Smith-Treumann theory and the linkage principle

We apply Treumann's "Smith theory for sheaves" in the context of the Iwahori--Whittaker model of the Satake category. We deduce two results in the representation theory of reductive algebraic groups over fields of positive characteristic: (a) a geometric proof of the linkage principle; (b) a character formula for tilting modules in terms of the $\ell$-canonical basis, valid in all blocks and in all characteristics.
Comment: 52 pages, revised version, to appear in Publ. IHES