The paper proves canonical isomorphisms between Spin Verlinde spaces, that is, spaces of global sections of a determinant line bundle over the moduli space of semistable Spinn-bundles over a smooth projective curve C, and the dual spaces of theta functions over Prym varieties of unramified double covers of C.

The paper considers the possible cardinalities of maximal cofinitary groups and the cofinalities of permutation groups on the set of natural numbers. These two cardinals are compared with some other well-known cardinal invariants which are related to covering properties in several forcing models. An application of combinatorial group theory to a construction of a forcing partially ordered set is presented.

Let [ ] be a [pfr ]-adic field, and consider the system F = (F1,…,FR) of diagonal equations

[formula here]

with coefficients in [ ]. It is an interesting problem in number theory to determine when such a system possesses a nontrivial [ ]-rational solution. In particular, we define Γ*(k, R, [ ]) to be the smallest natural number such that any system of R equations of degree k in N variables with coefficients in [ ] has a nontrivial [ ]-rational solution provided only that N[ges ]Γ*(k, R, [ ]). For example, when k = 1, ordinary linear algebra tells us that Γ*(1, R, [ ]) = R + 1 for any field [ ]. We also define Γ*(k, R) to be the smallest integer N such that Γ*(k, R, ℚp) [les ] N for all primes p.

Let

(formula here)

be the germ of a finite (that is, proper with finite fibres) complex analytic morphism from a complex analytic normal surface onto an open neighbourhood U of the origin 0 in the complex plane C2. Let u and v be coordinates of C2 defined on U. We shall call the triple (π, u, v) the initial data.

Let Δ stand for the discriminant locus of the germ π, that is, the image by π of the critical locus Γ of π.

Let (Δα)α∈A be the branches of the discriminant locus Δ at O which are not the coordinate axes.

For each α ∈ A, we define a rational number dα by

(formula here)

where I(–, –) denotes the intersection number at 0 of complex analytic curves in C2. The set of rational numbers dα, for α ∈ A, is a finite subset D of the set of rational numbers Q. We shall call D the set of discriminantal ratios of the initial data (π, u, v). The interesting situation is when one of the two coordinates (u, v) is tangent to some branch of Δ, otherwise D = {1}. The definition of D depends not only on the choice of the two coordinates, but also on their ordering.

In this paper we prove that the set D is a topological invariant of the initial data (π, u, v) (in a sense that we shall define below) and we give several ways to compute it. These results are first steps in the understanding of the geometry of the discriminant locus. We shall also see the relation with the geometry of the critical locus.

Let [ ] be a [pfr ]-adic field, and consider the system F = (F1,…,FR) of diagonal equations

with coefficients in [ ]. It is an interesting problem in number theory to determine when such a system possesses a nontrivial [ ]-rational solution. In particular, we define Γ*(k, R, [ ]) to be the smallest natural number such that any system of R equations of degree k in N variables with coefficients in [ ] has a nontrivial [ ]-rational solution provided only that N[ges ]Γ*(k, R, [ ]). For example, when k = 1, ordinary linear algebra tells us that Γ*(1, R, [ ]) = R + 1 for any field [ ]. We also define Γ*(k, R) to be the smallest integer N such that Γ*(k, R, ℚp) [les ] N for all primes p.

It is proved that a connected infinite graph has a normal spanning tree (the infinite analogue of a depth-first search tree) if and only if it has no minor obtained canonically from either an (ℵ0, ℵ1)-regular bipartite graph or an order-theoretic Aronszajn tree. This disproves Halin's conjecture that only the first of these obstructions was needed to characterize the graphs with normal spanning trees. As a corollary Halin's further conjecture is deduced, that a connected graph has a normal spanning tree if and only if all its minors have countable colouring number.

The precise classification of the (ℵ0, ℵ1)-regular bipartite graphs remains an open problem. One such class turns out to contain obvious infinite minor-antichains, so as an unexpected corollary Thomas's result that the infinite graphs are not well-quasi-ordered as minors is reobtained.

Asymptotic formulae for the number of rational points of bounded height on flag varieties have earlier been established. In the paper these asymptotic formulae are recovered by a new method for varieties in biprojective space defined over ℚ that are isomorphic to the flag variety of lines in hyperplanes.

The result is obtained by an application of Heath-Brown's new form of the circle method. It serves as a pointer to the investigation of rational points of bounded height on varieties in multiprojective space.

Much of the recent progress in the representation theory of infinitesimal group schemes rests on the application of algebro-geometric techniques related to the notion of cohomological support varieties (cf. [6, 8–10]). The noncohomological characterization of these varieties via the so-called rank varieties (see [21, 22]) involves schemes of additive subgroups that are the infinitesimal counterparts of the elementary abelian groups. In this note we introduce another geometric tool by considering schemes of tori of restricted Lie algebras. Our interest in these derives from the study of infinitesimal groups of tame representation type, whose determination [12] necessitates the results to be presented in §4 and §5 as well as techniques from abstract representation theory.

In contrast to the classical case of complex Lie algebras, the information on the structure of a restricted Lie algebra that can be extracted from its root systems is highly sensitive to the choice of the underlying maximal torus. Schemes of tori obviate this defect by allowing us to study algebraic families of root spaces. Accordingly, these schemes may also shed new light on various aspects of the structure theory of restricted Lie algebras. We intend to pursue these questions in a forthcoming paper [13], and focus here on first applications within representation theory.

A fundamental aspect of the study of Diophantine equations is that of determining when an equation has a local solution. Artin once conjectured (see the preface to [1]) that if k is a complete, discretely valued field with finite residue class field, then every homogeneous form of degree d in greater than d2 variables whose coefficients are integers of k has a nontrivial zero. In this paper, we consider the case of this conjecture in which k is a p-adic field. Although a counterexample due to Terjanian [16] proved Artin's conjecture false in this situation, Ax and Kochen [2] have shown when [k:Qp] = n is finite, that given d, there exists a number p(d, n) such that Artin's conjecture is true provided that p is larger than p(d, n). Unfortunately, the methods of Ax and Kochen do not lead to explicit estimates for p(d, n). Cohen [5] found a method which determines the possible cardinalities of the residue class fields of all p- adic fields for which Artin's conjecture is false, and Brown [3] has used this to bound p(d, 1), but this bound is so large that one feels that it must be possible to do better. Hence, it is still an interesting problem to obtain estimates on the size of p(d, n).

A fundamental aspect of the study of Diophantine equations is that of determining when an equation has a local solution. Artin once conjectured (see the preface to [1]) that if k is a complete, discretely valued field with finite residue class field, then every homogeneous form of degree d in greater than d2 variables whose coefficients are integers of k has a nontrivial zero. In this paper, we consider the case of this conjecture in which k is a p-adic field. Although a counterexample due to Terjanian [16] proved Artin's conjecture false in this situation, Ax and Kochen [2] have shown when [k:Qp] = n is finite, that given d, there exists a number p(d, n) such that Artin's conjecture is true provided that p is larger than p(d, n). Unfortunately, the methods of Ax and Kochen do not lead to explicit estimates for p(d, n). Cohen [5] found a method which determines the possible cardinalities of the residue class fields of all p-adic fields for which Artin's conjecture is false, and Brown [3] has used this to bound p(d, 1), but this bound is so large that one feels that it must be possible to do better. Hence, it is still an interesting problem to obtain estimates on the size of p(d, n).

The j-invariants of the quadratic Q-curves without complex multiplication are studied. Some properties of the norms of these invariants are shown and a relationship between the field Q(j) and the degree of an isogeny of the Q-curve to its Galois conjugate is found. In the case when the degree of the isogeny is a prime p, some properties of the primes of potentially multiplicative reduction for the Q-curve and of the reduction of j modulo a prime [Pfr ] in Q(j) over p when the Q-curve has potentially good reduction at [Pfr ] are found.

In this paper we study representations of finite dimensional Lie algebras. In this case representations are not necessarily completely reducible. As the general problem is known to be of enormous complexity, we restrict ourselves to representations that behave particularly well on Levi subalgebras. We call such representations plain (Definition 1.1). Informally, we show that the theory of plain representations of a given Lie algebra L is equivalent to representation theory of finitely many finite dimensional associative algebras, also non-semisimple. The sense of this is to distinguish representations of Lie algebras that are of complexity comparable with that of representations of associative algebras. Non-plain representations are intrinsically much more complex than plain ones. We view our work as a step toward understanding this complexity phenomenon.

We restrict ourselves also to perfect Lie algebras L, that is, such that L = [L, L]. In our main results we assume that L is perfect and [sfr ][lfr ]2-free (which means that L has no quotient isomorphic to [sfr ][lfr ]2). The ground field [ ] is always assumed to be algebraically closed and of characteristic 0.

Dans cet article, nous nous intéressons aux problèmes de structure galoisienne associés aux couples (E/L, a), où E désigne une courbe elliptique définie sur le corps de nombres L et a un endomorphisme de E. Si E est à multiplication complexe, nous notons k le corps quadratique imaginaire dont l'anneau des entiers décrit End(E) et L une extension de k. Ainsi a est-il selon les cas un entier algébrique de k ou un élément de ℤ.

Let F be a free group, and let γn(F) be the nth term of the lower central series of F. It is proved that F/[γj(F), γi(F), γk(F)] and F/[γj(F), γi(F), γk(F), γl(F)] are torsion free and residually nilpotent for certain values of i, j, k and i, j, k, l, respectively. In the process of proving this, it is proved that the analogous Lie rings are torsion free.

If G is a finite group, then the usual version of the Green correspondence applies to finitely generated kG-modules when k is a field of characteristic p > 0 or a p-adic ring. The paper presents a categorical version of the Green correspondence and a version of the Burry–Carlson–Puig theorem that remain valid for arbitrary modules and coefficient rings. In this generality, however, it is not clear whether the Green correspondent of a finitely generated module is always finitely generated.

Let G be a non-compact, locally compact group. The minimal ideals of the group algebra L1(G), the measure algebra M(G), and other Banach algebras (usually larger than L1(G) and M(G)) such as the second dual, L1(G)**, of L1(G) with an Arens product, or LUC(G)* with an Arens-type product, are studied in the paper. Using integrable representations, which exist on some semisimple Lie groups, it is seen that the minimal left ideals can be of infinite dimension, and that the compactness of G is not necessary for these ideals to exist in L1(G) and M(G). It is shown also that, although the coefficients of integrable representations are minimal idempotents in LUC(G)* and L1(G)** they do not generate minimal right ideals in these algebras, and that for a large class of groups, they do not generate minimal left ideals either.

Dans cet article, nous nous intéressons aux problèmes de structure galoisienne associés aux couples (E/L, a), où E désigne une courbe elliptique définie sur le corps de nombres L et a un endomorphisme de E. Si E est à multiplication complexe, nous notons k le corps quadratique imaginaire dont l'anneau des entiers décrit End(E) et L une extension de k. Ainsi a est-il selon les cas un entier algébrique de k ou un élément de ℤ.

For positive integers n and c, with n [ges ] 2, let Gn, c be a relatively free group of finite rank n in the variety N2A ∧ AN2 ∧ Nc. It is shown that the subgroup of the automorphism group Aut(Gn, c) of Gn, c generated by the tame automorphisms and an explicitly described finite set of IA-automorphisms of Gn, c has finite index in Aut(Gn, c). Furthermore, it is proved that there are no non-trivial elements of Gn, c fixed by every tame automorphism of Gn, c.

The paper is devoted to the study of groups whose word problem can be solved by a Turing machine which operates in real time. A recent result of the first author for word hyperbolic groups is extended to prove that under certain conditions the generalised Dehn algorithms of Cannon, Goodman and Shapiro, which clearly run in linear time, can be programmed on real-time Turing machines. It follows that word-hyperbolic groups, finitely generated nilpotent groups and geometrically finite hyperbolic groups all have real-time word problems.

The paper considers the iterated function systems of similitudes which satisfy a separation condition weaker than the open set condition, in that it allows overlaps in the iteration. Such systems include the well-known Bernoulli convolutions associated with the PV numbers, and the contractive similitudes associated with integral matrices. The latter appears frequently in wavelet analysis and the theory of tilings. One of the basic questions is studied: the absolute continuity and singularity of the self-similar measures generated by such systems. Various conditions to determine the dichotomy are given.