Rational points on compact subgroups of algebraic groups. (Points rationnels sur les sous-groupes compacts des groupes algébriques.)
This is an extended version of an invited lecture I gave at the Journées Arithmétiques in St. Étienne in July 2009.We discuss the state of the art regarding the problem of finding the set of rational points on a (smooth projective) geometrically integral curve over . The focus is on practical aspects of this problem in the case that the genus of is at least , and therefore the set of rational points is finite.
The rational points on in the case where is a composite number are considered. A computational study of some of the cases not covered by the results of Momose is given. Exceptional rational points are found in the cases and and the -invariants of the corresponding quadratic -curves are exhibited.
Using the recent isogeny bounds due to Gaudron and Rémond we obtain the triviality of , for and a prime number exceeding . This includes the case of the curves . We then prove, with the help of computer calculations, that the same holds true for in the range , . The combination of those results completes the qualitative study of rational points on undertook in our previous work, with the only exception of .
Let p be a prime greater than 3. Consider the modular curve X₀(3p) over ℚ and its Jacobian variety J₀(3p) over ℚ. Let (3p) and (3p) be the group of rational torsion points on J₀(3p) and the cuspidal group of J₀(3p), respectively. We prove that the 3-primary subgroups of (3p) and (3p) coincide unless p ≡ 1 (mod 9) and .
In this paper, we generalize the context of the Mazur-Tate conjecture and sharpen, in a certain way, the statement of the conjecture. Our main result will be to establish the truth of a part of these new sharpened conjectures, provided that one assume the truth of the classical Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjectures. This is particularly striking in the function field case, where these results can be viewed as being a refinement of the earlier work of Tate and Milne.