The Grothendieck-Knudsen moduli space of stable rational curves n markings is arguably one of the simplest moduli spaces: it is a smooth projective variety that can be described explicitly as a blow-up of projective space, with strata corresponding to nodal curves similar to the torus invariant strata of a toric variety. Conjecturally, its Mori cone of curves is generated by strata, but this is known only for n up to 7. In contrast, the cones of effective divisors are not f initely generated, in all characteristics, when n is at least 10. After a general introduction to these topics, I will discuss what we call elliptic pairs and LangTrotter polygons, relating the question of finite generation of effective cones of blow-ups of certain toric surfaces to the arithmetic of elliptic curves. These lectures are based on joint work with Antonio Laface, Jenia Tevelev and Luca Ugaglia.[-]

The Grothendieck-Knudsen moduli space of stable rational curves n markings is arguably one of the simplest moduli spaces: it is a smooth projective variety that can be described explicitly as a blow-up of projective space, with strata corresponding to nodal curves similar to the torus invariant strata of a toric variety. Conjecturally, its Mori cone of curves is generated by strata, but this is known only for n up to 7. In contrast, the cones of effective divisors are not f initely generated, in all characteristics, when n is at least 10. After a general introduction to these topics, I will discuss what we call elliptic pairs and LangTrotter polygons, relating the question of finite generation of effective cones of blow-ups of certain toric surfaces to the arithmetic of elliptic curves. These lectures are based on joint work with Antonio Laface, Jenia Tevelev and Luca Ugaglia.[-]

The space of formal arcs of an algebraic variety carries part of the information encoded in a resolution of singularities. This series of lectures addresses this fact from two perspectives. In the first two lectures, we focus on the topology of the space of arcs, proving Kolchin's irreducibility theorem and discussing the Nash problem on families of arcs through the singularities of the variety; recent results on this problem are proved in the second lecture. The last two lectures are devoted to some applications of arc spaces toward a conjecture on minimal log discrepancies known as inversion of adjunction. Minimal log discrepancies are invariants of singularities appearing in the minimal model program, a quick overview of which is given in the third lecture.[-]

The space of formal arcs of an algebraic variety carries part of the information encoded in a resolution of singularities. This series of lectures addresses this fact from two perspectives. In the first two lectures, we focus on the topology of the space of arcs, proving Kolchin's irreducibility theorem and discussing the Nash problem on families of arcs through the singularities of the variety; recent results on this problem are proved in the second lecture. The last two lectures are devoted to some applications of arc spaces toward a conjecture on minimal log discrepancies known as inversion of adjunction. Minimal log discrepancies are invariants of singularities appearing in the minimal model program, a quick overview of which is given in the third lecture.[-]

The space of formal arcs of an algebraic variety carries part of the information encoded in a resolution of singularities. This series of lectures addresses this fact from two perspectives. In the first two lectures, we focus on the topology of the space of arcs, proving Kolchin's irreducibility theorem and discussing the Nash problem on families of arcs through the singularities of the variety; recent results on this problem are proved in the second lecture. The last two lectures are devoted to some applications of arc spaces toward a conjecture on minimal log discrepancies known as inversion of adjunction. Minimal log discrepancies are invariants of singularities appearing in the minimal model program, a quick overview of which is given in the third lecture.[-]

The space of formal arcs of an algebraic variety carries part of the information encoded in a resolution of singularities. This series of lectures addresses this fact from two perspectives. In the first two lectures, we focus on the topology of the space of arcs, proving Kolchin's irreducibility theorem and discussing the Nash problem on families of arcs through the singularities of the variety; recent results on this problem are proved in the second lecture. The last two lectures are devoted to some applications of arc spaces toward a conjecture on minimal log discrepancies known as inversion of adjunction. Minimal log discrepancies are invariants of singularities appearing in the minimal model program, a quick overview of which is given in the third lecture.[-]

The SYZ fibration is a conjectural geometric explanation for the phenomenon of mirror symmetry for maximal degenerations of complex Calabi-Yau varieties. I will explain Kontsevich and Soibelman's construction of the SYZ fibration in the world of non-archimedean geometry, and its relations with the Minimal Model Program and Igusa's p-adic zeta functions. No prior knowledge of non-archimedean geometry is assumed. These lectures are based on joint work with Mircea Mustata and Chenyang Xu.[-]

The SYZ fibration is a conjectural geometric explanation for the phenomenon of mirror symmetry for maximal degenerations of complex Calabi-Yau varieties. I will explain Kontsevich and Soibelman's construction of the SYZ fibration in the world of non-archimedean geometry, and its relations with the Minimal Model Program and Igusa's p-adic zeta functions. No prior knowledge of non-archimedean geometry is assumed. These lectures are based on joint work with Mircea Mustata and Chenyang Xu.[-]

The SYZ fibration is a conjectural geometric explanation for the phenomenon of mirror symmetry for maximal degenerations of complex Calabi-Yau varieties. I will explain Kontsevich and Soibelman's construction of the SYZ fibration in the world of non-archimedean geometry, and its relations with the Minimal Model Program and Igusa's p-adic zeta functions. No prior knowledge of non-archimedean geometry is assumed. These lectures are based on joint work with Mircea Mustata and Chenyang Xu.[-]

Simpson's classic nonabelian Hodge correspondence establishes an equivalence of categories between local systems on a projective manifold, and certain Higgs sheaves on that manifold. This talk surveys recent generalisations of Simpson's correspondence to the context of projective varieties with klt singularities. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, these spaces exhibit two correspondences: one pertaining to local systems on the whole space, and one to local systems on its smooth locus. As one application, we resolve the quasi-étale uniformisation problem for minimal varieties of general type, and to obtain a complete numerical characterisation of singular quotients of the unit ball by discrete, co-compact groups of automorphisms that act freely in codimension one.[-]