Related papers: A $p$-adic approach to rational points on curves
We give an alternative proof of Faltings's theorem (Mordell's conjecture): a curve of genus at least two over a number field has finitely many rational points. Our argument utilizes the set-up of Faltings's original proof, but is in spirit…
In 1922, Mordell conjectured that the set of rational points on a smooth curve $C$ over $\mathbb{Q}$ with genus $g \ge 2$ is finite. This has been proved by Faltings in 1983. However, Coleman determined in 1985 an upper bound of…
Let K be an algebraically closed field of characteristic zero. Given a polynomial f(x,y) in K[x,y] with one place at infinity, we prove that either f is equivalent to a coordinate, or the family (f+c) has at most two rational elements. When…
We show how the size of the Galois groups of iterates of a quadratic polynomial $f(x)$ can be parametrized by certain rational points on the curves $C_n:y^2=f^n(x)$ and their quadratic twists. To that end, we study the arithmetic of such…
Consider the smooth projective models C of curves y^2=f(x) with f(x) in Z[x] monic and separable of degree 2g+1. We prove that for g >= 3, a positive fraction of these have only one rational point, the point at infinity. We prove a lower…
Faltings' theorem states that curves of genus $g \geq 2$ have finitely many rational points. Using the ideas of Faltings, Mumford, Parshin and Raynaud, one obtains an upper bound on the number of rational points, but this bound is too large…
In 2007, B. Poonen (unpublished) studied the $p$--adic closure of a subgroup of rational points on a commutative algebraic group. More recently, J. Bella\"iche asked the same question for the special case of Abelian varieties. These…
We compute rational points on genus $3$ odd degree hyperelliptic curves $C$ over $\mathbb{Q}$ that have Jacobians of Mordell-Weil rank $0$. The computation applies the Chabauty-Coleman method to find the zero set of a certain system of…
Consider a smooth, geometrically irreducible, projective curve of genus $g \ge 2$ defined over a number field of degree $d \ge 1$. It has at most finitely many rational points by the Mordell Conjecture, a theorem of Faltings. We show that…
We implement an iterative numerical method to solve polynomial equations $f(x)=0$ in the $p$-adic numbers, where $f(x) \in\mathbb{Z}_p[x]$. This method is a simplified $p$-adic analogue of Jarratt's method for finding roots of functions…
We study nonconstant rational solutions of \[ x'=A_3(t)x^{n_3}+A_2(t)x^{n_2}+A_1(t)x^{n_1}, \qquad 1<n_1<n_2<n_3, \] with $A_i\in\Bbbk[t]$, $\Bbbk\in\{\mathbb R,\mathbb C\}$. We prove that every such solution is of the form $x=1/p(t)$, and…
We show how rational points on certain varieties parametrize phenomena arising in the Galois theory of iterates of quadratic polynomials. As an example, we characterize completely the set of quadratic polynomials $x^2+c$ whose third iterate…
A result of Graber, Harris, and Starr shows that a rationally connected variety defined over the function field of a curve over the complex numbers always has a rational point. Similarly, a separably rationally connected variety over a…
We give an introductory account of two recent approaches towards an effective proof of the Mordell conjecture, due to Lawrence--Venkatesh and Kim. The latter method, which is usually called the method of Chabauty--Kim or non-abelian…
Given $k \geq 2$, we show that there are at most finitely many rational numbers $x$ and $y \neq 0$ and integers $\ell \geq 2$ (with $(k,\ell) \neq (2,2)$) for which $$ x (x+1) \cdots (x+k-1) = y^\ell. $$ In particular, if we assume that…
This is an extended version of an invited lecture I gave at the Journees Arithmetiques in St. Etienne in July 2009. We discuss the state of the art regarding the problem of finding the set of rational points on a (smooth projective)…
In this work, we consider the rational points on elliptic curves over finite fields F_{p}. We give results concerning the number of points on the elliptic curve y^2{\equiv}x^3+a^3(mod p)where p is a prime congruent to 1 modulo 6. Also some…
A formalism is given to count integer and rational solutions to polynomial equations with rational coefficients. These polynomials $P(x)$ are parameterized by three integers, labeling an elliptic curve. The counting of the rational…
We give an explicit description of the arithmetic-geometric extension of iterated Galois groups of rational functions. This yields a complete solution to the extension problem when either the arithmetic or the geometric iterated Galois…
Consider a one-parameter family of smooth, irreducible, projective curves of genus $g\ge 2$ defined over a number field. Each fiber contains at most finitely many rational points by the Mordell Conjecture, a theorem of Faltings. We show…