology -- Why study it?
I know (at least I think I know) that some of the main motivating problems in the development of etale cohomology were the Weil conjectures. I'd like to know what other problems one can solve using ...
- 2,799
79
votes
12
answers
13k
views
Is there a high-concept explanation for why characteristic 2 is special?
The structure of the multiplicative groups of $\mathbb{Z}/p\mathbb{Z}$ or of $\mathbb{Z}_p$ is the same for odd primes, but not for $2.$ Quadratic reciprocity has a uniform statement for odd primes, ...
- 118k
48
votes
5
answers
15k
views
Algebraically closed fields of positive characteristic
I'm taking introductory algebraic geometry this term, so a lot of the theorems we see in class start with "Let k be an algebraically closed field." One of the things that's annoyed me is that as far ...
- 12.6k
47
votes
3
answers
5k
views
"Cute" applications of the étale fundamental group
When I was an undergrad student, the first application that was given to me of the construction of the fundamental group was the non-retraction lemma : there is no continuous map from the disk to the ...
- 7,320
47
votes
2
answers
9k
views
current status of crystalline cohomology?
The great references given on Ilya's question make me wonder about the current status of the many conjectures and open questions in Illusie's survey from 1994 on crystalline cohomology. Obviously (...
47
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Summing infinitely many infinitesimally small variables makes sense in algebra
There is an identity $e^x=\lim_{n\to \infty} (1+x/n)^n$, and I always thought it is a purely analytic statement. But then I discovered its curious interpretation in pure algebra:
Consider the ring of ...
- 3,772
42
votes
2
answers
10k
views
Intuition behind the Eichler-Shimura relation?
The modular curve $X_0(N)$ has good reduction at all primes $p$ not dividing $N$. At such a prime, the Eichler-Shimura relation expresses the Hecke operator $T_p$ (as an element of the ring of ...
- 118k
37
votes
4
answers
12k
views
Finite extension of fields with no primitive element
What is an example of a finite field extension which is not generated by a single element?
Background: A finite field extension E of F is generated by a primitive element if and only if there are a ...
- 24.1k
37
votes
3
answers
5k
views
Is there a nice proof of the fact that there are (p-1)/24 supersingular elliptic curves in characteristic p?
If $k$ is a characteristic $p$ field containing a subfield with $p^2$ elements (e.g., an algebraic closure of $\mathbb{F}_p$), then the number of isomorphism classes of supersingular elliptic curves ...
- 45.7k
35
votes
7
answers
14k
views
Textbook for Etale Cohomology
What is the best textbook (or book) for studying Etale cohomology?
user16974
34
votes
2
answers
3k
views
The work of E. Artin and F. K. Schmidt on (what are now called) the Weil conjectures.
I was reading Dieudonne's "On the history of the Weil conjectures" and found two things that surprised me. Dieudonne makes some assertions about the work of Artin and Schmidt which are no doubt ...
- 41.4k
33
votes
4
answers
8k
views
Etale cohomology and l-adic Tate modules
$\newcommand{\bb}{\mathbb}\DeclareMathOperator{\gal}{Gal}$
Before stating my question I should remark that I know almost nothing about etale cohomology - all that I know, I've gleaned from hearing off ...
- 7,072
33
votes
1
answer
3k
views
How is etale cohomology of integer rings related to Galois cohomology?
In the paper of Bloch and Kato in the Grothendieck Festschrift, and some other papers relating to the Bloch-Kato conjecture and the ETNC, the cohomology groups
$H^i_{\mathrm{et}}(\operatorname{Spec} ...
- 37k
32
votes
10
answers
3k
views
Which 'well-known' algebraic geometric results do not hold in characteristic 2?
A smooth curve $X$ in $\mathbb{P}^n$ is strange if there is a point $p$ which lies on all the tangent lines of $X$.
Examples are $\mathbb{P}^1$ is strange and so is $y=x^2$ in characteristic $2$. ...
- 2,215
32
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Etale cohomology can not be computed by Cech
It can be proven that if in a quasicompact scheme $X$ any finite subset is contained in an affine open subset then for any sheaf $\mathcal{F}$ on $X$ its Cech cohomology $\hat{H_{et}^{\bullet}}(X,\...
- 7,377
31
votes
4
answers
5k
views
The Frobenius morphism
I found the following list on the "Frobenius Page" by David Ben-Zvi, described by the author as "an outdated collection of intuitive ways to think about raising to the p-th power".
Generates a ...
29
votes
3
answers
3k
views
how to find the varieties whose cohomology realizes certain representations?
The cohomology of Shimura varieties and Drinfeld shtukas is conjectured to realize the representations sought for in the Langlands programme/conjectures, the cohomology of Deligne-Lusztig varieties ...
user19475
28
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Intuitive pictures in characteristic p
This is a tough one, but does anyone know of any images that recall characteristic p geometry (over algebraically closed fields) in some sense? It is not enough if it is some picture that can be also ...
- 2,215
27
votes
4
answers
3k
views
Why do we care about the eigenvalues of the Frobenius map?
The Riemann hypothesis for finite fields can be stated as follows: take a smooth projective variety X of finite type over the finite field $\mathbb{F}_q$ for some $q=p^n$. Then the eigenvalues $\...
- 1,969
27
votes
7
answers
6k
views
Etale covers of the affine line
In characteristic p there are nontrivial etale covers of the affine line, such as those obtained by adjoining solutions to x^2 + x + f(t) = 0 for f(t) in k[t]. Using an etale cohomology computation ...
- 52.7k
27
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Reference for de Rham cohomology in positive characteristic
It is known in characteristic $0$ that (algebraic) de Rham cohomology is a Weil cohomology theory. However, in characteristic $p > 0$ it isn't, if only because it has mod $p$ coefficients, whereas ...
- 28.8k
27
votes
4
answers
3k
views
Have people successfully worked with the full ring of differential operators in characteristic p?
This question is inspired by an earlier one about the possibility of using the full ring of differential operators on a flag variety to develop a theory of localization in characteristic $p$. (Here ...
- 57.6k
27
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Etale site is useful - examples of using the small fppf site?
Edit: After the answers and comments, I'm hoping for a little bit of elaboration (in the comment to the answer below.) Also, question 2 was discussed here:
Points in sites (etale, fppf, ... )
There, ...
- 3,555
26
votes
1
answer
4k
views
When (or why) is a six-functor formalism enough?
The six functor formalism in a given cohomology theory consists of for each space a derived category of sheaves and six different ways to construct functors between those categories (four involving a ...
- 149k
26
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Example of non-projective variety with non-semisimple Frobenius action on etale cohomology?
This question was motivated by a more general question raised by Jan Weidner here. In general one starts with a variety $X$ (say smooth) over an algebraic closure of a finite field $\mathbb{F}_q$ of ...
- 52.9k
26
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Flat versus étale cohomology
Although the definition of étale ($\ell$-adic) cohomology is scary, I have at least some intuition for how it should behave: for instance, when it makes sense, I expect that it should be “similar” to ...
- 2,809
26
votes
2
answers
2k
views
The category of l-adic sheaves
I'm currently trying to understand the construction of the category of l-adic constructible sheaves as in SGA5, and it seems that quite a lot of machinery (the MLAR condition, localization of the ...
- 25.6k
25
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Steenrod operations in etale cohomology?
For $X$ a topological space, from the short exact sequence
$$ 0 \rightarrow \mathbb{Z}/2 \rightarrow \mathbb{Z}/4 \rightarrow \mathbb{Z}/2 \rightarrow 0 $$
we get a Bockstein homomorphism
$$H^i(X,...
- 2,809
25
votes
3
answers
2k
views
product of all F_p, p prime
Let $R$ be the ring $$R = \prod_{p\ \text{prime}} \mathbb{F}_p$$ where $\mathbb{F}_p$ is the field having $p$ elements.
Is it true that $R$ has a quotient by a maximal ideal which is a field of ...
- 5,163
25
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Are all Galois cohomology groups also étale cohomology groups?
Let $K$ be a field and $K^s$ a separable closure of $K$, and let $\mathcal{F}$ be a sheaf on $\mathrm{Spec}(K)$ (in the étale topology).
By Grothendieck's Galois Theory, we have the isomorphism
$$H_{...
- 5,540
25
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Is there a ring stacky approach to $\ell$-adic or rigid cohomology?
Ever since Simpson's paper [Sim], it was observed that many different cohomology theories arise in the following way: we begin with our space $X$, we associate to it a stack $X_\text{stk}$ (which ...
- 773
25
votes
0
answers
1k
views
Status of the Euler characteristic in characteristic p
In the introduction to the Asterisque 82-83 volume on `Caractérisque d'Euler-Poincaré, Verdier writes:
Enfin signalons que la situation en caractéristique positive est loin
d'être aussi ...
- 8,723
24
votes
5
answers
6k
views
Wild Ramification
The question is, loosely put, what is known about wild ramification?
Is there a semi-well-established theory of wild ramification that can be furthered in various specific situations? Or maybe there ...
24
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Have we ever proved any non-solvable case of reciprocity without the Langlands program ?
The reciprocity of the title is the following not completely well-posed problem:
Fix $P(X)$ a monic irreducible polynomial of degree $n$, with coefficients in $\mathbb Z$. "Describe"
(in some sense) ...
- 26.1k
24
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Clarifying the connection between 'etale locally' and 'formally locally'
The following type of statements is often bandied about around the mathematical watering hole: "etale close is closer than formally close". Namely, if one imagines some sort of 'absolute topology' ...
- 843
24
votes
1
answer
2k
views
When is "independence of l" known?
My question is for which varieties over local fields is "independence of l" known for
etale cohomology. Say $X/{\mathbb Q}_p$ is a complete non-singular variety and $W_l$ is the (complex) Weil-...
- 5,363
23
votes
2
answers
4k
views
Etale cohomology with coefficients in the integers
Here is a basic question. When does $H^1_{et}(X,\mathbb{Z})$ vanish? Using the exact sequence of constant etale sheaves $0\rightarrow\mathbb{Z}\rightarrow\mathbb{Q}\rightarrow\mathbb{Q}/\mathbb{Z}\...
- 5,062
23
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Wanted: Quadratic Space in Characteristic 2 as a Counterexample to a Theorem of Arf
Hi. Peter Roquette sent me an email asking for an example of a quadratic space in characteristic 2 having certain features. I have no idea on this, but maybe someone reading this does.
He would ...
- 50.6k
23
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Which algebraic surfaces have non-trivial H^1?
Informally, my question is the following:
Is there an "inverse theorem" for the first cohomology group $H^1$ of (the projective completion of) an algebraic surface $S$? Namely, can we give a ...
- 114k
22
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Comparing cohomology over ${\mathbb C}$ and over ${\mathbb F}_q$
I have the following (probably well-known) question: let $X$ be a regular scheme over
$\mathbb Z$. Let $p$ be a prime and Let us denote the reduction of $X$ mod $p$ by $X_p$.
Let also $X_{\mathbb C}$...
- 7,037
22
votes
3
answers
2k
views
One dimensional (phi,Gamma)-modules in char p
I would like to better understand the simplest case of the correspondence between Galois representations and (phi,Gamma)-modules. Namely, consider 1-dimensional Galois representations of $G_{Q_p}$ ...
- 1,680
22
votes
3
answers
813
views
A hypersurface with many points
Ok, it's time for me to ask my first question on MO.
Consider the affine curve $Y+Y^q=X^{q+1}$ over the finite field $\mathbf{F}_q$. It's interesting because it has the largest number of points over ...
- 4,487
21
votes
2
answers
5k
views
State of resolution in positive characteristic?
Heisuke Hironaka's coming talk makes me wonder how the state of the work on that theme is. So far, I noticed (but didn't read) these papers:
Kawanoue, Hiraku, Toward resolution of singularities over ...
- 10.8k
21
votes
5
answers
5k
views
Mirror symmetry mod p?! ... Physics mod p?!
In his answer to this question, Scott Carnahan mentions "mirror symmetry mod p". What is that?
(Some kind of) Gromov-Witten invariants can be defined for varieties over fields other than $\mathbb{C}$...
- 21k
21
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Simplest example of jumping of cohomology of structure sheaf in smooth families?
Using Hodge theory (and the ill-defined Lefschetz principle), one can show that in characteristic 0, given a proper smooth family $X \rightarrow B$, the cohomology groups of the structure sheaf of the ...
- 3,857
21
votes
1
answer
2k
views
When does the relative differential $df=0$ imply that $f$ comes from the base?
Let $A \to B$ be a map of commutative rings, and $d : B \to I/I^2$ be
defined by $df = f\otimes 1 - 1\otimes f$, where $I$ is the kernel of
$B \otimes_A B \to B$, as in [Hartshorne II.8].
If $df=0$,...
- 27.9k
21
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Points in sites (etale, fppf, ... )
I asked a part of this in an earlier question, but that part of my question didn't receive precedence.
Etale site is useful - examples of using the small fppf site?
Let $X$ be a scheme (assume it ...
- 3,555
21
votes
2
answers
1k
views
When do two elliptic curves have equivalent small etale toposes?
Let $X$ and $Y$ be elliptic curves over an algebraically closed field $K$. If the characteristic of $K$ is nonzero, assume both curves are ordinary or both are supersingular. Does it follow that $X$ ...
- 9,418
20
votes
5
answers
4k
views
Equivalent statements of the Riemann hypothesis in the Weil conjectures
In the cohomological incarnation, the Riemann hypothesis part of the Weil conjectures for a smooth proper scheme of finite type over a finite field with $q$ elements says that: the eigenvalues of ...
- 671
20
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Any algebraic substitute for Morse theory (and homology) in arbitrary characteristic?
As far as I know, Morse theory yields much information on the topology of smooth manifolds; in particular, it can be used to prove Artin's vanishing (that the singular cohomology of smooth complex ...
- 16.9k