In this article, we prove that a complete Noetherian local domain of mixed characteristic $p>0$ with perfect residue field has an integral extension that is an integrally closed, almost Cohen–Macaulay domain such that the Frobenius map is surjective modulo p. This result is seen as a mixed characteristic analog of the fact that the perfect closure of a complete local domain in positive characteristic is almost Cohen–Macaulay. To this aim, we carry out a detailed study of decompletion of perfectoid rings and establish the Witt-perfect (decompleted) version of André’s perfectoid Abhyankar’s lemma and Riemann’s extension theorem.

We address two aspects of finitely generated modules of finite projective dimension over local rings and their connection in between: embeddability and grade of order ideals of minimal generators of syzygies. We provide a solution of the embeddability problem and prove important reductions and special cases of the order ideal conjecture. In particular, we derive that, in any local ring R of mixed characteristic p > 0, where p is a nonzero divisor, if I is an ideal of finite projective dimension over R and p 𝜖 I or p is a nonzero divisor on R/I, then every minimal generator of I is a nonzero divisor. Hence, if P is a prime ideal of finite projective dimension in a local ring R, then every minimal generator of P is a nonzero divisor in R.

Let (A, ) be a local hypersurface with an isolated singularity. We show that Hochster's theta pairing θA vanishes on elements that are numerically equivalent to zero in the Grothendieck group of A under the mild assumption that Spec A admits a resolution of singularities. This extends a result by Celikbas-Walker. We also prove that when dimA = 3, Hochster's theta pairing is positive semi-definite. These results combine to show that the counter-example of Dutta-Hochster-McLaughlin to the general vanishing of Serre's intersection multiplicity exists for any three dimensional isolated hypersurface singularity that is not a UFD and has a desingularization. We also show that, if A is three dimensional isolated hypersurface singularity that has a desingularization, the divisor class group is finitely generated torsion-free. Our method involves showing that θA gives a bivariant class for the morphism Spec (A/) → Spec A.

We prove new cases of the direct summand conjecture using fundamental theorems in p-adic Hodge theory due to Faltings. The cases tackled include the ones when the ramification locus lies entirely in characteristic p.

Sufficient conditions are given in order to prove the lowest unknown case of the grade conjecture. The proof combines vanishing results of local cohomology and the ${{S}_{2}}$ condition.