We discuss two elementary constructions for covers with fixed ramification in positive characteristic. As an application, we compute the number of certain classes of covers between projective lines branched at 4 points and obtain information on the structure of the Hurwitz curve parametrizing these covers.
In this note we construct examples of covers of the projective line in positive characteristic such that every specialization is inseparable. The result illustrates that it is not possible to construct all covers of the generic r-pointed curve of genus zero inductively from covers with a smaller number of branch points.
We study the existence of Fuchsian differential equations in positive characteristic with nilpotent p-curvature, and given local invariants. In the case of differential equations with logarithmic local mononodromy, we determine the minimal possible degree of a polynomial solution.
In this paper, we compute the number of covers of curves with given branch behavior in characteristic p for one class of examples with four branch points and degree p. Our techniques involve related computations in the case of three branch points, and allow us to conclude in many cases that for a particular choice of degeneration, all the covers we consider degenerate to separable (admissible) covers. Starting from a good understanding of the complex case, the proof is centered on the theory of stable reduction of Galois covers.
We study a pair of Calabi-Yau threefolds X and M, fibered in non-principally polarized Abelian surfaces and their duals, and an equivalence D^b(X) = D^b(M), building on work of Gross, Popescu, Bak, and Schnell. Over the complex numbers, X is simply connected while pi_1(M) = (Z/3)^2. In characteristic 3, we find that X and M have different Hodge numbers, which would be impossible in characteristic 0. In an appendix, we give a streamlined proof of Abuafs result that the ring H^*(O) is a derived invariant of complex threefolds and fourfolds. A second appendix by Alexander Petrov gives a family of higher-dimensional examples to show that h^{0,3} is not a derived invariant in any positive characteristic.
We prove that any Fourier--Mukai partner of an abelian surface over an algebraically closed field of positive characteristic is isomorphic to a moduli space of Gieseker-stable sheaves. We apply this fact to show that the Fourier--Mukai set of canonical covers of hyperelliptic and Enriques surfaces over an algebraically closed field of characteristic greater than three is trivial. These results extend to positive characteristic earlier results of Bridgeland--Maciocia and Sosna.