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Elliptic curves with a 7-isogeny, and a recalcitrant genus 12 curve

Presenter
April 14, 2011
Keywords:
  • arithmetic geometry
  • arithmetic statistics
  • L-function
  • isogeny classes
  • elliptic curves
  • rational points
  • rational points on elliptic curves
  • point counting
  • abelian variety
MSC:
  • 11Gxx
  • 11G20
  • 11G30
  • 11G40
  • 11G45
  • 11Kxx
  • 11Mxx
  • 14K02
  • 14K25
  • 12J27
  • 11G05
Abstract
We show that if E is an elliptic curve over Q with a Q-rational isogeny of degree 7, then the image of the 7-adic Galois representation attached to E is as large as allowed by the isogeny, except for the curves with complex multiplication by Q(√−7). The analogous result with 7 replaced by a prime p > 7 was proved by the first author in [8]. The present case p = 7 has additional interesting complications. We show that any exceptions correspond to the rational points on a certain curve of genus 12. We then use the method of Chabauty to show that the exceptions are exactly the curves with complex multiplication. As a by-product of one of the key steps in our proof, we determine exactly when there exist elliptic curves over an arbitrary field k of characteristic not 7 with a k-rational isogeny of degree 7 and a specified Galois action on the kernel of the isogeny, and we give a parametric description of such curves.
Supplementary Materials