Some aspects and applications of the Riemann hypothesis over finite fields (Q627060)

In this survey, the author explains the following results in \(\ell\)-adic cohomology theory: Deligne's theorem on the weight of \(\ell\)-adic cohomology for \(\ell\)-adic sheaves on varieties over finite fields which is a vast generalization of the Riemann hypothesis for varieties over finite fields conjectured by Weil, Deligne's equidistribution theorem about the distribution of conjugacy classes of Frobenius elements in the monodromy group of pure \(\ell\)-adic sheaves, and Katz's work on the calculation of monodromy groups for various \(\ell\)-adic sheaves. All these results are explained in a down-to-earth language, and are supplemented by concrete examples like Kloosterman sums. The author also explains how these general results can be used to get estimates for character sums, and how to get Sato-Tate laws for families of character sums. This survey article should be useful for those who do not have much background on \(\ell\)-adic cohomology theory, but want to understand how this theory can be used to produce results important in number theory.