Unlike Grothendiecks etale fundamental group, Noris fundamental group does not fulfill the homotopy exact sequence in general. We give necessary and sufficient conditions which force exactness of the sequence.
We develop the theory of fundamental classes in the setting of motivic homotopy theory. Using this we construct, for any motivic spectrum, an associated bivariant theory in the sense of Fulton-MacPherson. We import the tools of Fultons intersection theory into this setting: (refined) Gysin maps, specialization maps, and formulas for excess intersections, self-intersections, and blow-ups. We also develop a theory of Euler classes of vector bundles in this setting. For the Milnor-Witt spectrum recently constructed by Deglise-Fasel, we get a bivariant theory extending the Chow-Witt groups of Barge-Morel, in the same way the higher Chow groups extend the classical Chow groups. As another application we prove a motivic Gauss-Bonnet formula, computing Euler characteristics in the motivic homotopy category.
Let k be a number field, and let S be a finite set of k-rational points of P^1. We relate the Deligne-Goncharov contruction of the motivic fundamental group of X:=P^1_k- S to the Tannaka group scheme of the category of mixed Tate motives over X.
Given a smooth and separated K(pi,1) variety X over a field k, we associate a cycle class in etale cohomology with compact supports to any continuous section of the natural map from the arithmetic fundamental group of X to the absolute Galois group of k. We discuss the algebraicity of this class in the case of curves over p-adic fields, and deduce in particular a new proof of Stixs theorem according to which the index of a curve X over a p-adic field k must be a power of p as soon as the natural map from the arithmetic fundamental group of X to the absolute Galois group of k admits a section. Finally, an etale adaptation of Beilinsons geometrization of the pronilpotent completion of the topological fundamental group allows us to lift this cycle class in suitable cohomology groups.
Let $X$ and $Y$ be nonsingular projective varieties over an algebraically closed field $k$ of positive characteristic. If $X$ and $Y$ are birational, we show their $S$-fundamental group schemes are isomorphic.
Relying on a notion of numerical effectiveness for Higgs bundles, we show that the category of numerically flat Higgs vector bundles on a smooth projective variety $X$ is a Tannakian category. We introduce the associated group scheme, that we call the Higgs fundamental group scheme of $X$, and show that its properties are related to a conjecture about the vanishing of the Chern classes of numerically flat Higgs vector bundles.