All Questions
1,159 questions
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 ...
13
votes
0
answers
943
views
Beilinson-Bernstein localization in positive characteristic
This is a follow-up to this question; in particular, I'm wondering if anyone can expand upon the interesting answers given by Kevin McGerty and David Ben-Zvi there. (In particular, in this question I'...
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 ...
35
votes
6
answers
8k
views
How much of scheme theory can you visualize?
I am just starting to learn about schemes and algebraic geometry in general, but I am finding it very hard to visualize things. For example, affine schemes that look like varieties are easily ...
7
votes
3
answers
3k
views
congruent to 1 mod p
This is a somewhat vague question: for a prime number p, we often see that various counts come out to be 1 modulo p. What are the possible reasons for this?
Here are some I've encountered:
For some ...
15
votes
2
answers
814
views
Can the failure of the multiplicativity of Euler factors at bad primes be corrected?
Warning: This one of those does-anyone-know-how-to-fix-this-vague-problem questions, and not an actual mathematics question at all.
If $X$ is a scheme of finite type over a finite field, then the ...
20
votes
3
answers
6k
views
Closed vs Rational Points on Schemes
Background: When Ueno builds the fully faithful functor from Var/k to Sch/k he mentions that the variety $V$ can be identified with the rational points of $t(V)$ over $k$. I know how to prove this on ...
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 ...
29
votes
3
answers
4k
views
A book on locally ringed spaces?
Are there enough interesting results that hold for general locally ringed spaces for a book to have been written? If there are, do you know of a book? If you do, pelase post it, one per answer and a ...
6
votes
0
answers
456
views
On periods of algebraic integers modulo rational primes
I run, somewhat indirectly, into the following problem and I have no hints where to look in the literature in search for answers or clues.
Let $K$ be a number field, which we may assume Galois if it ...
12
votes
4
answers
4k
views
Nonalgebraic complex manifolds
I'm turning here (a variation of) a question asked by a friend of mine. For the purposes of this question I will say that a compact complex manifold is projective if it is isomorphic to a subvariety ...
40
votes
1
answer
4k
views
A closed subscheme of an open subscheme that is not an open subscheme of a closed subscheme?
A morphism $f: V \rightarrow X$ of schemes is a locally closed immersion if it can be factored into a closed immersion followed by an open immersion. It is not hard to show that if $f$ is an open ...
15
votes
1
answer
4k
views
Frobenius Descent
Let $S$ be a scheme of positive characteristic $p$ and $X$ a smooth $S$-scheme. Let $F:X\rightarrow X^{(p)}$ denote the relative Frobenius. A result by Cartier (often called Cartier descent or ...
14
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Representations in characteristic p
Let G be a finite group and let F be an algebraically closed field. If the characteristic of F is 0, then the number of irreducible F-representations of G is given by the number of conjugacy classes ...
17
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Why is one interested in the mod p reduction of modular curves and Shimura varieties?
Why is one interested in the mod p reduction of modular curves and Shimura varieties?
From an article I learned that this can be used to prove the Eichler-Shimura relation which in turn proves the ...
16
votes
3
answers
2k
views
On Category O in positive characteristic
Let $G$ be a semisimple algebraic group over an algebraically closed field $k$. In the case that $k$ has characteristic 0, there has been intensive study of the BGG category O of representations of ...
25
votes
5
answers
7k
views
Reduced scheme and closed points
In The Geometry of Schemes by Eisenbud and Harris, Exercise I-32 asks one to show that a scheme $X$ is reduced if and only if every local ring $\mathcal{O}_{X,p}$ is reduced for closed points $p \in X$...
4
votes
1
answer
412
views
F_q-structures on schemes
Let $k|\mathbb{F}_q$ be a field extension. An $\mathbb{F}_q$-structure on a $k$-algebra $A$ is an $\mathbb{F}_q$-subalgebra $A _0$ of $A$ such that $A _0 \otimes _{\mathbb{F}_q} k \cong A$ via the ...
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 $\mathbb{C}$...
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 (...
9
votes
1
answer
566
views
algorithm for calculating the Chow groups of a variety over a finite field
Is there an algorithm for calculating the Chow groups of a variety over a finite field?
It is know that $H^{2i,i}_\mathrm{mot}(X,\mathbf{Z}) = CH^i(X)$. In how many cases does this help us?
42
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Commutative rings to algebraic spaces in one jump?
Typically, in the functor of points approach, one constructs the category of algebraic spaces by first constructing the category of locally representable sheaves for the global Zariski topology (...
9
votes
2
answers
656
views
How does the order of a pole of a zeta function indicate any geometric information?
Here, I'm primarily concerced about zeta functions of hypersurfaces over fields of finite characteristic.
Assume $F_q$ to be a finite field with q elements. Consider the zeta function of the ...
14
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Non-simply-connected smooth proper scheme over Z?
Source
This question came up in the discussion between Kevin Buzzard and Minhyong Kim in the comments to Smooth proper scheme over Z. It was 2 weeks ago, so I took the liberty of posting it as ...
11
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Are automorphism groups of hypersurfaces reduced ?
In the following article : "H. Matsumura, P. Monsky, On the automorphisms of hypersurfaces, J. Math. Kyoto Univ. 3 (1964) 347-361", it is shown that in finite characteristic, automorphism groups of ...
8
votes
1
answer
1k
views
obstruction to smooth lifting of smooth schemes
According to general theory, for a square zero thickening defined by an ideal I: SpecA -> SpecA', there is an obstruction of lifting a smooth scheme X over A to a smooth scheme over A' living in H^2(X,...
16
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Coarse moduli spaces over Z and F_p
I would like to know to what extent it is possible to compare fibers over $\mathbb{F}_p$ of coarse moduli spaces over $\mathbb{Z}$, and coarse moduli spaces over $\mathbb{F}_p$. I ask a more precise ...
3
votes
2
answers
612
views
tamely branched cover over P^1
k is an algebraically closed field, X is a smooth, connected, projective curve over k. f: X-->P^1 is a finite morphism. Let t be a parameter of P^1, suppose f is etale outside t=0 and t=\infty, and ...
3
votes
1
answer
723
views
A strange logical implication in algebraic geometry
So there's an old theorem of Lang and Weil showing that the Riemann hypothesis for curves over finite fields implies a kind of quasi-riemann hypothesis for surfaces over finite fields.
I am wondering:...
42
votes
6
answers
6k
views
Arbitrary products of schemes don't exist, do they?
Thinking of arbitrary tensor products of rings, $A=\otimes_i A_i$ ($i\in I$, an arbitrary index set), I have recently realized that $Spec(A)$ should be the product of the schemes $Spec(A_i)$, a ...
16
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Is the tangent space functor from PD formal groups to Lie algebras an equivalence?
The previous version of this question was rather badly broken, and I hope this version makes some sense.
There have been a few questions on MathOverflow about how much representation-theoretic ...
2
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Reference of primitive root mod p
Can any body give me a reference of the result about primitive root mod p for a class of prime number p.
The result that I am looking for is something along this line:
$2$ is a primitive root mod $p$...
6
votes
2
answers
945
views
Notation/name for "Artin-Schreier roots"?
If x is an element of a field K and n is a positive integer, we have both a symbol and a name for a root of the polynomial t^n - x = 0: we denote it by x^{1/n} and call it an nth root of x.
Of course ...
19
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Elkies' supersingularity theorem in higher dimension
The following is a theorem of Elkies:
Let $X$ be an elliptic curve over $\mathbb{Q}$. Then there are infinitely many primes $p$ such that the action of Frobenius on $H^1(\mathcal{O}, X)$ is zero.
...
11
votes
4
answers
2k
views
The category of finite locally-free commutative group schemes
I'm trying to understand the properties of the category $\mathcal{FL}/S$ of finite locally-free commutative group schemes over an arbitrary base-scheme $S$. I know it is not in general an abelian ...
11
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Class groups of normal domains over finite fields
Let R be a local, normal domain of dimension 2. Suppose that R contains a finite field. I am interested in knowing when the class group of R is torsion. In characteristic 0, this is known to be ...
10
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Does a universal Frobenius map exist?
For any prime p, one has the Frobenius homomorphism Fp defined on rings of characteristic p.
Is there any kind of object, say U, with a "universal Frobenius map" F such that for any prime p and any ...
12
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Weil Conjectures for nonprojective algebraic varieties
If we replace projective variety with algebraic variety in the statement of the Weil conjectures what happens? To me it seems the statement still makes sense. But is it still true?
5
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Weil Conjectures for Grassmannians
To establish the Weil conjectures for $n$-dimensional projective space over a finite field is elementary. Does there exist a simple direct proof of the conjectures for finite field Grassmannians?
10
votes
2
answers
393
views
Counting points on varieties of low codimension
The graduate students here at MIT have been thinking about questions like the following: Over $\mathbb{F}\_q$, how many symmetric matrices are there with nonzero determinant and $0$'s on the diagonal? ...
15
votes
1
answer
668
views
Can an algebraic space fail to have a universal map to a scheme?
Let $\mathcal{X}$ be an algebraic space. Can it happen that there does not exist a map $\mathcal{X} \to X$ with $X$ a scheme that is initial for maps from $\mathcal{X}$ to schemes? Are there ...
15
votes
5
answers
3k
views
Can we count isogeny classes of abelian varieties?
Let's fix a finite field F and consider abelian varieties of dimension g over F. Can we say how many isogeny classes there are? Is it even clear that there's more than one isogeny class? For g=1, ...
13
votes
3
answers
816
views
Constructing a degeneration (as a group scheme) of G_m to G_a
SGA 3, expose 12, remark 1.6 says that one can easily construct a group scheme over a discrete valuation ring with generic fiber Gm and special fiber Ga.
What is such an example?
11
votes
4
answers
3k
views
What does ramification have to do with separability?
Does ramification have anything to do with inseparability? It feels like an extension of Q in which p ramifies should somehow correspond to an extension of F_p(t). Does totally ramified <--> purely ...
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 ...
18
votes
4
answers
2k
views
What are the Benefits of Using Algebraic Spaces over Schemes?
I have heard that algebraic spaces have better formal properties than schemes. What are these benefits? Also, is there a natural way to go straight from affine schemes to algebraic spaces bypassing ...
9
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Characterisation for separable extension of a field
Can someone verify this for me.. or tell me what reference shows me this... is this true:
Let $k$ be a field. Then a field extension $K$ of $k$ is separable over $k$ iff for any field extension $L \...
6
votes
4
answers
828
views
Can isomorphisms of schemes be constructed on formal neighborhoods?
Let (A,m) be a complete local Noetherian ring and let X and Y be two schemes of finite type over A (and flat over A). Let Xn and Yn be the reductions of X and Y mod mn+1.
Question: Suppose there is ...
20
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Functorial characterization of open subschemes?
Given a morphism of schemes f: U → X, can one determine when f is an isomorphism of U onto an open subscheme of X in terms of some induced functors between the categories of quasicoherent modules ...
8
votes
2
answers
8k
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What does "supersingular" mean?
Are supersingular primes and supersingular elliptic curves related?
(this was essentially a subquestion in my earlier question, but still looks sufficiently different to me to deserve a separate post)...