We study the evaluation maps given by elements of the Brauer group of varieties over local fields. We show constancy of the aforementioned maps in several interesting cases.
We use recent advances in the local evaluation of Brauer elements to study the role played by {\it odd} torsion elements of the Brauer group in the arithmetic of diagonal quartic surfaces over {\it arbitrary} number fields. We show that over a local field if the order of the Brauer element is odd and coprime to the residue characteristic then the evaluation map it induces on the local points is constant. Over number fields we give a sufficient condition on the coefficients of the equation, which is mild and easy to check, so that the odd torsion does not obstruct weak approximation. We also no…
Transcendental Brauer elements are notoriously difficult to compute. Work of Wittenberg, and later, Ieronymou, gives a method for computing 2-torsion transcendental classes on surfaces that have a genus 1 fibration with rational 2-torsion in the Jacobian fibration. We use ideas from a descent paper of Poonen and Schaefer to remove this assumption on the rational 2-torsion.
We exhibit central simple algebras over the function field of a diagonal quartic surface over the complex numbers that represent the 2-torsion part of its Brauer group. We investigate whether the 2-primary part of the Brauer group of a diagonal quartic surface over a number field is algebraic and give sufficient conditions for this to be the case. In the last section we give an obstruction to weak approximation due to a transendental class on a specific diagonal quartic surface, an obstruction which cannot be explained by the algebraic Brauer group which in this case is just the constant algeb…
We consider the problem of counting the number of rational points of bounded height in the zero-loci of Brauer group elements on semi-simple algebraic groups over number fields. We obtain asymptotic formulae for the counting problem for wonderful compactifications using the spectral theory of automorphic forms. Applications include asymptotic formulae for the number of matrices over Q whose determinant is a sum of two squares. These results provide a positive answer to some cases of a question of Serre concerning such counting problems.
We wish to give a short elementary proof of S. Saito's result that the Brauer-Manin obstruction for zero-cycles of degree 1 is the only one for curves, supposing the finiteness of the Tate-Shafarevich-group $\sha^1(A)$ of the Jacobian variety. In fact we show that we only need a conjecturally finite part of the Brauer-group for this obstruction to be the only one. We also comment on the situation in higher dimensions
We study Kummer varieties attached to 2-coverings of abelian varieties of arbitrary dimension. Over a number field we show that the subgroup of odd order elements of the Brauer group does not obstruct the Hasse principle. Sufficient conditions for the triviality of the Brauer group are given, which allow us to give an example of a Kummer K3 surface of geometric Picard rank 17 over the rationals with trivial Brauer group. We establish the non-emptyness of the Brauer--Manin set of everywhere locally soluble Kummer varieties attached to 2-coverings of products of hyperelliptic Jacobians with larg…
For a homogeneous space X of a connected algebraic group G (with connected stabilizers) over a field k of characteristic zero, we construct a canonical complex of Galois modules of length 3 and a canonical isomorphism between an hypercohomology group of this complex and an explicit subgroup of the Brauer group of X. This result is obtained as a consequence of a formula describing the "algebraic Brauer group of a torsor", and it generalizes recent results by Borovoi and van Hamel, by considering non-linear groups G and by taking into account some transcendental elements in the Brauer group of X…
We relate the Brauer group of a smooth variety over a p-adic field to the geometry of the special fibre of a regular model, using the purity theorem in étale cohomology. As an illustration, we describe how the Brauer group of a smooth del Pezzo surface is determined by the singularity type of its reduction. We then relate the evaluation of an element of the Brauer group to the existence of points on certain torsors over the special fibre; we use this to describe situations when the evaluation is constant, and situations when the evaluation is surjective. In the latter case, we describe how thi…
We show that Brauer classes of a locally solvable degree 4 del Pezzo surface X are vertical for some projection away from a plane f: X ---> P^1, i.e., that every Brauer class is obtained by pullback from an element of Br k(P^1). As a consequence, we prove that a Brauer class does not obstruct the existence of a rational point if and only if there exists a fiber of f that is locally solvable. The proof is constructive and gives a simple and practical algorithm, distinct from that in [BBFL07], for computing all classes in the Brauer group of X (modulo constant algebras).
The Brauer-Manin obstruction is used to explain the failure of the local-global principle for algebraic varieties. In 1999 Skorobogatov gave the first example of a variety that does not satisfy the local-global principle which is not explained by the Brauer-Manin obstruction. He did so by applying the Brauer-Manin obstruction to étale covers of the variety, and thus defining a finer obstruction. In 2008 Poonen gave the first example of failure of the local-global principle which cannot be explained for by Skorobogatov's étale-Brauer obstruction. However, Poonen's construction was not accompani…
We investigate the question of whether the existence of a family of local zero-cycles of degree $d$ orthogonal to the Brauer group implies the non-emptiness of the Brauer-Manin set for certain varieties. We provide various examples of Brauer-Manin obstruction to the existence of zero-cycles of appropriate degrees.
We give an algorithm to explicitly determine all elements of the $q$-torsion (for $q$ an odd prime) of the Brauer group of an elliptic curve over any base field of characteristic different from $q$, containing a primitive $q$-th root of unity. These elements of the Brauer group are given as tensor products of symbol algebras over the function field of the elliptic curve. We give sufficient conditions to determine if the Brauer classes that arise are trivial. Using our algorithm, we derive an upper bound on the symbol length of the prime torsion of $\mathrm{Br}(E)/\mathrm{Br}(k)$.
We analyze the Brauer-Manin obstruction to rational points on the K3 surfaces over $\mathbb{Q}$ given by double covers of $\mathbb{P}^2$ ramified over a diagonal sextic. After finding an explicit set of generators for the geometric Picard group of such a surface, we find two types of infinite families of counterexamples to the Hasse principle explained by the algebraic Brauer-Manin obstruction. The first type of obstruction comes from a quaternion algebra, and the second type comes from a 3-torsion element of the Brauer group, which gives an affirmative answer to a question asked by Ieronymou …
En utilisant un théorème de Gabber sur les altérations, on démontre un résultat décrivant la partie de torsion première à $p$ du groupe de Brauer non ramifié d'une variété $V$ lisse et géométriquement intègre sur un corps global de caractéristique $p$ au moyen de l'évaluation des éléments de $\Br V$ sur ses points locaux. Using a theorem of Gabber on alterations, we prove a result describing the prime-to-$p$ torsion part of the unramified Brauer group of a smooth and geometrically integral variety $V$ over a global field of characteristic $p$ by evaluating the elements of $\Br V$ at its local …
For a prime $p$, we study subgroups of order p of the Brauer group Br(S) of a general complex polarized K3 surface of degree 2d, generalizing earlier work of van Geemen. These groups correspond to sublattices of index p of the transcendental lattice T_S of S; we classify these lattices up to isomorphism using Nikulin's discriminant form technique. We then study geometric realizations of p-torsion Brauer elements as Brauer-Severi varieties in a few cases via projective duality. We use one of these constructions for an arithmetic application, giving new kinds of counter-examples to weak approxim…
This is a textbook on arithmetic geometry with special regard to unramified Brauer groups of algebraic varieties. The topics include Galois cohomology, Brauer groups, obstructions to stable rationality, arithmetic and geometry of quadrics, Weil restriction of scalars, algebraic tori, an example of a stably rational non-rational variety, Brauer-Manin obstruction. All material is split into locally trivial problems with detailed hints.
A Brauer pair is a pair (X, α) where X is a quasi-projective variety over an algebraically closed field and α is an element in the 2-torsion part of the Brauer group of the function field of X. A Brauer pair (Y, α) is a terminal pair if the Brauer discrepancy of (Y, α) is positive. We show that given a Brauer pair (X, α), there is a terminal pair (Y, α) with a birational morphism Y -> X. In short, any Brauer pair admits a terminal resolution.
We study the geometry of exceptional loci of birational contractions of hyper-Kähler fourfolds that are of K3$^{[2]}$-type. These loci are conic bundles over K3 surfaces and we determine their classes in the Brauer group. For this we use the results on twisted sheaves on K3 surfaces, on contractions and on the corresponding Heegner divisors. For a general K3 surface of fixed degree there are three (T-equivalence) classes of order two Brauer group elements. The elements in exactly two of these classes are represented by conic bundles on such fourfolds. We also discuss various examples of such c…
Let $k$ be a field that is finitely generated over the field of rational numbers and $Br(k)$ the Brauer group of $k$. Let $X$ be an absolutely irreducible smooth projective variety over $k$, let $Br(X)$ be the cohomological Brauer-Grothendieck group of $X$ and $Br_0(X)$ the image of $Br(k)$ in $Br(X)$. We write $Br_1(X)$ for the subgroup of elements in $Br(X)$ that become trivial after replacing $k$ by its algebraic closure. We prove that $Br(X)/Br_0(X)$ is finite if $X$ is a $K3$ surface. When $X$ is (a principal homogeneous space of) an abelian variety over $k$ then we prove that $Br(X)/Br_1…
We prove that the Brauer group of TMF is isomorphic to the Brauer group of the derived moduli stack of elliptic curves. Then, we compute the local Brauer group, i.e., the subgroup of the Brauer group of elements trivialized by some étale cover of the moduli stack, up to a finite 2-torsion group.
We show that if over some number field there exists a certain diagonal plane cubic curve that is locally solvable everywhere, but that does not have points over any cubic galois extension of the number field, then the algebraic part of the Brauer-Manin obstruction is not the only obstruction to the Hasse principle for K3 surfaces.
Merkurjev's theorem--the statement that the 2-torsion of the Brauer group is represented by Clifford algebras of quadratic forms--is in general false when the base is no longer a field. The work of Parimala, Scharlau, and Sridharan proves the existence of smooth complete curves over local fields, over which Merkurjev's theorem is equivalent to the existence of a rational theta characteristic. Here, we prove that for smooth curves over a local field or surfaces over a finite field, replacing the Witt group by the total Witt group of all line bundle-valued quadratic forms recovers Merkurjev's th…
We define a generalization of the Brauer group $\operatorname{H}_\mathrm{B}^{n}(X)$ for an equi-dimensional scheme $X$ and $n>0$. In the case where $X$ is the spectrum of a local ring of a smooth algebra over a discrete valuation ring, $\operatorname{H}_\mathrm{B}^{n}(X)$ agrees with the étale motivic cohomology $\operatorname{H}^{n+1}_{\mathrm{\acute{e}t}}\left(X, \mathbb{Z}(n-1)\right)$. We prove (a part of) the Gersten-type conjecture for the generalized Brauer group for a local ring of a smooth algebra over a mixed characteristic discrete valuation ring and an isomorphism $ \operatorname{H…
A purity conjecture due to Grothendieck and Auslander--Goldman predicts that the Brauer group of a regular scheme does not change after removing a closed subscheme of codimension $\ge 2$. The combination of several works of Gabber settles the conjecture except for some cases that concern $p$-torsion Brauer classes in mixed characteristic $(0, p)$. We establish the remaining cases by using the tilting equivalence for perfectoid rings. To reduce to perfectoids, we control the change of the Brauer group of the punctured spectrum of a local ring when passing to a finite flat cover.
We study the integral Hasse principle for affine varieties of the form ax^2+y^2+z^2-xyz=m ,using Brauer-Manin obstruction, and we produce examples whose Brauer groups include 4-torsion elements .We will construct their explicit representatives and compute local invariants in special places.
Recently Dasheng Wei proved that the Brauer-Manin obstruction is the only obstruction to the Hasse principle for 0-cycles of degree 1 on some fibrations over the projective line defined by bi-cyclic normic equations. In the present paper, we prove the exactness of the global-to-local sequence for Chow groups of 0-cycles of such varieties, which signifies that the Brauer-Manin obstruction is also the only obstruction to weak approximation for 0-cycles of arbitrary degree. Our main theorem also generalizes several existing results.
We attach to any commutative ring R a subgroup of the Brauer group of R, called the Brauer-Galois group of R. Its elements are the classes of the Azumaya R-algebras which can be represented, via Brauer equivalence, by a Galois extension of R. We compute this group for some particular commutative fields.
We classify absolutely split vector bundles on proper $k$-schemes. More precise, we prove that the closed points of the Picard scheme are in one-to-one correspondence with indecomposable absolutely split vector bundles. Furthermore, we apply the obtained results to study the geometry of (generalized) Brauer--Severi varieties.
Let F : X --> X be a morphism of a variety defined over a number field K, let V be a K-subvariety of X, and let O_F(P)= {F^n(P) :n=0,1,2,...} be the orbit of a point P in X(K). We describe a local-global principle for the intersection of V and O_F(P). This principle may be viewed as a dynamical analog of the Brauer-Manin obstruction. We show that the rational points of V(K) are Brauer--Manin unobstructed for power maps on P^2 in two cases: (1) V is a translate of a torus. (2) V is a line and P has a preperiodic coordinate. A key tool in the proofs is the classical Bang-Zsigmondy theorem on pri…
We study a new object that can be attached to an abelian variety or a complex torus: the invariant Brauer group, as recently defined by Yang Cao. Over the field of complex numbers this is an elementary abelian 2-group with an explicit upper bound on the rank. We exhibit many cases in which the invariant Brauer group is zero, and construct complex abelian varieties in every dimension starting with 2, both simple and non-simple, with invariant Brauer group of order 2. We also address the situation in finite characteristic and over non-closed fields.
Let S be a complex Enriques surface; it is the quotient of a K3 surface X by a fixed-point-free involution. The Brauer group Br(S) has a unique nonzero element. We describe its pull-back in Br(X), and show that the surfaces S for which it is trivial form a countable union of hypersurfaces in the moduli space of Enriques surfaces.
In 2010, Poonen gave the first example of failure of the local-global principle that cannot be explained by Skorobogatov's étale Brauer-Manin obstruction. Motivated by this example, we show that the Brauer-Manin obstruction detects non-existence of rational points on a sufficiently fine Zariski open cover of any variety over an imaginary quadratic or totally real field. We provide some evidence for why this is expected to happen more generally over any number field, some of which relates to the section conjecture in anabelian geometry. We then prove a result about the behavior of the étale Bra…
Let T be a torus (not assumed to be split) over a field F, and denote by $_n{H^{2}_{et}(X,Gm)}$ the subgroup of elements of exponent dividing n in the cohomological Brauer group of a scheme X over the field F. We provide conditions on X and n for which the pull-back homomorphism $_n{H^2_{et}(T,Gm)}\to_n{H^2_{et}(X\times T,Gm)}$ is an isomorphism. We apply this to compute the Brauer group of some reductive groups and of non singular affine quadrics. Apart from this, we investigate the p-torsion of the Azumaya algebra defined Brauer group of a regular affine scheme over a field F of characterist…
Brauer group of varieties over local fields of finite characteristic
University of California Santa Barbara(加州大学圣塔芭芭拉分校);Institute of Mathematical Sciences, A CI of Homi Bhabha National Institute(马哈拉施特拉邦数学科学研究所,霍米·巴巴国家研究所成员机构)
We study the subgroup B_0(G) of H^2(G,Q/Z) consisting of all elements which have trivial restrictions to every Abelian subgroup of G. The group B_0(G) serves as the simplest nontrivial obstruction to stable rationality of algebraic varieties V/G where V is a faithful complex linear representation of the group G. We prove that B_0(G) is trivial for finite simple groups of Lie type A_{\ell}.
We consider the Brauer-Manin obstruction to the existence of integral points on affine surfaces defined by $x^2 - ay^2 = P(t)$ over a number field. We enumerate the possibilities for the Brauer groups of certain families of such surfaces, and show that in contrast to their smooth compactifications, the Brauer groups of these affine varieties need not be generated by cyclic (e.g. quaternion) algebras. Concrete examples are given of such surfaces over $\mathbb{Q}$ which have solutions in $\mathbb{Z}_{p}$ for all $p$ and solutions in $\mathbb{Q}$, but for which the failure of the integral Hasse p…
We study local-global principles for zero-cycles on K3 surfaces defined over number fields. We follow an idea of Liang to use the trivial fibration over the projective line.
In this paper we introduce two new ways to split ramification of Brauer classes on surfaces using stacks. Each splitting method gives rise to a new moduli space of twisted stacky vector bundles. By studying the structure of these spaces we prove new results on the standard period-index conjecture. The first yields new bounds on the period-index relation for classes on curves over higher local fields, while the second can be used to relate the Hasse principle for forms of moduli spaces of stable vector bundles on pointed curves over global fields to the period-index problem for Brauer groups of…
We compute the Brauer group of the moduli stack of elliptic curves over the integers, localizations of the integers, finite fields of odd characteristic, and algebraically closed fields of characteristic not $2$. The methods involved include the use of the parameter space of Legendre curves and the moduli stack of curves with full (naive) level $2$ structure, the study of the descent spectral sequence in étale cohomology and the Leray spectral sequence in fppf cohomology, the computation of the group cohomology of $S_3$ in a certain integral representation, the classification of cubic Galois e…
In this paper, we study Azumaya algebras and Brauer groups in derived algebraic geometry. We establish various fundamental facts about Brauer groups in this setting, and we provide a computational tool, which we use to compute the Brauer group in several examples. In particular, we show that the Brauer group of the sphere spectrum vanishes, and we use this to prove two uniqueness theorems for the stable homotopy category. Our key technical results include the local geometricity, in the sense of Artin n-stacks, of the moduli space of perfect modules over a smooth and proper algebra, the étale l…
We consider the problem of counting the number of varieties in a family over a number field which contain a rational point. In particular, for products of Brauer-Severi varieties and closely related counting functions associated to Brauer group elements. Using harmonic analysis on toric varieties, we provide a positive answer to a question of Serre on such counting functions in some cases. We also formulate some conjectures on generalisations of Serre's problem.
We show that transcendental elements of the Brauer group of an algebraic surface can obstruct the Hasse principle. We construct a general K3 surface X of degree 2 over Q, together with a two-torsion Brauer class A that is unramified at every finite prime, but ramifies at real points of X. Motivated by Hodge theory, the pair (X,A) is constructed from a double cover of P^2 x P^2 ramified over a hypersurface of bi-degree (2,2).
Let Y be a real Enriques surface, _2Br(Y) the subgroup of elements of order 2 of Br(Y), and s, s_{or}, and s_{nor} the number of all connected, connected orientable, and connected non-orientable components of Y(R) respectively. Using universal covering K3-surface X of Y, we connect dim _2Br(Y) with the s, s_{or} and s_{nor}. As a geometric corollary of our considerations, we show that s \le 6 and s_{nor} \le 4.
In this paper, we study the Brauer-Manin pairing of smooth proper varieties over local fields, and determine the $p$-adic part of the kernel of one side. We also compute the $A_0$ of a potentially rational surface which splits over a wildly ramified extension.
We prove duality theorems for the {é}tale cohomology of logarithmic Hodge-Witt sheaves and split tori on smooth curves over a local field of positive characteristic. As an application, we obtain a description of the Brauer group of the function fields of curves over local fields in terms of the characters of the idele groups. We also show that the classical Brauer-Manin pairing between the Brauer and Picard groups of smooth projective curves over local fields has analogues for arbitrary smooth curves, smooth projective curves with modulus and singular projective curves over such fields.
An integer may be represented by a quadratic form over each ring of p-adic integers and over the reals without being represented by this quadratic form over the integers. More generally, such failure of a local-global principle may occur for the representation of one integral quadratic form by another integral quadratic form. We show that many such examples may be accounted for by a Brauer-Manin obstruction for the existence of integral points on schemes defined over the integers. For several types of homogeneous spaces of linear algebraic groups, this obstruction is shown to be the only obstr…