The arithmetic of curves defined by iteration
We show how the size of the Galois groups of iterates of a quadratic polynomial f can be parametrized by certain rational points on the curves Cₙ: y² = fⁿ(x) and their quadratic twists (here fⁿ denotes the nth iterate of f). To that end, we study the arithmetic of such curves over global and finite fields, translating key problems in the arithmetic of polynomial iteration into a geometric framework. This point of view has several dynamical applications. For instance, we establish a maximality theorem...