Given an intersection of two quadrics $X\subset { \mathbb{P} }^{m- 1} $, with $m\geq 9$, the quantitative arithmetic of the set $X( \mathbb{Q} )$ is investigated under the assumption that the singular locus of $X$ consists of a pair of conjugate singular points defined over $ \mathbb{Q} (i)$.

A singularity in characteristic zero is said to be of dense $F$-pure type if its modulo $p$ reduction is locally Frobenius split for infinitely many $p$. We prove that if $x\in X$ is an isolated log canonical singularity with $\mu (x\in X)\leq 2$ (where the invariant $\mu $ is as defined in Definition 1.4), then it is of dense $F$-pure type. As a corollary, we prove the equivalence of log canonicity and being of dense $F$-pure type in the case of three-dimensional isolated $ \mathbb{Q} $-Gorenstein normal singularities.

Voevodsky conjectured that numerical equivalence and smash equivalence coincide on a smooth projective variety. We prove the conjecture for 1-cycles on varieties dominated by products of curves.

The Nash problem asks about the existence of a correspondence between families of arcs through singularities of complex varieties and certain types of divisorial valuations. It has been positively settled in dimension 2 by Fernández de Bobadilla and Pe Pereira, and it was shown to have a negative answer in all dimensions ${\geq }4$ by Ishii and Kollár. In this note we discuss examples which show that the problem has a negative answer in dimension 3 as well. These examples also bring to light the different nature of the problem depending on whether it is formulated in the algebraic setting or in the analytic setting.

Let us consider the locus in the moduli space of curves of genus $2k$ defined by curves with a pencil of degree $k$. Since the Brill–Noether number is equal to $- 2$, such a locus has codimension two. Using the method of test surfaces, we compute the class of its closure in the moduli space of stable curves.

The saturation theorem of Knutson and Tao concerns the nonvanishing of Littlewood–Richardson coefficients. In combination with work of Klyachko, it implies Horn’s conjecture about eigenvalues of sums of Hermitian matrices. This eigenvalue problem has a generalization to majorized sums of Hermitian matrices, due to S. Friedland. We further illustrate the common features between these two eigenvalue problems and their connection to Schubert calculus of Grassmannians. Our main result gives a Schubert calculus interpretation of Friedland’s problem, via equivariant cohomology of Grassmannians. In particular, we prove a saturation theorem for this setting. Our arguments employ the aforementioned work together with recent work of H. Thomas and A. Yong.

A central problem in liaison theory is to decide whether every arithmetically Cohen–Macaulay subscheme of projective $n$-space can be linked by a finite number of arithmetically Gorenstein schemes to a complete intersection. We show that this can indeed be achieved if the given scheme is also generically Gorenstein and we allow the links to take place in an $(n+ 1)$-dimensional projective space. For example, this result applies to all reduced arithmetically Cohen–Macaulay subschemes. We also show that every union of fat points in projective 3-space can be linked in the same space to a union of simple points in finitely many steps, and hence to a complete intersection in projective 4-space.

We introduce an analogue in hyperkähler geometry of the symplectic implosion, in the case of $\mathrm{SU} (n)$ actions. Our space is a stratified hyperkähler space which can be defined in terms of quiver diagrams. It also has a description as a non-reductive geometric invariant theory quotient.