Some remarks concerning the Grothendieck Period Conjecture

Abstract

We discuss various results and questions around the Grothendieck period conjecture, which is a counterpart, concerning the de Rham-Betti realization of algebraic varieties over number fields, of the classical conjectures of Hodge and Tate. These results give new evidence towards the conjectures of Grothendieck and Kontsevich-Zagier concerning transcendence properties of the torsors of periods of varieties over number fields. We notably establish that the Grothendieck period conjecture holds in degree 1 for products of curves, of abelian varieties, and of K3 surfaces, and that it holds in degree 2 for smooth cubic fourfolds.