In this paper, we consider modular forms for finite index subgroups of the modular group whose Fourier coefficients are algebraic. It is well-known that the Fourier coefficients of any holomorphic modular form for a congruence subgroup (with algebraic coefficients) have bounded denominators. It was observed by Atkin and Swinnerton-Dyer that this is no longer true for modular forms for noncongruence subgroups and they pointed out that unbounded denominator property is a clear distinction between modular forms for noncongruence and congruence modular forms. It is an open question whether genuine noncongruence modular forms (with algebraic coefficients) always satisfy the unbounded denominator property. Here, we give a partial positive answer to the above open question by constructing special finite index subgroups of SL_2(Z) called character groups and discuss the properties of modular forms for some groups of this kind.
In this paper we show two classes of noncongruence subgroups satisfy the so-called unbounded denominator property. In particular, we establish our conjecture in [KL08] which says that every type II noncongruence character group of Gamma^0(11) satisfies the unbounded denominator property.
We present a database of several hundred modular forms up to and including weight six on noncongruence subgroups of index $\leq 17$. In addition, our database contains expressions for the Belyi map for genus zero subgroups and equations of the corresponding elliptic curves for genus one subgroups and numerical approximations of noncongruence Eisenstein series to 1500 digits precision.
We study modular forms for the minimal index noncongruence subgroups of the modular group. Our main theorem is a proof of the unbounded denominator conjecture for these groups, and we also provide a study of the Fourier coefficients of Eisenstein series for one of these minimal groups.
In this paper we will use experimental and computational methods to find modular forms for non-congruence subgroups, and the modular forms for congruence subgroups that they are associated with via the Atkin--Swinnerton-Dyer correspondence. We also prove a generalization of a criterion due to Ligozat for an eta-quotient to be a modular function.
We present two approaches that can be used to compute modular forms on noncongruence subgroups. The first approach uses Hejhal's method for which we improve the arbitrary precision solving techniques so that the algorithm becomes about up to two orders of magnitude faster in practical computations. This allows us to obtain high precision numerical estimates of the Fourier coefficients from which the algebraic expressions can be identified using the LLL algorithm. The second approach is restricted to genus zero subgroups and uses efficient methods to compute the Belyi map from which the modular…
The l-adic parabolic cohomology groups attached to noncongruence subgroups of SL_2(Z) are finite-dimensional representations of Gal(Qbar/F) for some number field F. We exhibit examples (with F=Q) giving rise to Galois representations whose images are open subgroups of the full group of symplectic similitudes (of arbitrary dimension). The determination of the image of the Galois group relies on Katz's classification theorem for reductive subalgebras of gl(N) containing a principal nilpotent element; the paper also contains a short conceptual proof of this theorem, suggested by I. Gronowski.
Classically, congruence subgroups of the modular group, which can be described by congruence relations, play important roles in group theory and modular forms. In reality, the majority of finite index subgroups of the modular group are noncongruence. These groups as well as their modular forms are central players of this survey article. Differences between congruence and noncongruence subgroups and modular forms will be discussed. We will mainly focus on three interesting aspects of modular forms for noncongruence subgroups: the unbounded denominator property, modularity of the Galois represen…
We give new examples of weight three cusp forms on noncongruence subgroups of SL(2, Z) whose Scholl representation is modular and which satisfy three term Atkin-Swinnerton-Dyer relations.
There is an established bijection between finite-index subgroups Gamma of Gamma(2) and bipartite graphs on surfaces, or, equivalently, certain triples of permutations. We utilize this relationship to study both congruence and noncongruence subgroups in terms of the corresponding graphs. We show some elementary criteria which can be used to identify many noncongruence subgroups. Given a graph on a surface, we have a method to produce generators for the corresponding group Gamma in terms of the generators of Gamma(2). Given generators for Gamma(2n), we show how to determine whether or not a grap…
Given a finite index subgroup of $SL_2(\mathbb Z)$ with modular curve defined over $\mathbb Q$, under the assumption that the space of weight $k$ ($ \ge 2$) cusp forms is $1$-dimensional, we show that a form in this space with Fourier coefficients in $\mathbb Q$ has bounded denominators if and only if it is a congruence modular form.
We continue and complete our previous paper `Lifts of projective congruence groups' [2] concerning the question of whether there exist noncongruence subgroups of $\SL_2(\Z)$ that are projectively equivalent to one of the groups $Γ_0(N)$ or $Γ_1(N)$. A complete answer to this question is obtained: In case of $Γ_0(N)$ such noncongruence subgroups exist precisely if $N\not\in {3,4,8}$ and we additionally have either that $4\mid N$ or that $N$ is divisible by an odd prime congruent to 3 modulo 4. In case of $Γ_1(N)$ these noncongruence subgroups exist precisely if $N>4$. As in our previous paper t…
In this paper, we consider Galois representations of the absolute Galois group $\text{Gal}(\overline {\mathbb Q}/\mathbb Q)$ attached to modular forms for noncongruence subgroups of $\text{SL}_2(\mathbb Z)$. When the underlying modular curves have a model over $\mathbb Q$, these representations are constructed by Scholl and are referred to as Scholl representations, which form a large class of motivic Galois representations. In particular, by a result of Belyi, Scholl representations include the Galois actions on the Jacobian varieties of algebraic curves defined over $\mathbb Q$. As Scholl re…
This paper is concerned with a compatible family of 4-dimensional \ell-adic representations ρ_{\ell} of G_\Q:=\Gal(\bar \Q/\Q) attached to the space of weight 3 cuspforms S_3 (Γ) on a noncongruence subgroup Γ\subset \SL. For this representation we prove that: 1.)It is automorphic: the L-function L(s, ρ_{\ell}^{\vee}) agrees with the L-function for an automorphic form for \text{GL}_4(\mathbb A_{\Q}), where ρ_{\ell}^{\vee} is the dual of ρ_{\ell}. 2.) For each prime p \ge 5 there is a basis h_p = \{h_p ^+, h_p ^- \} of S_3 (Γ) whose expansion coefficients satisfy 3-term Atkin and Swinnerton-Dyer…
In this paper we give an example of a noncongruence subgroup whose three-dimensional space of cusp forms of weight 3 has the following properties. For each of the four residue classes of odd primes modulo 8 there is a basis whose Fourier coefficients at infinity satisfy a three-term Atkin and Swinnerton-Dyer congruence relation, which is the $p$-adic analogue of the three-term recursion satisfied by the coefficients of classical Hecke eigen forms. We also show that there is an automorphic $L$-function over $\mathbb Q$ whose local factors agree with those of the $l$-adic Scholl representations …
Determining Fourier coefficients of modular forms of a finite index noncongruence subgroups of the modular group is still a non-trivial task. In this brief note we describe a new algorithm to reliably calculate an approximation for a modular form of a given weight. As an example we calculate the hauptmodul and Belyi map of a genus zero subgroup of the modular group defined via a canonical homomorphism by the second Janko group. Our main result is the field of definition of its Belyi map, the explicit Belyi map and the Fourier coefficients of its hauptmodul.
Using the language of vertex operator algebras (VOAs) and vector-valued modular forms we study the modular group representations and spaces of 1-point functions associated to intertwining operators for Virasoro minimal model VOAs. We examine all representations of dimension less than four associated to irreducible modules for minimal models, and determine when the kernel of these representations is a congruence or noncongruence subgroup of the modular group. Arithmetic criteria are given on the indexing of the irreducible modules for minimal models that imply the associated modular group repre…
In this article, we derive a sub convexity estimate of Hecke eigen cusp forms associated to certain cocompact arithmetic subgroups of SL(2,R). The main result can be considered as the holomorphic version of the estimate of Hecke eigen Maass forms, derived in a famous paper of Iwaniec and Sarnak. A stronger estimate was derived by Khayutin and Steiner in arXiv:2009.07194. However, techniques used in both the papers are very different.
After Zagier proved that the traces of singular moduli $j(z)$ are Fourier coefficients of a weakly holomorphic modular form, various properties of the traces of the singular values of modular functions mostly on the full modular group $PSL_2(\mathbb{Z})$ have been investigated such as their exact formulas, limiting distribution, duality, and congruences. The purpose of this paper is to generalize these arithmetic properties of traces of singular values of a weakly holomorphic modular function on the full modular group to those on a congruence subgroup $Γ_0(N)$.
We outline an algorithm for computing Hecke operators on equivariant cohomology $H^\ast_{Γ_{\text{Sp}}}(X_{\text{Sp}};ρ)$ for the symplectic group $\text{Sp}_4(\mathbb{R})$. To do this, we define a new acyclic cell complex for $\text{Sp}_4(\mathbb{R})$ and make use of the well-tempered complex.
We show that noncongruence subgroups of SL_2(Z) projectively equivalent to congruence subgroups are ubiquitous. More precisely, they always exist if the congruence subgroup in question is a principal congruence subgroup Gamma(N) of level N>2, and they exist in many cases also for Gamma_0(N). The motivation for asking this question is related to modular forms: projectively equivalent groups have the same spaces of cusp forms for all even weights whereas the spaces of cusp forms of odd weights are distinct in general. We make some initial observations on this phenomenon for weight 3 via geometri…
We present an algorithm to compute the Hecke operators on the equivariant cohomology of an arithmetic subgroup $Γ$ of the general linear group $\mathrm{GL}_n$. This includes $\mathrm{GL}_n$ over a number field or a finite-dimensional division algebra. As coefficients, we may use any finite-dimensional local coefficient system. Unlike earlier methods, the algorithm works for the cohomology $H^i$ in all degrees $i$. It starts from the well-rounded retract $\tilde{W}$, a $Γ$-invariant cell complex which computes the cohomology. It extends $\tilde{W}$ to a new well-tempered complex $\tilde{W}^+$ o…
We extend the work of Ash and Stevens [Ash-Stevens 97] on p-adic analytic families of p-ordinary arithmetic cohomology classes for GL(N,Q) by introducing and investigating the concept of p-adic rigidity of arithmetic Hecke eigenclasses. An arithmetic eigenclass is said to be "rigid" if (modulo twisting) it does not admit a nontrivial p-adic deformation containing a Zariski dense set of arithmetic specializations. This paper develops tools for explicit investigation into the structure of eigenvarieties for GL(N). We use these tools to prove that known examples of non-sefldual cohomological cusp…
A paradigm for a global algebraic number theory of the reals is formulated with the purpose of providing a unified setting for algebraic and transcendental number theory. This is achieved through the study of subgroups of nonstandard models of Dedekind domains called diophantine approximation groups. The arithmetic of diophantine approximation groups is defined in a way which extends the ideal-theoretic arithmetic of algebraic number theory, using the structure of an approximate ideal: a bi-filtration by subgroups along which partial products may be performed.
We study the growth rate of the number of maximal arithmetic subgroups of bounded covolumes in a semi-simple Lie group using an extension of the method due to Borel and Prasad.
We correct a mistake in the paper "On the cuspidal cohomology of $S$-arithmetic subgroups of reductive groups over number fields " by A. Borel, J.-P. Labesse, J. Schwermer that appeared in Compositio Mathematica, 102 (1996), 1-40.
Let $K$ be a global field of characteristic $p>0$. We study the cohomology of arithmetic subgroups $Γ$ of $SL_{n+1}(K)$ (with respect to a fixed place of $K$), under the hypothesis that these groups have no $p'$-torsion (any arithmetic group possesses a normal subgroup of finite index without $p'$-torsion). We define the cohomology of $Γ$ with compact supports and values in ${\Bbb Z}[1/p]$, and we relate it to spaces of harmonic cocycles, also with compact supports (§3). We give a description of the locus of these supports, in particular by introducing a notion of cusp in dimension $n\geq 1$ (…
The aim of the article is to show that there are many finite extensions of arithmetic groups which are not residually finite. Suppose $G$ is a simple algebraic group over the rational numbers satisfying both strong approximation, and the congruence subgroup problem. We show that every arithmetic subgroup of $G$ has finite extensions which are not residually finite. More precisely, we investigate the group \[ \bar H^2(\mathbb{Z}/n) = direct limit ( H^2(Γ,\mathbb{Z}/n) ), \] where $Γ$ runs through the arithmetic subgroups of $G$. Elements of $\bar H^2(\mathbb{Z}/n)$ correspond to (equivalence cl…
In this paper we consider certain families of arithmetic subgroups of SO^0(p,q) and SL_3(R), respectively. We study the cohomology of such arithmetic groups with coefficients in arithmetically defined modules. We show that for natural sequences of such modules the torsion in the cohomology grows exponentially.
Let $H$ be a semisimple algebraic group, $K$ a maximal compact subgroup of $G:=H(\mathbb{R})$, and $Γ\subset H(\mathbb{Q})$ a congruence arithmetic subgroup. In this paper, we generalize existing subconvex bounds for Hecke-Maass forms on the locally symmetric space $Γ\backslash G/K$ to corresponding bounds on the arithmetic quotient $Γ\backslash G$ for cocompact lattices using the spectral function of an elliptic operator. The bounds obtained extend known subconvex bounds for automorphic forms to non-trivial $K$-types, yielding subconvex bounds for new classes of automorphic representations, a…
For a wide range of $x$ and $y$ we show that ${\Cal S}(x,y)$, the set of integers below $x$ composed only of prime factors below $y$, is equidistributed in the reduced residue classes $\pmod q$ for all $q<y^{4\sqrt{e}-ε}$. This improves earlier work of Granville; any improvement of this range of $q$ would have interesting consequences for Vinogradov's conjecture on the least quadratic non-residue. For larger ranges of $q$ we prove the existence of a large subgroup of the group of reduced residues such that ${\Cal S}(x,y)$ is equidistributed within cosets of that subgroup.
Let $Γ$ be an arithmetic subgroup of $SU(d,1)$ with cusps, and let $X_Γ$ be the associated locally symmetric space. We prove that if the first inner cohomology group $H^1_!(X_Γ,\mathbb{C})$ is non-zero then the pre-image of $Γ$ in each connected cover of $SU(d,1)$ is residually finite. We also give an example of a such a group $Γ$ for which $H^1_!(X_Γ,\mathbb{C})$ is non-zero.
Let G and G' be absolutely almost simple algebraic groups of types B and C respectively, of rank at least 3, and defined over a number field K. We determine when G and G' have the same isomorphism or isogeny classes of maximal K-tori. This leads to the necessary and sufficient conditions for two Zariski-dense S-arithmetic subgroups of G and G' to be weakly commensurable.
In this paper, we give an algorithm for detecting non-trivial 3-APs in multiplicative subgroups of $\mathbb{F}_p^\times$ that is substantially more efficient than the naive approach. It follows that certain Var der Waerden-like numbers can be computed in polynomial time.
We define some formal moduli space of quasi-isogenies of isoclinic $p$-divisible groups with a non-reductive group as the "structure group". We then formulate new Arithmetic Fundamental Lemma conjectures for Bessel subgroups in the context of the arithmetic Gan-Gross-Prasad conjectures. Some (very limited) evidence is presented.
This paper deals with a new analytic type of vector- and Clifford algebra valued automorphic forms in one and two vector variables. For hypercomplex generalizations of the classical modular group and their arithmetic congruence subgroups Eisenstein- and Poincaré type series that are annihilated by Dirac operators, and more generally, by iterated Dirac operators on the upper half-space of $R^n$ are discussed. In particular we introduce (poly-)monogenic modular forms on hypercomplex generalizations of the classical theta group.
In Sarnak's paper, it was proved that the Selberg zeta function for SL(2,Z) is expressed in terms of the fundamental units and the class numbers of the primitive indefinite binary quadratic forms. The aim of this paper is to obtain similar arithmetic expressions of the logarithmic derivatives of the Selberg zeta functions for congruence subgroups of SL(2,Z). As applications, we study the Brun-Titchmarsh type prime geodesic theorem, the asymptotic behavior of the sum of the class number.
Let $G$ be a multiplicative subgroup of the prime field $\mathbb F_p$ of size $|G|> p^{1-κ}$ and $r$ an arbitrarily fixed positive integer. Assuming $κ=κ(r)>0$ and $p$ large enough, it is shown that any proportional subset $A\subset G$ contains non-trivial arithmetic progressions of length $r$. The main ingredient is the Szemerédi-Green-Tao theorem.
We discuss the following conjecture of Kitaoka: if a finite subgroup $G$ of $GL_{n}(O_{K})$ is invariant under the action of $Gal(K/\Bbb Q)$ then it is contained in $GL_{n}(K^{ab})$. Here $O_{K}$ is the ring of integers in a finite, Galois extension $K$ of $\Bbb Q$ and $K^{ab}$ is the maximal, abelian subextension of $K$. Our main result reduces this conjecture to a special case of elementary abelian $p-$groups $G$. Also, we construct some new examples which negatively answer a question of Kitaoka.
We construct certain subgroups of hyperbolic triangle groups which we call "congruence" subgroups. These groups include the classical congruence subgroups of SL_2(ZZ), Hecke triangle groups, and 19 families of arithmetic triangle groups associated to Shimura curves. We determine the field of moduli of the curves associated to these groups and thereby realize the groups PSL_2(q) and PGL_2(q) regularly as Galois groups.
The coefficient series of the holomorphic Picard-Fuchs differential equation associated with the periods of elliptic curves often have surprising number-theoretic properties. These have been widely studied in the case of the torsion-free, genus zero congruence subgroups of index 6 and 12 (e.g. the Beauville families). Here, we consider arithmetic properties of the Picard-Fuchs solutions associated to general elliptic families, with a particular focus on the index 24 congruence subgroups. We prove that elliptic families with rational parameters admit linear reparametrizations such that their as…
Let $K$ be the function field of a curve $C$ over a field $\mathbb{F}$ of either odd or zero characteristic. Following the work by Serre and Mason on $\mathrm{SL}_2$, we study the action of arithmetic subgroups of $\mathrm{SU}(3)$ on its corresponding Bruhat-Tits tree associated to a suitable completion of $K$. More precisely, we prove that the quotient graph "looks like a spider", in the sense that it is the union of a set of cuspidal rays (the "legs"), parametrized by an explicit Picard group, that are attached to a connected graph (the "body"). We use this description in order to describe t…
Let G be a subgroup of GL(V), where V is a finite dimensional vector space over a finite field of characteristic p >0. If det(g-1) = 0 for all g \in G then we call G a fixed-point subgroup of GL(V). Motivated in parallel by questions in arithmetic and linear group theory, we classify all irreducible fixed-point subgroups of Sp_8(2) and give new infinite series of irreducible fixed-point subgroups of symplectic groups Sp_m(2) for various m arising from certain representations of groups of Lie type.
In this paper, we describe the asymptotic distribution of Hecke eigenvalues in the Laplace eigenvalue aspect for certain families of Hecke-Maass forms on compact arithmetic quotients. Instead of relying on the trace formula, which was the primary tool in preceding studies on the subject, we use Fourier integral operator methods. This allows us to treat not only spherical, but also non-spherical Hecke-Maass forms with corresponding remainder estimates. Our asymptotic formulas are available for arbitrary simple and connected algebraic groups over number fields with cocompact arithmetic subgroups…
Our main goal in the present article is to explain how one can reconstruct the decomposition subgroups and norms of points on an arithmetic curve inside its fundamental group if the following data are given: the fundamental group, a part of the cyclotomic character and the family of the regulators of the fields corresponding to the generic points of all étale covers of the given curve. The approach is inspired by that of Tamagawa for curves over finite fields but uses Tsfasman-Vlăduţ theorem instead of Lefschetz trace formula. To the authors' knowledge, this is a new technique in the anabelian…
