We discuss Manin's conjecture concerning the distribution of rational points of bounded height on Del Pezzo surfaces, and its refinement by Peyre, and explain applications of universal torsors to counting problems. To illustrate the method, we provide a proof of Manin's conjecture for the unique split singular quartic Del Pezzo surface with a singularity of type D4. (Lectures at the summer school "Equidistribution in number theory", Montreal, August 2005)
Let S be a split family of del Pezzo surfaces over a discrete valuation ring such that the general fiber is smooth and the special fiber has ADE-singularities. Let G be the reductive group given by the root system of these singularities. We construct a G-torsor over S whose restriction to the generic fiber is the extension of structure group of the universal torsor. This extends a construction of Friedman and Morgan for individual singular del Pezzo surfaces. In case of very good residue characteristic, this torsor is unique and infinitesimally rigid.
Manin's conjecture for the asymptotic behavior of the number of rational points of bounded height on del Pezzo surfaces can be approached through universal torsors. We prove several auxiliary results for the estimation of the number of integral points in certain regions on universal torsors. As an application, we prove Manin's conjecture for a singular quartic del Pezzo surface.
A conjecture of Manin predicts the distribution of rational points on Fano varieties. We provide a framework for proofs of Manin's conjecture for del Pezzo surfaces over imaginary quadratic fields, using universal torsors. Some of our tools are formulated over arbitrary number fields. As an application, we prove Manin's conjecture over imaginary quadratic fields K for the quartic del Pezzo surface S of singularity type A_3 with five lines given in P^4 by the equations vw - xy = vy + wy + xz = 0.
Manin's conjecture predicts the distribution of rational points on Fano varieties. Using explicit parameterizations of rational points by integral points on universal torsors and lattice-point-counting techniques, it was proved for several specific varieties over $\mathbb{Q}$, in particular del Pezzo surfaces. We show how this method can be implemented over arbitrary number fields $K$, by proving Manin's conjecture for a singular quartic del Pezzo surface of type $\mathbf{A}_3+\mathbf{A}_1$. The parameterization step is treated in high generality with the help of twisted integral models of uni…
We introduce the split torsor method to count rational points of bounded height on Fano varieties. As an application, we prove Manin's conjecture for all nonsplit quartic del Pezzo surfaces of type $\mathbf A_3+\mathbf A_1$ over arbitrary number fields. The counting problem on the split torsor is solved in the framework of o-minimal structures.
We establish Manin's conjecture for a quartic del Pezzo surface split over Q and having a singularity of type A_3 and containing exactly four lines. It is the first example of split singular quartic del Pezzo surface whose universal torsor is not a hypersurface for which Manin's conjecture is proved.
This paper surveys recent progress towards the Manin conjecture for (singular and non-singular) del Pezzo surfaces. To illustrate some of the techniques available, an upper bound of the expected order of magnitude is established for a singular del Pezzo surface of degree four.
This paper establishes the Manin conjecture for a certain non-split singular del Pezzo surface of degree four, via an analysis of the corresponding height zeta function.
We determine which singular del Pezzo surfaces are equivariant compactifications of G_a^2, to assist with proofs of Manin's conjecture for such surfaces. Additionally, we give an example of a singular quartic del Pezzo surface that is an equivariant compactification of a semidirect product of G_a and G_m.
For split smooth Del Pezzo surfaces, we analyse the structure of the effective cone and prove a recursive formula for the value of alpha, appearing in the leading constant as predicted by Peyre of Manin's conjecture on the number of rational points of bounded height on the surface. Furthermore, we calculate alpha for all singular Del Pezzo surfaces of degree at least 3.
An asymptotic formula is established for the number of rational points of bounded height on a non-singular quartic del Pezzo surface with a conic bundle structure.
We study the arithmetic of certain del Pezzo surfaces of degree 2. We produce examples of Brauer-Manin obstruction to the Hasse principle, coming from 2- and 4-torsion elements in the Brauer group.
In this paper we prove that, over a Hilbertian ground field, surfaces with two conic fibrations whose fibres have non-zero intersection product have the Hilbert property. We then give an application of this result, namely the verification of the Hilbert property for certain del Pezzo varieties.
Upper and lower bounds, of the expected order of magnitude, are obtained for the number of rational points of bounded height on any quartic del Pezzo surface over $\mathbb{Q}$ that contains a conic defined over $\mathbb{Q}$.
We give an asymptotic expansion for the density of del Pezzo surfaces of degree four in a certain Birch Swinnerton-Dyer family violating the Hasse principle due to a Brauer-Manin obstruction. Under the assumption of Schinzel's hypothesis and the finiteness of Tate-Shafarevich groups for elliptic curves, we obtain an asymptotic formula for the number of all del Pezzo surfaces in the family, which violate the Hasse principle.
In this article, we consider weak del Pezzo surfaces defined over a finite field, and their associated, singular, anticanonical models. We first define arithmetic types for such surfaces, by considering the Frobenius actions on their Picard groups; this extends the classification of Swinnerton-Dyer and Manin for ordinary del Pezzo surfaces. We also show that some invariants of the surfaces only depend on the above type.Then we study an inverse Galois problem for singular del Pezzo surfaces having degree $3\leq d\leq 6$: we describe which types can occur over a given finite field (of odd charac…
We study the algebraic Brauer classes on open del Pezzo surfaces of degree $4$. I.e., on the complements of geometrically irreducible hyperplane sections of del Pezzo surfaces of degree $4$. We show that the $2$-torsion part is generated by classes of two different types. Moreover, there are two types of $4$-torsion classes. For each type, we discuss methods for the evaluation of such a class at a rational point over a $p$-adic field.
Let $X$ be a minimal del Pezzo surface of degree $2$ over a finite field $\mathbb{F}_q$. The image $Γ$ of the Galois group $\operatorname{Gal}(\overline{\mathbb{F}}_q / \mathbb{F}_q)$ in the group $\operatorname{Aut}(\operatorname{Pic}(\overline{X}))$ is a cyclic subgroup of the Weyl group $W(E_7)$. There are $60$ conjugacy classes of cyclic subgroups in $W(E_7)$ and $18$ of them correspond to minimal del Pezzo surfaces. In this paper we study which possibilities of these subgroups for minimal del Pezzo surfaces of degree $2$ can be achieved for given $q$.
We prove Manin's conjecture for a del Pezzo surface of degree six which has one singularity of type $\mathbf{A}_2$. Moreover, we achieve a meromorphic continuation and explicit expression of the associated height zeta function.
For any number field k, upper bounds are established for the number of k-rational points of bounded height on non-singular del Pezzo surfaces defined over k, which are equipped with suitable conic bundle structures over k.
We establish a measure which describes in a precise way the local asymptotic distribution of rational points outside the locally accumulating subvarieties around a general rational point on a del Pezzo surface of degree 6 in the sense of diophantine approximation.
