Skip to main content

All Questions

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
7 votes
0 answers
140 views

Average number of $\mathbb{F}_p$-points over twists of a variety

Let $p \gg 1$ be a sufficiently large prime. I recently stumbled across a fascinating fact about the number of $\mathbb{F}_p$-points on elliptic curves over finite fields. Specifically, we have: Fact ...
20 votes
3 answers
2k views

what is the maximum number of rational points of a curve of genus 2 over the rationals

Conjecturally, there exists an integer $n$ such that the number of rational points of a genus $2$ curve over $\mathbf{Q}$ is at most $n$. (This follows from the Bombieri-Lang conjecture.) We are ...
2 votes
1 answer
300 views

An example of a geometrically simply connected variety with infinite Brauer group (modulo constants)

$\DeclareMathOperator\Br{Br}$Let $X$ be a smooth, geometrically integral, geometrically simply connected variety over a numberfield $k$. Is it possible to have $\Br(X)/{\Br(k)}$ being an infinite ...
3 votes
0 answers
170 views

Smoothness of height in Manin conjecture

Set up: Let $K$ be a number field. Let $M_K$ be the places of $K$, and define the standard height on $\mathbb{P}^n(K)$ as $$H([x_0, \cdots, x_n]) = \prod_{v \in M_K} \max\{|x_0|_v, \cdots, |x_n|_v\}$$ ...
3 votes
1 answer
303 views

Leading constant in Batyrev-Tschinkel's refinement of Manin conjecture

Background: Let $X$ be a Fano variety over number field $K$, where its anticanonical bundle $K_X^{-1}$ is ample. Let $i: X \to \mathbb{P}^n$ be the anticanonical embedding, where $K_X^{-m} \cong i_*O(...
4 votes
1 answer
917 views

Does this conic have a rational point?

Consider the conic $$C = \{X^2+uY^2+vZ^2=0\}\subset\mathbb{P}^2_{\mathbb{Q}(u,v)}$$ over the function field $\mathbb{Q}(u,v)$. Does $C$ have a $\mathbb{Q}(u,v)$-rational point?
-1 votes
1 answer
131 views

Does this quadratic system admit an integral or a rational solution?

Let $a,b$ be coprime and say $0<a<b<2a$. Consider the quadratic system: $$\alpha\delta-\beta\gamma=1$$ $$(\alpha^2-(\alpha\delta+\beta\gamma))a^2b+\beta^2b^3+(2\alpha\beta-\beta\delta)ab^2-\...
4 votes
0 answers
129 views

Statistics about existence of rational points on a curve over $\mathbb{F}_q$

I wish to ask the naive question: if we write down a random curve $C$ over $\mathbb{F}_q$, what can be said about the probability that $C(\mathbb{F}_q)=\emptyset$? Of course, this depends on the ...
2 votes
1 answer
260 views

Rational points on a special class of surfaces

Consider a smooth surface of the following form $$ S = \{f(x,y,t) = p_0(t)x^2+p_1(t)xy+p_2(t)x+p_3(t)y^2+p_4(t)y+p_5(t) = 0\}\subset\mathbb{A}^3 $$ over $\mathbb{Q}$, and set $$ U_S = \{t' \in \mathbb{...
3 votes
1 answer
401 views

Rational points of bounded height on a variety

I would like to ask for some clarification on the following argument which I can not quite understand. There is a variety $X$ of dimension $n$ over a number field with a degree two map $f:X\...
4 votes
1 answer
252 views

Finding the $K=\mathbb{Q}(\sqrt{6})$-rational points on the twist of $X_{0}(26)$

Let $K=\mathbb{Q}(\sqrt{6})$. I am looking to determine all $K$-rational points on the curve $$C: y^{2}=3x^6-24x^5+24x^4-54x^3+24x^2-24x+3.$$ More precisely, $C$ is a twist of the modular curve $X_{0}(...
3 votes
1 answer
719 views

Number of points of a quadric hypersurface over a finite field

Let $k = \mathbb{F}_q$ be a finite field with $q$ elements and $Q\subset\mathbb{P}^n_k$ a quadric hypersurface defined over $k$. By the Chevalley-Warning theorem if $n\geq 2$ then $Q$ has a point. Is ...
3 votes
1 answer
309 views

Smooth surfaces in positive characteristic

Let $K = \mathbb{F}_p$ be a field of positive characteristic $p > 0$. Consider a surface in $\mathbb{A}^3_K$ of the following form $$ S = \{f_1(x_0)y_0^2+f_2(x_0)y_0y_1+f_3(x_0)y_0+f_4(x_0)y_1^2+...
4 votes
1 answer
322 views

Del Pezzo surfaces of degree four and complete intersections of two quadrics

Let $X = Q_1\cap Q_2$ be a complete intersection of two smooth quadrics, over a field $K$, in $\mathbb{P}^4$ with homogeneous coordinates $y_0,y_1,y_2,y_3,y_4$. Set $Q_1 = \{F_1 = 0\}$ and $Q_2 = \{...
4 votes
0 answers
195 views

Rational points on ramified coverings of abelian varieties

Let $K$ be a number field $A$ an abelian variety over $K$ and $f: X \to A$ a possibly ramified covering of degree $d$ with $X$ a proper variety. My question is: Suppose that $f(X(K)) \neq A(K)$, can ...
0 votes
1 answer
199 views

Maximum dimension of a simultaneous anisotropic subspace of quadratic forms over $ \mathbb{Q} $

Let $(V,q )$ be a quadratic space over $ \mathbb{Q} $. A subspace $ U $ is called totally isotropic if $ q(x) = 0 $ for all $ x \in U $ and a subspace $ U $ is called an anisotropic subspace if $ ...
5 votes
1 answer
576 views

Lines on quadric surfaces

Consider a smooth quadric surface $Q\subset\mathbb{P}^3$ over a field $k$. Are there natural hypotheses one can put on $k$ in order to ensure the existence of a line defined over $k$ on $Q$?
5 votes
2 answers
572 views

Birational geometry over finite fields

I apologize in advance since probably my questions are very naive. I would like to understand some central notions in birational geometry, that are clear to me over the complex numbers, for varieties ...
1 vote
0 answers
194 views

Brauer-Manin obstruction and affine curves

I'm looking for references that can justify to what extent is the following statement true: Statement. Let $X$ be a smooth geometrically integral curve over a number field $k$. Then the Brauer-Manin ...
6 votes
0 answers
233 views

Rational points on varieties whose anticanonical bundle is nef but not ample

Is the following plausible? "If $X$ is a variety over $\mathbf{Q}$ whose anticanonical bundle $L$ is nef but not ample, there is a number field $K$ such that $X(K)$ contains an infinite set of ...
10 votes
0 answers
217 views

Are the nonnegative rationals diophantine with only two quantifiers?

Definition: A subset $D\subseteq \mathbb{Q}$ is diophantine if it is the projection of the zero set of a polynomial, i.e. there exists a polynomial $f\in\mathbb{Q}[X,Y_1,\dots,Y_n]$ for some $n$ such ...
5 votes
0 answers
303 views

2-descent on elliptic curves, and units modulo squares of units

Setup: Let $p$ be a prime, let $f(x) \in \mathbb{Q}_p[x]$ be a separable monic cubic polynomial cutting out the maximal order $\mathcal{O}_{K_f}$ in the etale algebra $K_f := \mathbb{Q}_p[x]/(f(x))$, ...
6 votes
0 answers
438 views

Brauer-Manin obstruction to surfaces of Kodaira dimension 1

Roughly speaking, the Kodaira dimension is an invariant of a variety that corresponds to curvature. One can show that curves of genus $\geq 2$ have Kodaira dimension 1 using Riemann-Roch. In Corollary ...
2 votes
0 answers
198 views

Finding rational points via birational map

Let $C$ be an affine curve given by $p_C(x,y)=0$ where $$ p_C=2x^3y + 2xy^3 +x^3 + y^3 + 5x^2y + 5xy^2 + 2x^2 + 2y^2 + 2x^2y^2 + 2xy $$ and let $\overline{C}$ denote the projective closure of $C$. For ...
2 votes
1 answer
187 views

Is every sufficiently general monic quartic rational square infinitely often?

Let $f(x)=x^4+b_3 x^3+ b_2 x^2+b_1 x + b_0$. Let $g(x)=x^4 f(1/x)$. Let $C : g(x)=y^2$. $C$ is birationally equivalent to $f(x)=y^2$. The constant coefficient of $g(x)$ is $1$ since $f$ is monic and $(...
16 votes
2 answers
503 views

Number of height-limited rational points on a circle

Consider origin-centered circles $C(r)$ of radius $r \le 1$. I am seeking to learn how many rational points might lie on $C(r)$, where each rational point coordinate has height $\le h$. For example, ...
5 votes
0 answers
184 views

Given a point $P$ on a genus-$1$ curve over $\mathbb{Q}_p$, is there an $R$ such that $2 \mid [P - R]$ and $x(\overline{P}) \neq x(\overline{R})$?

Let $p \in \mathbb{Z}$ be prime, and let $f \in \mathbb{Z}_p[x]$ be a quartic polynomial with nonzero discriminant. Let $C/\mathbb{Q}_p$ be the genus-$1$ curve with affine equation $y^2 = f(x)$. Let $\...
16 votes
0 answers
274 views

Why should an abelian variety with few places of bad reduction and a lot of endomorphisms not have many points?

In the paper "Points of Order 13 on Elliptic Curves" by Mazur-Tate, they say in the introduction: It seemed ... that if such an abelian variety $J$, which has bad reduction at only one ...
2 votes
1 answer
188 views

Criterion for existence of integral points on an elliptic curve

Is there a criterion for the (presumably infinite) set of $D \in \mathbb{Z}\setminus \{0\}$ such that $$Dy^2 = x^3-1728$$ has an integral point over $\mathbb{Q}$ with $y \neq 0$? I'd also be ...
17 votes
1 answer
349 views

Why should the number of $\mathbb{F}_q$ points on degree $d$ curves $C\subset \mathbb{P}_{\mathbb{F}_q}^n$ decrease as $n$ increases?

This question concerns some counterintuitive results (to me at least) regarding the number of points on a projective curve over a finite field. Namely, if one fixes the degree of the curve, but ...
8 votes
0 answers
134 views

Distribution of rational points in the real locus of a planar algebraic curve

Let $C$ be a smooth projective geometrically connected curve over $\mathbb{Q}$. Assume that $g(C)=3$ and that $C$ is not hyperelliptic. Then the canonical sheaf defines a closed immersion $C\to\mathbb{...
3 votes
2 answers
443 views

primes of multiplicative reduction for elliptic curves with rational $\ell$-torsion

Very recently, I made an observation from scanning lists of elliptic curves on the LMFDB that leads me to the following (unproven) statement: Fix $\ell \in \{5, 7\}$. Let $E$ be an elliptic curve ...
7 votes
1 answer
218 views

Subfields of Hilbertian fields

This question is about the Remark on the top of page 22 of Serre's Topics in Galois Theory, available here : http://www.ms.uky.edu/~sohum/ma561/notes/workspace/books/serre_galois_theory.pdf My ...
3 votes
0 answers
339 views

Integral points on affine varieties

Consider Siegel's theorem. It says that for a smooth affine algebraic curve $C$ over $\mathbb{Q}$ such that $g(C)>0$ any model $\mathcal{C}$ of $C$ over $\mathbb{Z}$ has finitely many $\mathbb{Z}$-...
0 votes
0 answers
279 views

Computing the genus of a plane curve

Let $b(x)=x^4 + 3x^3 + 3x^2 + 2x + 1$, and let $a(x)\in \mathbb Z[x]$ be a separable polynomial. Let $C$ be the plane curve defined by $(y^2+(x+x^2+x^3)a(x))^2-a(x)^2b(x)=0$. I would need to show that ...
17 votes
1 answer
2k views

Rational points à la Chabauty-Coleman

I have been trying to learn the method of Chabauty and Coleman to find rational points on curves; I have been reading an exposition by McCallum and Poonen which was pointed out to me by Emerton in ...
4 votes
1 answer
328 views

Submersion implies many rational points in image?

Let $A \colon V \to W$ be a surjective linear map (defined over $\mathbb{Z}$), inducing a projection $\alpha \colon \mathbb{P}(V) \to \mathbb{P}(W)$. Let $X \subseteq \mathbb{P}(V)$ and $Y \...
10 votes
4 answers
2k views

What is the smallest sphere whose surface includes 100 integer points?

Let $S(r)$ be the surface of the origin-centered sphere in $\mathbb{R}^3$. A point is an integer point if all its coordinates are integers. What is the smallest radius $r_n$ such that $S(r_n)$ ...
7 votes
1 answer
557 views

Does Chabauty-Coleman method give an algorithm for finding rational points?

Let $X$ be a curve of genus $g\geq 2$ over a number field $K$. If $\mathrm{rk} \,\mathrm{Jac}\, X$ is less than $g$ there is a $p$-adic method of bounding $\# X(K)$ due to Chabauty and Coleman (see ...
10 votes
4 answers
1k views

Possible groups of K-rational points for elliptic curves over arbitrary fields

It is known that the group $C(\Bbb R)$ has at most two connected components, and the connected component of the identity is isomorphic to $U(1)$ as a topological group (trivially) and $C(\Bbb Q)$ is ...
22 votes
5 answers
7k views

Rational points on a sphere in $\mathbb{R}^d$

Call a point of $\mathbb{R}^d$ rational if all its $d$ coordinates are rational numbers. Q1. Are the rational points dense on the unit sphere $S :\; x_1^2 +\cdots+ x_d^2 = 1$, i.e. does $S$ ...
2 votes
1 answer
657 views

Rational points on open subsets of affine space [closed]

Let $k$ be an infinite field. Assume that the index of the algebraic closure $\bar{k}$ over $k$ is strictly greater than $2$. Let $U$ be a non-empty open subset of some affine space over $k$. Is it ...
11 votes
1 answer
702 views

Galois Representations and Rational Points

Suppose $X$ and $Y$ are two connected smooth projective varieties over $\mathbb{Q}$ (of the same dimension) that have the same $\ell$-adic Galois representations (up to semisimplification). What is ...
5 votes
1 answer
825 views

Understanding Siegel's Theorem on integral points

Siegel's theorem states the following: Let $C$ be a smooth projective curve over a number field $K$. Let $\tilde C\subset C$ be an open affine subvariety, and $i:\tilde C\hookrightarrow \mathbb{A}^...
6 votes
1 answer
185 views

If $X$ is a genus $g\geq 2$ curve over a number field $K$, then is there a bound on $X_L(L)$ for $L/K$ that depends only on $X$ and $[L:K]$?

If $X$ is a genus $g\geq 2$ curve over a number field $K$, then $X(K)$ is finite by Falting's Theorem. My question is how does $X_L(L)$ behave for finite field extensions $L/K$? In particular, is ...
7 votes
1 answer
508 views

What is the exact statement about uniform boundedness of rational points on curves of genus greater than one? Singular points can be unbounded

According to several sources, it is conjectured (or at least believed) that the rational points of curves over the rationals of genus $g > 1$ are uniformly bounded by $g$. E.g. here p. 1. Assuming ...
11 votes
5 answers
4k views

How much do I need to learn algebraic geometry to understand arithmetics over number fields

I am at the stage of learning. Mostly, I am attracted by algebraic number theory. Roughly speaking, I am interested in the rational points of algebraic varieties. I am little bit afraid to start to ...
2 votes
0 answers
107 views

the least point on a variety over a finite field

Let $p$ be a large prime parameter and $V\subseteq \mathbb{P}^n_{\mathbb{F}_p}$ a variety defined over the finite field $\mathbb{F}_p$ with bounded degree and dimension (w.r.t. $p$). Assume that $V$ ...
10 votes
1 answer
594 views

Distribution of Mordell–Weil ranks of higher genus curves

By "nice curve", I mean a smooth, projective, geometrically integral curve over $\newcommand{\Q}{\mathbb{Q}}\newcommand{\Jac}{\operatorname{Jac}}\Q$ with at least one $\Q$-rational point. The Mordell–...
2 votes
2 answers
440 views

Rational points on towers of curves

Let $\ldots \to X_n \to X_{n-1} \to \ldots \to X_0$ be etale maps between smooth projective curves of genera $g(X_n)>1$, all defined over a fixed number field $K$. By Faltings' Theorem, we know ...