We deal with $g$-dimensional abelian varieties $X$ over finite fields. We prove that there is an universal constant (positive integer) $N=N(g)$ that depends only on $g$ that enjoys the following properties. If a certain self-product of $X$ carries an exotic Tate class then the self-product $X^{2N}$of $X$ also carries an exotic Tate class. This gives a positive answer to a question of Kiran Kedlaya.
These are notes of my lectures at the summer school Higher-dimensional geometry over finite fields in Goettingen, June--July 2007. We present a proof of Tates theorem on homomorphisms of abelian varieties over finite fields (including the $ell=p$ case) that is based on a quaternion trick. In fact, a a slightly stronger version of those theorems with finite coefficients is proven.
Let $X$ be a polarized abelian variety over a field $K$. Let $O$ be a ring with an involution that acts on $X$ and this action is compatible with the polarization. We prove that the natural action of $O$ on $(X times X^t)^4$ is compatible with a certain principal polarization.
We study endomorphisms of abelian varieties and their action on the l-adic Tate modules. We prove that for every endomorphism one may choose a basis of each Tate module such that the corresponding matrix has rational entries and does not depend on l.
We extend to large contexts pertaining to Shimura varieties of Hodge type a result of Zink on the existence of lifts to characteristic 0 of suitable representatives of certain isogeny classes of abelian varieties endowed with Frobenius and other endomorphisms over $dbF_{p^q}$, whose $p$-divisible groups in mixed characteristic $(0,p)$ are with complex multiplication.