We introduce a new equivalence relation for complete alge- braic varieties with canonical singularities, generated by birational equivalence, by flat algebraic deformations (of varieties with canon- ical singularities), and by quasi-´etale morphisms, i.e., morphisms which are unramified in codimension 1. We denote the above equivalence by A.Q.E.D. : = Algebraic-Quasi-´ Etale- Deformation. A completely similar equivalence relation, denoted by C-Q.E.D., can be considered for compact complex spaces with canonical sin- gularities. By a recent theorem of Siu, dimension and Kodaira dimension are invariants for A.Q.E.D. of complex varieties. We address the interesting question whether conversely two al- gebraic varieties of the same dimension and with the same Ko- daira dimension are Q.E.D. - equivalent (A.Q.E.D., or at least C-Q.E.D.), the answer being positive for curves by well known results. Using Enriques’ (resp. Kodaira’s) classification we show first that the answer to the C-Q.E.D. question is positive for special algebraic surfaces (those with Kodaira dimension at most 1), resp. for compact complex surfaces with Kodaira dimension 0, 1 and even first Betti number. The appendix by S¨onke Rollenske shows that the hypothesis of even first Betti number is necessary: he proves that any sur- face which is C-Q.E.D.-equivalent to a Kodaira surface is itself a Kodaira surface. We show also that the answer to the A.Q.E.D. question is pos- itive for complex algebraic surfaces of Kodaira dimension ≤ 1. The answer to the Q.E.D. question is instead negative for sur- faces of general type: the other appendix, due to Fritz Grunewald, is devoted to showing that the (rigid) Kuga-Shavel type surfaces of general type obtained as quotients of the bidisk via discrete groups constructed from quaternion algebras belong to countably many distinct Q.E.D. equivalence classes.

The dimension datum of a subgroup of a compact Lie group is a piece of spectral information about that subgroup. We find some new invariants and phenomena of the dimension data and apply them to construct the first example of a pair of isospectral, simply connected closed Riemannian manifolds which are of different homotopy types. We also answer questions proposed by Langlands.

We derive pointwise curvature estimates for graphical mean curvature flows in higher codimensions. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first such estimates without assuming smallness of first derivatives of the defining map. An immediate application is a convergence theorem of the mean curvature flow of the graph of an area decreasing map between flat Riemann surfaces.

We prove that if a connected Lie group action on a complete Riemannian manifold preserves the geodesics (considered as unparameterized curves), then the metric has constant positive sectional curvature, or the group acts by affine transformations.

We study adiabatic limits of Ricci-flat K¨ahler metrics on a Calabi-Yau manifold which is the total space of a holomorphic fibration when the volume of the fibers goes to zero. By establishing some new a priori estimates for the relevant complex Monge-Amp`ere equation, we show that the Ricci-flat metrics collapse (away from the singular fibers) to a metric on the base of the fibration. This metric has Ricci curvature equal to a WeilPetersson metric that measures the variation of complex structure of the Calabi-Yau fibers. This generalizes results of Gross-Wilson for K3 surfaces to higher dimensions.