We describe the proof that the period map from the Torelli space of Calabi-Yau manifolds to the classifying space of polarized Hodge structures is an embedding. The proof is based on the constructions of holomorphic affine structure on the Teichmller space and Hodge metric completion of the Torelli space. A canonical global holomorphic section of the holomorphic (n, 0) class on the Teichmller space is constructed.

We define Stasheff polytopes in the spaces of tropical points of cluster A -varieties. We study the supports of products of elements of canonical bases for cluster A -varieties. We prove that, for the cluster A -variety of type A , such supports are Stasheff polytopes.

In this paper, we study smooth complex projective varieties X such that some exterior power ⋀^rT_X of the tangent bundle is strictly nef. We prove that such varieties are rationally connected. We also classify the following two cases. If T_X is strictly nef, then X isomorphic to the projective space P^n. If ⋀^2T_X is strictly nef and if X has dimension at least 3, then X is either isomorphic to P^n or a quadric Q^n.

Spin polynomial invariants, as denned by Pidstrigatch and Tyurin, are used to define differentiable invariants for Dolgachev surfaces. In order to define and compute these invariants, some machinery is developed to study the wall structure for Spin polynomials, to deal with the fact that the moduli spaces have the wrong dimension and to handle nonreduced structures. The invariants are then computed.

We study variants of the local models constructed by the second author and Zhu and consider corresponding integral models of Shimura varieties of abelian type. We determine all cases of good, resp. of semi-stable, reduction under tame ramification hypotheses.