In this paper we give an explicit algorithm to construct the ordinary quiver of a finite EI category for which the endomorphism groups of all objects have orders invertible in the field k. We classify all finite EI categories with hereditary category algebras, characterizing them as free EI categories (in a sense which we define) for which all endomorphism groups of objects have invertible orders. Some applications on the representation types of finite EI categories are derived.

We prove that any “finite-type” component of a stability space of a triangulated category is contractible. The motivating example of such a component is the stability space of the Calabi–Yau–N category D(Gamma_N Q) associated to an ADE Dynkin quiver. In addition to showing that this is contractible we prove that the braid group Br(Q) acts freely upon it by spherical twists, in particular that the spherical twist group Br(Gamma_N Q) is isomorphic to Br(Q). This generalises the result of Brav–Thomas for the N=2 case. Other classes of triangulated categories with finite-type components in their stability spaces include locally finite triangulated categories with finite-rank Grothendieck group and discrete derived categories of finite global dimension.

We analyze the asymptotic behavior of certain twisted orbital integrals arising from the study of affine Deligne-Lusztig varieties. The main tools include the Base Change Fundamental Lemma and q-analogues of the Kostant partition functions. As an application we prove a conjecture of Miaofen Chen and Xinwen Zhu, relating the set of irreducible components of an affine Deligne-Lusztig variety modulo the action of the σ-centralizer group to the Mirkovic-Vilonen basis of a certain weight space of a representation of the Langlands dual group.

We define an analogue of the Casimir element for a graded affine Hecke algebra $$ \mathbb{H} $$ , and then introduce an approximate square-root called the Dirac element. Using it, we define the Dirac cohomology$H$^{$D$}($X$) of an $$ \mathbb{H} $$ -module$X$, and show that$H$^{$D$}($X$) carries a representation of a canonical double cover of the Weyl group $$ \widetilde{W} $$ . Our main result shows that the $$ \widetilde{W} $$ -structure on the Dirac cohomology of an irreducible $$ \mathbb{H} $$ -module$X$determines the central character of$X$in a precise way. This can be interpreted as$p$-adic analogue of a conjecture of Vogan for Harish-Chandra modules. We also apply our results to the study of unitary representations of $$ \mathbb{H} $$ .

Zelevinsky’s classification theory of discrete series of p-adic general linear groups has been well known. Mœglin and Tadić gave the same kind of theory for p-adic classical groups, which is more complicated due to the occurrence of nontrivial structure of L-packets. Nonetheless, their work is independent of the endoscopic classification theory of Arthur (also Mok in the unitary case), which concerns the structure of L-packets in these cases. So our goal in this paper is to make more explicit the connection between these two very different types of theories. To do so, we reprove the results of Mœglin and Tadić in the case of quasisplit symplectic groups and orthogonal groups by using Arthur’s theory.