To determine the global root number of an elliptic curve defined over a number field, one needs to understand all the local root numbers. These have been classified except at places above 2, and in this paper we attempt to complete the classification. At places above 2, we express the local root numbers in terms of norm residue symbols (resp. root numbers of explicit 1-dimensional characters) in case when wild inertia acts through a cyclic (resp. quaternionic) quotient.
We prove that any prime $p$ satisfying $ϕ(p-1)\leq (p-1)/4$ contains two consecutive quadratic non-residues modulo $p$ neither of which is a primitive root modulo $p$.
Let $p$ be a prime and let $g(p)$ be the least primitive root modulo $p$. We prove that for any $ε>0$ and $p$ large enough the bound \begin{align} g(p)\ll p^{\frac{1}{4\sqrt{e}}+ε} \nonumber \end{align} holds for most prime $p$ such that $p-1$ does not have small prime factors, but $2$. We also give an explicit description of the exceptional set.
Let $q\geq 1$ be any integer and let $ ε\in [\frac{1}{11}, \frac{1}{2})$ be a given real number. In this short note, we prove that for all primes $p$ satisfying $$ p\equiv 1\pmod{q}, \quad \log\log p > \frac{\log 6.83}{\frac{1}{2}-ε} \mbox{ and } \frac{ϕ(p-1)}{p-1} \leq \frac{1}{2} - ε, $$ there exists a quadratic non-residue $g$ which is not a primitive root modulo $p$ such that $gcd\left(g, \frac{p-1}{q}\right) = 1$.
Fix m >= 1 and let E be an elliptic curve over Q with complex multiplication. We formulate conjectures on the density of primes p (congruent to one modulo m) for which the pth Fourier coefficient of E is an mth power modulo p; often these densities differ from the naive expectation of 1/m. We also prove our conjectures for m dividing the number of roots of unity lying in the CM field of E; the most involved case is m=4 and complex multiplication by Q(i).
A formula for the sum of quadratic residues modulus a prime $p=4n-1$ is studied. We relate some terms on this formula with roots of quadratics and provide an exhaustive analysis of new concepts based on these roots. A number of formulas for the sum of the quadratic residues are obtained. We finalize the paper by obtaining several identities involving $h(-p)$ the class number of the imaginary quadratic field $\mathbb Q(\sqrt{-p}).$
Given an elliptic curve $E$ in Legendre form $y^2 = x(x - 1)(x - λ)$ over the fraction field of a Henselian ring $R$ of mixed characteristic $(0, 2)$, we present an algorithm for determining a semistable model of $E$ over $R$ which depends only on the valuation of $λ$. We provide several examples along with an easy corollary concerning $2$-torsion.
Issai Schur once asked if it was possible to determine a bound, preferably using elementary methods, such that for all prime numbers p greater than the bound, the greatest number of consecutive quadratic non-residues modulo p is always less than the square root of p. This paper uses elementary methods to prove that 13 is the only prime number for which the greatest number of consecutive quadratic non-residues modulo p exceeds the square root of p.
Complete residue systems play an integral role in abstract algebra and number theory, and a description is typically found in any number theory textbook. This note provides a concise overview of complete residue systems, including a robust definition, several well-known results, a proof to the converse of a well-known theorem, ancillary results pertaining to an application arising from the study of the roots of nonnegative matrices, and extends our knowledge of complete residue systems in relation to complete sets of roots of unity.
We give a sufficient and necessary condition for a p-adic integer to have p-th root in the ring of p-adic integers. The same condition holds clearly for residues modulo p^k. We give a proof that Fermat's last theorem is false for p-adic integers and for residues mod p^k.
Let $f(x)$ be an irreducible polynomial with integer coefficients of degree at least two. Hooley proved that the roots of the congruence equation $f(x)\equiv 0\mod n$ is uniformly distributed. as a parallel of Hooley's theorem under ideal theoretical setting, we prove the uniformity of the distribution of residues of an algebraic number modulo degree one ideals. Then using this result we show that the roots of a system of polynomial congruences are uniformly distributed. Finally, the distribution of digits of n-adic expansions of an algebraic number is discussed.
We study the equidistribution of multiplicatively defined sets, such as the squarefree integers, quadratic non-residues or primitive roots, in sets which are described in an additive way, such as sumsets or Hilbert cubes. In particular, we show that if one fixes any proportion less than $40\%$ of the digits of all numbers of a given binary bit length, then the remaining set still has the asymptotically expected number of squarefree integers. Next, we investigate the distribution of primitive roots modulo a large prime $p$, establishing a new upper bound on the largest dimension of a Hilbert cu…
We investigate, using the weighted linear sieve, the distribution of almost-primes among the residue classes (mod p) that generate the multiplicative group of reduced residue classes. We are concerned with finding an upper bound for the least prime or almost-prime primitive root (mod p) that holds uniformly for all p, analogous to Linnik's Theorem on a uniform upper bound for the least prime in a single arithmetic progression (mod p).
We give a new elementary proof of the fact that the value of the least $k^{th}$ power non-residue in an arithmetic progression $\{bn+c\}_{n=0,1...}$, over a prime field $\F_p$, is bounded by $7/\sqrt{5} \cdot b \cdot \sqrt{p/k} + 4b + c$. Our proof is inspired by the so called \emph{Stepanov method}, which involves bounding the size of the solution set of a system of equations by constructing a non-zero low degree auxiliary polynomial that vanishes with high multiplicity on the solution set. The proof uses basic algebra and number theory along with a determinant identity that generalizes both …
We define a new congruence relation on the set of integers, leading to a group similar to the multiplicative group of integers modulo $n$. It makes use of a symmetry almost omnipresent in modular multiplications and halves the number of residue classes. Using it, we are able to give an elegant description of some results due to Carl Schick, others are reduced to well-known theorems from algebra and number theory. Many concepts from number theory such as quadratic residues and primitive roots are equally applicable. It brings noticeable advantages in studying powers of odd primes, and in partic…
In this paper, we show that an action on the set of elliptic curves with j= 1728 preserves a certain kind of symmetry on the local root number of Hecke characters attached to such elliptic curves. As a consequence, we give results on the distribution of the root numbers and their average of the aforementioned Hecke characters.
For every nonconstant monic polynomial $g \in \mathbb{Z}[X]$, let $\mathfrak{M}(g)$ be the set of positive integers $m$ for which there exist an integer linear recurrence $(s_n)_{n \geq 0}$ having characteristic polynomial $g$ and a positive integer $M$ such that $(s_n)_{n \geq 0}$ has exactly $m$ distinct residues modulo $M$. Dubickas and Novikas proved that $\mathfrak{M}(X^2 - X - 1) = \mathbb{N}$. We study $\mathfrak{M}(g)$ in the case in which $g$ is divisible by a monic quadratic polynomial $f \in \mathbb{Z}[X]$ with roots $α,β$ such that $αβ= \pm 1$ and $α/ β$ is not a root of unity. We …
In a previous article, the author proves that the value of the root number varies in a non-isotrivial family of elliptic curves indexed by one parameter $t$ running through $\mathbb{Q}$. However, a well-known example of Washington has root number $-1$ for every fiber when $t$ runs through $\mathbb{Z}$. Such examples are rare since, as proven in this paper, the root number of the integer fibers varies for a large class of families of elliptic curves. Our results depends on the squarefree conjecture and Chowla's conjecture, and are unconditional in many cases.
By considering a one-parameter family of elliptic curves defined over $\mathbb{Q}$, we might ask ourselves if there is any bias in the distribution (or parity) of the root numbers at each specialization. From the work of Helfgott, we know (at least conjecturally) that the average root number of an elliptic curve defined over $\mathbb{Q}(T)$ is zero as soon as there is a place of multiplicative reduction over $\mathbb{Q}(T)$ other than $-$deg. Recently, Helfgott's work was extended by Desjardins, where she relaxes some of Helfgott's hypotheses and is able to provide unconditional results on the…
Given an elliptic curve over a field of characteristic different from 2,3, its discriminant defines a $μ_{12}$-torsor over the field. In this paper, we give an explicit description of this $μ_{12}$-torsor in terms of the 3-torsion points and of the 4-torsion points on the given elliptic curve. %In addition, we show that such a description involves the Weil pairing in a certain way. As an application, we generalize a result of Coates on the 12-th root of the discriminant of an elliptic curve.
The purpose of the paper is to complete several global and local results concerning parity of ranks of elliptic curves. Primarily, we show that the Shafarevich-Tate conjecture implies the parity conjecture for all elliptic curves over number fields, give a formula for local and global root numbers of elliptic curves and complete the proof of a conjecture of Kramer and Tunnell in characteristic 0. The method is to settle the outstanding local formulae by deforming from local fields to totally real number fields and then using global parity results.
We give an explicit description of the behaviour of the root number in the family given by twists of an elliptic curve $E$ by the rational values of a polynomial $f(T)$. In particular, we give a criterion (on $f$ depending on $E$) for the family to have a constant root number over $\mathbb{Q}$. This completes a work of Rohrlich: we detail the behaviour of the root number when $E$ has bad reduction over $\mathbb{Q}^{ab}$ and we treat the cases $j(E)=0,1728$ which were not considered previously.
We consider the problem of finding $1$-parameter families of elliptic curves whose root number does not average to zero as the parameter varies in $\mathbb{Z}$. We classify all such families when the degree of the coefficients (in the parameter $t$) is less than or equal to $2$ and we compute the rank over $\mathbb{Q}(t)$ of all these families. Also, we compute explicitly the average of the root numbers for some of these families highlighting some special cases. Finally, we prove some results on the possible values average root numbers can take, showing for example that all rational number in …
Let $E/\mathbb{Q}$ be an elliptic curve. For a prime $p$ of good reduction, let $r(E,p)$ be the smallest non-negative integer that gives the $x$-coordinate of a point of maximal order in the group $E(\mathbb{F}_p)$. We prove unconditionally that $r(E,p)> 0.72\log\log p$ for infinitely many $p$, and $r(E,p) > 0.36 \log p$ under the assumption of the Generalized Riemann Hypothesis. This can be viewed as elliptic curve analogues of classical lower bounds on the least primitive root of a prime.
In this work, we consider the rational points on elliptic curves over finite fields F_{p}. We give results concerning the number of points on the elliptic curve y^2{\equiv}x^3+a^3(mod p)where p is a prime congruent to 1 modulo 6. Also some results are given on the sum of abscissae of these points. We give the number of solutions to y^2{\equiv}x^3+a^3(modp), also given in ([1], p.174), this time by means of the quadratic residue character, in a different way, by using the cubic residue character. Using the Weil conjecture, one can generalize the results concerning the number of points in F_{p} …
We study the asymptotics of the average number of squares (or quadratic residues) in Z_n and Z_n^*. Similar analyses are performed for cubes, square roots of 0 and 1, and cube roots of 0 and 1.
In this article we perform an extensive study of the spaces of automorphic forms for GL(2) of weight two and level N, for N an ideal in the ring of integers of the quartic CM field generated by the twelfth roots of unity. This study is conducted through the computation of the group cohomology of the congruence subgroup of upper triangular matrices modulo N, and the corresponding Hecke action which this space admits. Combining this Hecke data with the Faltings-Serre method for proving equivalence of Galois representations, we are able to provide the first known examples of modular elliptic curv…
For any positive integer $n$ along with parameters $α$ and $ν$, we define and investigate $α$-shifted, $ν$-offset, floor sequences of length $n$. We find exact and asymptotic formulas for the number of integers in such a sequence that are in a particular congruence class. As we will see, these quantities are related to certain problems of counting lattice points contained in regions of the plane bounded by conic sections. We give specific examples for the number of lattice points contained in elliptical regions and make connections to a few well-known rings of integers, including the Gaussian …
Given an elliptic curve $E$ over a local field $K$ with residue characteristic $3$, we investigate the action of the absolute Galois group of $K$ in the case of potentially good reduction. In particular the only not completely known case is that of the $\ell$-adic Galois representation attached to an elliptic curve such that the image of inertia is non-cyclic, and isomorphic to $C_3 \rtimes C_4$. In this work we describe such a representation explicitly.
Rizzo showed that the family of elliptic curves $\mathcal{W}(t) :y^2=x^3+tx^2-(t+3)x+1$, a well-known example of Washington, has root number $W(\mathcal{W}(t))=-1$ for all $t\in\mathbb{Z}$. In this paper we generalize this example and identify the families of small degree on which this phenomenon happens. Motivated by results from David, Bettin and Delaunay (arXiv:1612.03095) and Desjardins (arXiv:1810.12787), we study in detail the two families $\mathcal{F}_s(t):y^2=x^3+3tx^2+3sx+st$ and $\mathcal{L}_{w,s,v}(t): wy^2=x^3+3(t^2+v)x^2+3sx+s(t^2+v)$ and describe necessary and sufficient conditio…
Let K be a number field, and let E be an elliptic curve over K. A famous result by Faltings of 1983 can be reformulated for elliptic curves as follows: if S is a set of primes of good reduction for E having density one, then the K-isogeny class of E is determined by the function which maps a prime in S to the size of the group of points over the residue field. In this paper, we prove that it suffices to look at the radical of the size.
The parity of the analytic rank of an elliptic curve is given by the root number in the functional equation L(E,s). Fixing an elliptic curve over any number field and considering the family of its quadratic twists, it is natural to ask what the average analytic rank in this family is. A lower bound on this number is given by the average root number. In this paper, we investigate the root number in such families and derive an asymptotic formula for the proportion of curves in the family that have even rank. Our results are then used to support a conjecture about the average analytic rank in thi…
We conjecture that, for a fixed prime $p$, rational elliptic curves with higher rank tend to have more points mod $p$. We show that there is an analogous bias for modular forms with respect to root numbers, and conjecture that the order of the rank bias for elliptic curves is greater than that of the root number bias for modular forms.
A \emph{repdigit} is a natural number greater than 10 which has all of its base-10 digits the same. In this paper we find all examples of two repdigits adding to a square. The proofs lead to interesting questions about consecutive quadratic residues and non-residues, and provide an elementary application of elliptic curves.
The {\em Liouville function} is defined by $\gl(n):=(-1)^{Ω(n)}$ where $Ω(n)$ is the number of prime divisors of $n$ counting multiplicity. Let $\z_m:=e^{2πi/m}$ be a primitive $m$--th root of unity. As a generalization of Liouville's function, we study the functions $\gl_{m,k}(n):=\z_m^{kΩ(n)}$. Using properties of these functions, we give a weak equidistribution result for $Ω(n)$ among residue classes. More formally, we show that for any positive integer $m$, there exists an $A>0$ such that for all $j=0,1,...,m-1,$ we have $$#\{n\leq x:Ω(n)\equiv j (\bmod m)\}=\frac{x}{m}+O(\frac{x}{\log^A x…
The parity conjecture has a long and distinguished history. It gives a way of predicting the existence of points of infinite order on elliptic curves without having to construct them, and is responsible for a wide range of unexplained arithmetic phenomena. It is one of the main consequences of the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture and lets one calculate the parity of the rank of an elliptic curve using root numbers. In this handbook, we explain how to use local root numbers of elliptic curves to realise some of these phenomena, with an emphasis on explicit calculations. The text is aimed at…
Let E be a one-parameter family of elliptic curves over Q. We prove that the average root number is zero for a large class of families of elliptic curves of fairly general type. Furthermore, we show that any family E with at least one point of multiplicative reduction over Q(t) has average root number 0, provided that two classical arithmetical conjectures hold for two polynomials constructed explicitly in terms of E. The behaviour of the root number in any family E without multiplicative reduction over Q(t) is shown to be rather regular and non-random; we give expressions for the average root…
We study the distribution of a subclass congruent elliptic curve $E^{(n)}: y^2=x^3-n^2x$, where $n$ is congruent to $1\pmod 8$ with all prime factors congruent to $1\pmod 4$. We prove an independence of residue symbol property. Consequently we get the distribution of rank zero such $E^{(n)}$ with $2$-primary part of Shafarevich-Tate group isomorphic to $\big(\mathbb Z /2\mathbb Z\big)^2$. We also obtain a lower bound of the number of such $E^{(n)}$ with rank zero and $2$-primary part of Shafarevich-Tate group isomorphic to $\big(\mathbb Z /2\mathbb Z\big)^{4}$.
Given an elliptic curve E over a field of positive characteristic p, we consider how to efficiently determine whether E is ordinary or supersingular. We analyze the complexity of several existing algorithms and then present a new approach that exploits structural differences between ordinary and supersingular isogeny graphs. This yields a simple algorithm that, given E and a suitable non-residue in F_p^2, determines the supersingularity of E in O(n^3 log^2 n) time and O(n) space, where n=O(log p). Both these complexity bounds are significant improvements over existing methods, as we demonstrat…
Conjecturally, the parity of the Mordell-Weil rank of an elliptic curve over a number field K is determined by its root number. The root number is a product of local root numbers, so the rank modulo 2 is conjecturally the sum over all places of K of a function of elliptic curves over local fields. This note shows that there can be no analogue for the rank modulo 3, 4 or 5, or for the rank itself. In fact, standard conjectures for elliptic curves imply that there is no analogue modulo n for any n>2, so this is purely a parity phenomenon.
