The arithmetic geometry of mirror symmetry and the conifold transition

The central theme of this thesis is the application of mirror symmetry to the study of the arithmetic geometry of Calabi-Yau threefolds. It formulates a conjecture about the properties of the limit mixed Hodge structure at the large complex structure limit of an arbitrary mirror threefold, which is supported by a two-parameter example of a self-mirror Calabi-Yau threefold. It further studies the connections between this conjecture with Voevodsky's mixed motives. This thesis also studies the connections between the conifold transition and Beilinson's conjecture on the values of the L-functions at integral points. It carefully studies the arithmetic geometry of the conifold in the mirror family of the quintic Calabi-Yau threefold and its L-function, which is shown to provide a very interesting example to Beilinson's conjecture.