English

Open image computations for elliptic curves over number fields

Number Theory 2024-10-01 v2

Abstract

For a non-CM elliptic curve EE defined over a number field KK, the Galois action on its torsion points gives rise to a Galois representation ρE:Gal(K/K)GL2(Z^)\rho_E: Gal(\overline{K}/K)\to GL_2(\widehat{\mathbb{Z}}) that is unique up to isomorphism. A renowned theorem of Serre says that the image of ρE\rho_E is an open, and hence finite index, subgroup of GL2(Z^)GL_2(\widehat{\mathbb{Z}}). In an earlier work of the author, an algorithm was given, and implemented, that computed the image of ρE\rho_E up to conjugacy in GL2(Z^)GL_2(\widehat{\mathbb{Z}}) in the special case K=QK=\mathbb{Q}. A fundamental ingredient of this earlier work was the Kronecker-Weber theorem whose conclusion fails for number fields KQK\neq \mathbb{Q}. We shall give an overview of an analogous algorithm for a general number field and work out the required group theory. We also give some bounds on the index in Serre's theorem for a typical elliptic curve over a fixed number field.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2403.16147,
  title  = {Open image computations for elliptic curves over number fields},
  author = {David Zywina},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2403.16147},
  year   = {2024}
}

Comments

To appear in the conference proceedings of the Sixteenth Algorithmic Number Theory Symposium (ANTS XVI)

R2 v1 2026-06-28T15:31:40.063Z