English

Congruences modulo $23$ to $y^2=x^3-23$ are trivial

Number Theory 2025-10-01 v2

Abstract

We say that two elliptic curves EE and FF over Q\mathbb{Q} are congruent modulo a prime pp if their pp-torsion Galois modules (over the algebraic closure of Q\mathbb{Q}) are isomorphic. Such a congruence is called trivial if there is a rational isogeny between EE and FF with degree prime to pp. A version of the Frey-Mazur conjecture states that any congruence modulo any prime p19p \geq 19 is trivial. Given an elliptic curve E/QE/\mathbb{Q} and a prime pp, it is well-known that there is a twist of the classical modular curve X(p)X(p) whose rational points describe the elliptic curves congruent to EE modulo pp. In this article, we apply Mazur's strategy to determine the rational points of such a twisted modular curve under certain assumptions. This involves, among others, the determination of the previously unknown Tate module of its Jacobian and new instances of the Birch and Swinnerton--Dyer conjecture (for abelian varieties not of GL2\mathrm{GL}_2-type). In particular, we determine an explicit bound on the conductor of any elliptic curve congruent modulo pp to y2=x3py^2=x^3-p when pp is prime and congruent to 55 modulo 99, and deduce that any congruence modulo 2323 to y2=x323y^2=x^3-23 is trivial.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2507.20801,
  title  = {Congruences modulo $23$ to $y^2=x^3-23$ are trivial},
  author = {Elie Studnia},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2507.20801},
  year   = {2025}
}

Comments

64 pages (improved writing, simplified some arguments); comments welcome !