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Myshkin
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How to compute modular forms of weight one on Shimura curves?

Classical modular forms of weight $k\geq 1$ can be computed explicitly by exhibiting their $q$-expansion. When the weight is at least two, the most standard method uses modular symbols. When the weight is one, we can not use modular symbols directly because such modular forms are not cohomological, but one can still compute their $q$-expansion by using ideas of Buhler, Frey, Serre, Buzzard and others.

Say now that we want to compute explicitly modular forms of weight $k\geq 1$ on a Shimura curve associated to an order in an indefinite quaternion algebra over $\mathbb{Q}$. I can think of at least two ways of exhibiting such modular forms: either by (1) computing their Taylor expansion about a CM point or by (2) invoking Cerednik-Drinfeld theory and computing the harmonic cocycle on the Bruhat-Tits tree associated to it.

Method (1) is in principle available for all weights $k\geq 1$ but I'm not sure how well it works systematically in practice, as there is no canonical choice of CM point.

Method (2) seems more canonical and robust to me, but it has the drawback that it can only be used directly for $k\geq 2$.

My question is: how would you compute in practice quaternionic modular forms of weight $1$?

Michael
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