Let k be the algebraic closure of a finite field of odd characteristic p, and X a smooth projective scheme over the Witt ring W (k) which is geometrically connected in characteristic zero. We introduce the notion of Higgs-de Rham flow1 and prove that the category of periodic Higgs-de Rham flows over X/W(k) is equivalent to the category of Fontaine modules, hence further equivalent to the category of crystalline representations of the e ́tale fundamental group π_1(X_K ) of the generic fiber of X, after Fontaine-Laffaille and Faltings, where K is the fraction field of W(k). Moreover, we prove that every semistable Higgs bundle over the special fiber X_k of X of rank ≤ p initiates a semistable Higgs–de Rham flow and thus those of rank ≤ p − 1 with trivial Chern classes induce k-representations of π_1(X_K ). A fundamental construction in this paper is the inverse Cartier transform over a truncated Witt ring. In characteristic p, it was constructed by Ogus–Vologodsky in the nonabelian Hodge theory in positive characteristic; in the affine local case, our construction is related to the local Ogus–Vologodsky correspondence of Shiho.

We establish a compact analogue of the P=W conjecture. For a projective irreducible holomorphic symplectic variety with a Lagrangian fibration, we show that the perverse numbers associated with the fibration match perfectly with the Hodge numbers of the total space. This builds a new connection between the topology of Lagrangian fibrations and the Hodge theory of hyper-Kähler manifolds. We present two applications of our result: one on the cohomology of the base and fibers of a Lagrangian fibration, and the other on the refined Gopakumar–Vafa invariants of a K3 surface. Furthermore, we show that the perverse filtration associated with a Lagrangian fibration is multiplicative under cup product.

If 𝑈:[0,+∞[×𝑀 is a uniformly continuous viscosity solution of the evolution Hamilton-Jacobi equation ∂_𝑡𝑈+𝐻(𝑥,∂_𝑥 𝑈)=0, where 𝑀 is a not necessarily compact manifold, and 𝐻 is a Tonelli Hamiltonian, we prove the set Σ(𝑈), of points in ]0,+∞[×𝑀 where 𝑈 is not differentiable, is locally contractible. Moreover, we study the homotopy type of Σ(𝑈). We also give an application to the singularities of the distance function to a closed subset of a complete Riemannian manifold.

For a real analytic periodic function 𝜙: ℝ→ℝ, an integer 𝑏≥2 and 𝜆∈(1/𝑏,1), we prove the following dichotomy for the Weierstrass-type function 𝑊(𝑥)=∑_{𝑛≥0} 𝜆^𝑛 𝜙(𝑏^𝑛 𝑥): Either W(x) is real analytic, or the Hausdorff dimension of its graph is equal to 2+log𝑏𝜆. Furthermore, given b and 𝜙, the former alternative only happens for finitely many 𝜆 unless 𝜙 is constant.

We prove the following conjecture of Furstenberg (1969): if 𝐴,𝐵⊂[0,1] are closed and invariant under ×𝑝 mod1 and ×𝑞 mod1, respectively, and if log𝑝/log𝑞∉ℚ, then for all real numbers 𝑢 and 𝑣, dim_H (𝑢𝐴 + 𝑣) ∩ 𝐵 ≤ max {0, dim_H 𝐴 + dim_H 𝐵 − 1}. We obtain this result as a consequence of our study on the intersections of incommensurable self-similar sets on ℝ. Our methods also allow us to give upper bounds for dimensions of arbitrary slices of planar self-similar sets satisfying SSC and certain natural irreducible conditions.