We introduce and study the notion of a generalised Hecke orbit in a Shimura variety. We define a height function on such an orbit and study its properties. We obtain lower bounds for the sizes of Galois orbits of points in a generalised Hecke orbit in terms of this height function, assuming the ‘weakly adelic Mumford–Tate hypothesis’ and prove the generalised André–Pink–Zannier conjecture under this assumption, using Pila–Zannier strategy.

Let $F$ be a totally real field in which $p$ is unramified and let $B$ be a quaternion algebra over $F$ which splits at at most one infinite place. Let $\overline {r}:\operatorname {{\mathrm {Gal}}}(\overline {F}/F)\rightarrow \mathrm {GL}_2(\overline {\mathbb {F}}_p)$ be a modular Galois representation which satisfies the Taylor–Wiles hypotheses. Assume that for some fixed place $v|p$, $B$ ramifies at $v$ and $F_v$ is isomorphic to $\mathbb {Q}_p$ and $\overline {r}$ is generic at $v$. We prove that the admissible smooth representations of the quaternion algebra over $\mathbb {Q}_p$ coming from mod $p$ cohomology of Shimura varieties associated to $B$ have Gelfand–Kirillov dimension $1$. As an application we prove that the degree-two Scholze's functor (which is defined by Scholze [On the $p$-adic cohomology of the Lubin–Tate tower, Ann. Sci. Éc. Norm. Supér. (4) 51 (2018), 811–863]) vanishes on generic supersingular representations of $\mathrm {GL}_2(\mathbb {Q}_p)$. We also prove some finer structure theorems about the image of Scholze's functor in the reducible case.

Compared with algebraic varieties the local monodromy of Drinfeld modules appears to be hopelessly complex: the image of the wild inertia subgroup under Tate module representations is infinite save for the case of potential good reduction. Nonetheless, we show that Tate modules of Drinfeld modules are ramified in a limited way: the image of a sufficiently deep ramification subgroup is trivial. This leads to a new invariant, the local conductor of a Drinfeld module. We establish an upper bound on the conductor in terms of the volume of the period lattice. As an intermediate step we develop a theory of normed lattices in function field arithmetic including the notion of volume. We relate normed lattices to vector bundles on projective curves. With the aid of Castelnuovo–Mumford regularity this implies a volume bound on norms of lattice generators, and the conductor inequality follows. Last but not least we describe the image of inertia for Drinfeld modules with period lattices of rank $1$. Just as in the theory of local $\ell$-adic Galois representations this image is commensurable with a commutative unipotent algebraic subgroup. However, in the case of Drinfeld modules such a subgroup can be a product of several copies of $\mathbf {G}_a$.

The Haefliger–Thurston conjecture predicts that Haefliger's classifying space for $C^r$-foliations of codimension $n$ whose normal bundles are trivial is $2n$-connected. In this paper, we confirm this conjecture for piecewise linear (PL) foliations of codimension $2$. Using this, we use a version of the Mather–Thurston theorem for PL homeomorphisms due to the author to derive new homological properties for PL surface homeomorphisms. In particular, we answer the question of Epstein in dimension $2$ and prove the simplicity of the identity component of PL surface homeomorphisms.

Tachikawa's second conjecture for symmetric algebras is shown to be equivalent to indecomposable symmetric algebras not having any nontrivial stratifying ideals. The conjecture is also shown to be equivalent to the supremum of stratified ratios being less than $1$, when taken over all indecomposable symmetric algebras. An explicit construction provides a series of counterexamples to Tachikawa's second conjecture from each (potentially existing) gendo-symmetric algebra that is a counterexample to Nakayama's conjecture. The results are based on establishing recollements of derived categories and on constructing new series of algebras.

Let $X$ denote the ‘conifold smoothing’, the symplectic Weinstein manifold which is the complement of a smooth conic in $T^*S^3$ or, equivalently, the plumbing of two copies of $T^*S^3$ along a Hopf link. Let $Y$ denote the ‘conifold resolution’, by which we mean the complement of a smooth divisor in $\mathcal {O}(-1) \oplus \mathcal {O}(-1) \to \mathbb {P}^1$. We prove that the compactly supported symplectic mapping class group of $X$ splits off a copy of an infinite-rank free group, in particular is infinitely generated; and we classify spherical objects in the bounded derived category $D(Y)$ (the three-dimensional ‘affine $A_1$-case’). Our results build on work of Chan, Pomerleano and Ueda and Toda, and both theorems make essential use of working on the ‘other side’ of the mirror.