**Completely rewritten. (9/26)** It seems indeed that nothing like Theorem 1.10 from Mochizuki's IUTT-IV could hold. Here is an infinite set of counterexamples, assuming for convenience two standard conjectures (the first being in fact a consequence of ABC), that contradict Thm. 1.10 *very* badly. *Assumptions:* - A (Consequence of ABC) *For all but finitely many elliptic curves over $\mathbb{Q}$, the conductor $N$ and the minimal discriminant $\Delta$ satisfy $\log{|\Delta|} < (\log{N})^2$.* - B (Uniform Serre Open Image conjecture) *For each* $d \in \mathbb{N}$, *there is a constant* $c(d) < \infty$ *such that for every number field* $F/\mathbb{Q}$ with $[F:\mathbb{Q}] \leq d$, *and every non-CM elliptic curve* $E$ *over* $F$, *and every prime* $\ell \geq c(d)$, *the Galois representation of* $G_F$ *on* $E[\ell]$ *has full image* $\mathrm{GL}_2(\mathbb{Z}/{\ell})$. (In fact, it is sufficient to take the weaker version in which $F$ is held fixed. ) Further, as far as I can tell from the proof of Theorem 1.10 of IUTTIV, the only reason for taking $F := F_{\mathrm{tpd}}\big( \sqrt{-1}, E_{F_{\mathrm{tpd}}}[3\cdot 5] \big)$ --- rather than simply $F := F_{\mathrm{tpd}}(\sqrt{-1})$ --- was to ensure that $E$ has semistable reduction over $F$. *Since I will only work in what follows with semistable elliptic curves over* $\mathbb{Q}$, *I will assume, for a mild technical convenience in the examples below, that for elliptic curves already semistable over* $F_{\mathrm{tpd}}$, *we may actually take* $F := F_{\mathrm{tpd}}(\sqrt{-1})$ *in Theorem 1.10.* *The infinite set of counterexamples.* They come from Masser's paper [Masser: Note on a conjecture of Szpiro, *Asterisque* 1990], as follows. Masser has produced an infinite set of Frey-Hellougarch (i.e., semistable and with rational 2-torsion) elliptic curves over $\mathbb{Q}$ whose conductor $N$ and minimal discriminant $\Delta$ satisfy $$ (1) \hspace{3cm} \frac{1}{6}\log{|\Delta|} \geq \log{N} + \frac{\sqrt{\log{N}}}{\log{\log{N}}}. $$ (Thus, $N$ in these examples may be taken arbitrarily large. ) By (A) above, taking $N$ big enough will ensure that $$ (2) \hspace{3cm} \log{|\Delta|} < (\log{N})^2. $$ Next, the sum of the logarithms of the primes in the interval $\big( (\log{N})^2, 3(\log{N})^2 \big)$ is $2(\log{N})^2 + o((\log{N})^2)$, so it is certainly $> (\log{N})^2$ for $N \gg 0$ big enough. Thus, by (2), it is easy to see that the interval $\big( (\log{N})^2, 3(\log{N})^2 \big)$ contains a prime $\ell$ which divides neither $|\Delta|$ nor any of the exponents $\alpha = \mathrm{ord}_p(\Delta)$ in the prime factorization $|\Delta| = \prod p^{\alpha}$ of $|\Delta|$. Consider now the pair $(E,\ell)$: it has $F_{\mathrm{mod}} = \mathbb{Q}$, and since $E$ has rational $2$-torsion, $F_{\mathrm{tpd}} = \mathbb{Q}$ as well. Let $F := \mathbb{Q} \big( \sqrt{-1}\big)$. I claim that, upon taking $N$ big enough, the pair $(E_F,\ell)$ arises from an **initial $\Theta$-datum** as in IUTT-I, Definition 3.1. Indeed: - Certainly (a), (e), (f) of IUTT-I, Def. 3.1 are satisfied (with appropriate $\underline{\mathbb{V}}, \, \underline{\epsilon}$); - (b) of IUTT-I, Def. 3.1 is satisfied since by construction $E$ is semistable over $\mathbb{Q}$; - (c) of IUTT-I, Def. 3.1 is satisfied, in view of (B) above and the choice of $\ell$, as soon as $N \gg 0$ is big enough (recall that $\ell > (\log{N})^2$ by construction!), and by the observation that, for $v$ a place of $F = \mathbb{Q}(\sqrt{-1})$, the order of the $v$-adic $q$-parameter of $E$ equals $\mathrm{ord}_v (\Delta)$, which equals $\mathrm{ord}_p(\Delta)$ for $v \mid p > 2$, and $2\cdot\mathrm{ord}_2(\Delta)$ for $v \mid 2$; while $\mathbb{V}_{\mathrm{mod}}^{\mathrm{bad}}$ consists of the primes dividing $\Delta$; - Finally, (d) of IUTT-I, Def. 3.1 is satisfied upon excluding at most four of Masser's examples $E$. (See page 37 of IUTT-IV). **Now**, take $\epsilon := \big( \log{N} \big)^{-2}$ in Theorem 1.10 of IUTT-IV; this is certainly permissible for $N \gg 0$ large enough. *I claim that the conclusion of Theorem 1.10 contradicts (1) as soon as $N \gg 0$ is large enough.* For note that Mochizuki's quantity $\log(\mathfrak{q})$ is precisely $\log{|\Delta|}$ (reference: see e.g. Szpiro's article in the Grothendieck Festschrift, vol. 3); his $\log{(\mathfrak{d}^{\mathrm{tpd}})}$ is zero; his $d_{\mathrm{mod}}$ is $1$; and his $\log{(\mathfrak{f}^{\mathrm{tpd}})}$ is our $\log{N}$. By construction, our choice $\epsilon := \big( \log{N} \big)^{-2}$ then makes $1/\ell < \epsilon$ and $\ell < 3/\epsilon$, whence the finaly display of Theorem 1.10 would yield $$ \frac{1}{6} \log{|\Delta|} \leq (1+29\epsilon) \cdot \log{N} + 2\log{(3\epsilon^{-8})} < \log{N} + 16\log{\log{N}} + 32, $$ where we have used $\epsilon \log{N} = (\log{N})^{-1} < 1$ for $N > 3$, and $2\log{3} < 3$. *The last display contradicts (1) as soon as $N \gg 0$ is big enough.* Thus Masser's examples yield infinitely many counterexamples to Theorem 1.10 of IUTT-IV (as presently written). **Added on 10/15, and revised 10/19.** Mochizuki has commented on the apparent contradiction between Masser's examples and Theorem 1.10: http://www.kurims.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~motizuki/Inter-universal%20Teichmuller%20Theory%20IV%20(comments).pdf He writes that he will revise portions of IUTT-III and IUTT-IV, and will make them available in the near future. (He estimates January 2013 to be a reasonable period). He confirms the following anticipated revision of Theorem 1.10: Take $E/\mathbb{Q}$ is a semistable elliptic curve with [say, for the sake of simplifying] rational $2$-torsion [i.e., a Frey-Hellegouarch curve] of minimal discriminant $\Delta$ and conductor $N$ (square-free). Assume, for simplicity of the statement, that the $2$-adic valuation of $\Delta$ is bounded. For $\epsilon > 0$, let $N_{\epsilon} := \prod_{p \mid N, p < \epsilon^{-1}} p$. Then: $$ \frac{1}{6} \log{|\Delta|} < \big( 1 + \epsilon \big) \log{N} + \Big( \omega(N_{\epsilon}) \cdot \log{(1/\epsilon)} - \log{N_{\epsilon}} \Big) + O\big( \log{(1/\epsilon)} \big), $$ where $\omega(\cdot)$ denotes "number of prime factors." If we take $\epsilon := (\log{N})^{-1}$ and assume $\omega(N_{\epsilon})$ bounded, this would yield $(1/6)\log{|\Delta|} < \log{N} + O(\log{\log{N}})$, just as before. (*Must this be true for $N$ a large enough square-free integer such that the number of primes $< \log{N}$ dividing $N$ is bounded*? I cannot see this at the moment: the Masser and Erdos-Stewart-Tijdeman constructions are based on the pigeonhole principle, and do not seem to be able to exclude the small primes $< \log{N}$. A reminder: in terms of the $abc$-triple, $\Delta$ is *essentially* $(abc)^2$, and $N = \mathrm{rad}(abc)$). A side remark: note that the inverse $1/\ell$ of the prime level from the de Rham-Etale correspondence $(E^{\dagger}, < \ell) \leftrightarrow E[\ell]$ in Mochizuki's "Hodge-Arakelov theory" ultimately figures as the $\epsilon$ in the ABC conjecture. *[I have deleted the remainder of the 10/15 Addendum, since it is now obsolete after Mochizuki's revised comments. ]*