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GH from MO
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I am not sure I understand your question. The functional equation $f(s)=\epsilon f(1-s)$ applied twice yields $\epsilon^2=1$, hence $\epsilon=\pm 1$.

Now, finding the root number $\epsilon$ of a self-dual modular $L$-function can be a tricky business, and the meaning of "finding" is of course subjective. It is known that $$ \epsilon =i^k\eta, $$ where $k$ is the weight of the underlying modular form (i.e. $k=2$ for a rational elliptic curve), and $\eta=\pm 1$ is the eigenvalue of the Atkin-Lehner involution on the form. If the level $N$ (i.e. the conductor for a rational elliptic curve) is square-free, then $$ \eta=\mu(N)\lambda(N)N^{1/2}, $$ where $\lambda(N)$ is the $N$-the Hecke eigenvalue of the form. In the case of a rational elliptic curve $E$, one can readily express $\lambda(N)$ from the number of points on $E$ over $\mathbb{F}_p$ for the various primes $p$ dividing $N$. If $N$ is not square-free, then I am not aware of any way to express the root number from Hecke eigenvalues.

There exist algorithms to find the root number of an elliptic curve. They usually proceed by calculating the local root numbers and taking their product (which is the global root number). See for example Helfgott's paper how to do this in general.

GH from MO
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