Highest weight categories via pairs of dual exceptional sequences

In this paper we present criteria in terms of dual pairs of exceptional sequences for an abelian category to be highest weight. The criteria are applied in three situations of geometric origin. We give new proofs for the facts that the category of perverse sheaves of middle perversity on complex-analytic manifolds with suitable conditions on the stratification is highest weight and that the derived coherent category of any Grassmannian has a $t$-structure with highest weight heart. Also we show that the abelian null category of any proper birational morphism of regular surfaces is highest weight. For this null category, we give a geometric description of some special objects related to the highest weight structure, such as standard, costandard and characteristic tilting objects.