Distinguished-root formulas for generalized Calabi-Yau hypersurfaces

By a "generalized Calabi-Yau hypersurface" we mean a hypersurface in ${\mathbb P}^n$ of degree $d$ dividing $n+1$. The zeta function of a generic such hypersurface has a reciprocal root distinguished by minimal $p$-divisibility. We study the $p$-adic variation of that distinguished root in a family and show that it equals the product of an appropriate power of $p$ times a product of special values of a certain $p$-adic analytic function ${\mathcal F}$. That function ${\mathcal F}$ is the $p$-adic analytic continuation of the ratio $F(\Lambda)/F(\Lambda^p)$, where $F(\Lambda)$ is a solution of the $A$-hypergeometric system of differential equations corresponding to the Picard-Fuchs equation of the family.Comment: 33 page

Hasse invariants and mod pp solutions of AA-hypergeometric systems

Igusa noted that the Hasse invariant of the Legendre family of elliptic curves over a finite field of odd characteristic is a solution mod $p$ of a Gaussian hypergeometric equation. We show that any family of exponential sums over a finite field has a Hasse invariant which is a sum of products of mod $p$ solutions of $A$-hypergeometric systems.Comment: 22 page

Exponential sums on A^n, III

We give two applications of our earlier work "Exponential sums on A^n, II" (math.AG/9909009). We compute the p-adic cohomology of certain exponential sums on A^n involving a polynomial whose homogeneous component of highest degree defines a projective hypersurface with at worst weighted homogeneous isolated singularities. This study was motivated by recent work of Garcia (Exponential sums and singular hypersurfaces, Manuscripta Math., v. 97 (1998), pp. 45-58). We also compute the p-adic cohomology of certain exponential sums on A^n whose degree is divisible by the characteristic.Comment: 15 pages, LaTeX2

Dwork cohomology, de Rham cohomology, and hypergeometric functions

In the 1960s, Dwork developed a p-adic cohomology theory of de Rham type for varieties over finite fields, based on a trace formula for the action of a Frobenius operator on certain spaces of p-adic analytic functions. One can consider a purely algebraic analogue of Dwork's theory for varieties over a field of characteristic zero and ask what is the connection between this theory and ordinary de Rham cohomology. N. Katz showed that Dwork cohomology coincides with the primitive part of de Rham cohomology for smooth projective hypersurfaces, but the exact relationship for varieties of higher codimension has been an open question. In this article, we settle the case of smooth affine complete intersections.Comment: 20 page

A cohomological property of Lagrange multipliers

The method of Lagrange multipliers relates the critical points of a given function f to the critical points of an auxiliary function F. We establish a cohomological relationship between f and F and use it, in conjunction with the Eagon-Northcott complex, to compute the sum of the Milnor numbers of the critical points in certain situations.Comment: 15 page

AA-hypergeometric systems that come from geometry

We establish some connections between nonresonant $A$-hypergeometric systems and de Rham-type complexes. This allows us to determine which of these $A$-hypergeometric systems "come from geometry."Comment: 10 page

pp-adic estimates for multiplicative character sums

This article is an expanded version of the talk given by the first author at the conference "Exponential sums over finite fields and applications" (ETH, Z\"urich, November, 2010). We state some conjectures on archimedian and $p$-adic estimates for multiplicative character sums over smooth projective varieties. We also review some of the results of J. Dollarhide, which formed the basis for these conjectures. Applying his results, we prove one of the conjectures when the smooth projective variety is ${\mathbb P}^n$ itself.Comment: 9 page

AA-hypergeometric series associated to a lattice polytope with a unique interior lattice point

We associate to lattice points a_0,a_1,...,a_N in Z^n an A-hypergeometric series \Phi(\lambda) with integer coefficients. If a_0 is the unique interior lattice point of the convex hull of a_1,...,a_N, then for every prime p\neq 2 the ratio \Phi(\lambda)/\Phi(\lambda^p) has a p-adic analytic continuation to a closed unit polydisk minus a neighborhood of a hypersurface.Comment: 12 page

On the pp-integrality of AA-hypergeometric series

Let $A$ be a set of $N$ vectors in ${\mathbb Z}^n$ and let $v$ be a vector in ${\mathbb C}^N$ that has minimal negative support for $A$. Such a vector $v$ gives rise to a formal series solution of the $A$-hypergeometric system with parameter $\beta = Av$. If $v$ lies in ${\mathbb Q}^n$, then this series has rational coefficients. Let $p$ be a prime number. We characterize those $v$ whose coordinates are rational, $p$-integral, and lie in the closed interval $[-1,0]$ for which the corresponding normalized series solution has $p$-integral coefficients.Comment: Expanded introduction, Sections 2 and 5 rewritten, Section 7 added, small changes elsewher

A-hypergeometric series and the Hasse-Witt matrix of a hypersurface

We give a short combinatorial proof of the generic invertibility of the Hasse-Witt matrix of a projective hypersurface. We also examine the relationship between the Hasse-Witt matrix and certain $A$-hypergeometric series, which is what motivated the proof.Comment: 7 page