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Bernstein-Sato ideals and local systems

The topology of smooth quasi-projective complex varieties is very restrictive. One aspect of this statement is the fact that natural strata of local systems, called cohomology support loci, have a rigid structure: they consist of torsion-translated subtori in a complex torus. We propose and partially confirm a relation between Bernstein-Sato ideals and local systems. This relation gives yet a different point of view on the nature of the structure of cohomology support loci of local systems. The main result is a partial generalization to the case of a collection of polynomials of the theorem of Malgrange and Kashiwara which states that the Bernstein-Sato polynomial of a hypersurface recovers the monodromy eigenvalues of the Milnor fibers of the hypersurface. We also address a multi-variable version of the Monodromy Conjecture, prove that it follows from the usual single-variable Monodromy Conjecture, and prove it in the case of hyperplane arrangements.