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We present a series of results we obtained recently about the intersection numbers of tautological classes on moduli spaces of curves, including a simple formula of the <i>n</i>-point functions for Witten9s classes, an effective recursion formula to compute higher WeilPetersson volumes, several new recursion formulae of intersection numbers and our proof of a conjecture of Itzykson and Zuber concerning denominators of intersection numbers. We also present Virasoro and KdV properties of generating functions of general mixed and intersections.

We define tautological relations for the moduli space of stable maps to a target variety. Using the double ramification cycle formula for target varieties of Janda–Pandharipande–Pixton–Zvonkine, we construct non-trivial tautological relations parallel to Pixton’s double ramification cycle relations for the moduli of curves. Examples and applications are discussed.

We realize the moduli spaces of cubic fourfolds with specified group actions as arithmetic quotients of complex hyperbolic balls or type IV symmetric domains, and study their compactifications. We prove the geometric (GIT) compactifications are naturally isomorphic to the Hodge theoretic (Looijenga, in many cases Baily–Borel) compactifications. The key ingredients of the proof are the global Torelli theorem by Voisin, the characterization of the image of the period map given by Looijenga and Laza independently, and the functoriality of Looijenga compactifications proved in the Appendix.

Let X denote an equivariant embedding of a connected reductive group G over an algebraically closed field k. Let B denote a Borel subgroup of G and let Z denote a B B-orbit closure in X. When the characteristic of k is positive and X is projective we prove that Z is globally F-regular. As a consequence, Z is normal and CohenMacaulay for arbitrary X and arbitrary characteristics. Moreover, in characteristic zero it follows that Z has rational singularities. This extends earlier results by the second author and M. Brion.