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...

Let K be a complete, algebraically closed nonarchimedean valued field, and let φ(z) ∈ K(z) have degree d ≥ 2. We study how the resultant of φ varies under changes of coordinates. For γ ∈ GL₂(K), we show that the map $\gamma \mapsto ord\left(Res\left({\phi }^{\gamma }\right)\right)$ factors through a function $ordRe{s}_{\phi }\left(·\right)$ on the Berkovich projective line, which is piecewise affine and convex up. The minimal resultant is achieved either at a single point in $P{¹}_K$, or on a segment, and the minimal resultant locus is contained in the tree in $P{¹}_K$ spanned by the fixed points and poles...