This is the official page for the 2007-2008 VIGRE study group
on computations on CM elliptic curves, led by Pete L. Clark and Dr.
Patrick Corn.
BACKGROUND MATERIAL
Our project concerns the torsion subgroup of the group E(K) of K-rational points of a CM elliptic curve E defined
over a number field K. Would it not therefore be a splendid
beginning to learn the meaning of all of these terms? Let us try. Taking
them in turn:
The torsion subgroup of an abelian group A -- with group law written additively -- is just the subset of A of elements of finite order. Indeed it is a subgroup, denoted A[tors]. For any positive
integer n, we define the n-torsion subgroup to be the
set of a in A with na = 0; it is denoted by A[n]. Note that
A[tors] is the union of A[n] as n ranges over all positive integers; A[tors] might, or might not, be equal to A[n] for some
fixed n (for instance, it will be if A is finite).
A number field K is a finite degree field extension of
the rational numbers. Its degree, denoted [K:Q], is its dimension
as a Q-vector space. The data for a number field of degree d
is an irreducible degree d polynomial P(x) over the rational
numbers, but there are infinitely many different polynomials giving rise to each fixed number field. The unique number field of degree 1 is Q itself, but for each d > 1 there are infinitely many degree d number fields. Everyone has heard of the quadratic fields Q[sqrt{d}] -- corresponding to the polynomials X^2-d for squarefree integers d -- which are the number fields of degree 2. It is not nearly so easy to give such a transparent "parameterization" of all degree d number fields for any d > 2.
An elliptic curve over a field K is given by an
equation of the form
Y^2 = PA,B(X) = X^3 + AX + B
with A and B in K, such that
Delta(P) = 4A^3+27B^2 =/= 0
Delta is called the discriminant of the cubic polynomial
P = PA,B(X), and the condition that it be nonzero is
precisely requiring that P has no multiple roots.
The set E(K) of K-rational points of E is the collection of
all (x,y) in K^2 satisfying the equation, i.e., such that
y^2 = x^3+AX+B, together with one additional point O called the
point at infinity.
There is a simple (but not so simple that we will describe it here) geometric construction called the chord-and-tangent process which endows the set E(K)
with the structure of an abelian group with the point at infinity
O as the identity element.
This definition makes sense for an arbitrary field K. For
example, if K = C is the field of complex numbers, the group E(C)
is always isomorphic to the torus S^1 x S^1. In particular
we may observe that (i) it is a very large group (infinite and with "continuously varying" elements, i.e., a Lie group)
and (ii) its group structure does not depend upon which A and B
we started with. Moreover, E(C)[tors] = S^1[tors] x S^1[tors],
and the torsion subgroup of the unit circle is the group Q/Z of all roots of unity in the complex numbers. In particular
the n-torsion subgroup S^1[n] is the group of all nth roots of
unity, so is the cylic group Z/nZ of order n. Therefore
E(C)[n] is isomorphic to Z/nZ x Z/nZ, and the entire torsion
subgroup E(C)[tors] is isomorphic to Q/Z x Q/Z, the union
(or, if you like, the direct limit) of all of the n-torsion subgroups.
If K is a finite field of order q, then even from what little we have said it is clear that E(K) is a finite group: indeed, there cannot be any more than #(K x K) + 1 = q^2 + 1
elements. In fact one can do better: a theorem of Hasse asserts
that
|#E(K)-(q+1)| <= 2*sqrt{q}.
This bound is very close to being "best possible"; i.e., with very
few exceptions (which are completely known), if N is a positive integer such that |N - (q+1)| <= 2*sqrt{q},
then there exists an elliptic curve E over K with #E(K) = N.
In particular the group E(K) certainly does depend upon the choice
of A and B. The study of all possible groups E(K) for varying
E and (finite) K is a problem of great interest to cyptographers.
Most interesting for us will be the case in which K is a number
field, since in this case we have the all-important:
Mordell-Weil Theorem: The group E(K) is a finitely
generated abelian group, hence of the form Z^r x E(K)[tors],
with E(K)[tors] a finite abelian group.
The theorem was proven for K = Q by the great Philadelphian
mathematician Louis Joel Mordell, who -- like Joe Harris, Noam Chomsky, Bill Cosby and me -- attended Central High School. The case of an arbitrary number field (and even more...) is due to the great French mathematician Andre Weil.
The reader will doubtless have noticed the steeply increasing
difficulty in our sequence of definitions: the torsion subgroup
appears to be, and is, a simple group-theoretic concept: there is
very little further to be said.
A number field is a simple enough object to define, but their
study swiftly becomes intricate: this leads to the realm of
algebraic number theory. We will at various points need
to know some of this theory: in particular we will need to know
that every number field K has a ring of integers Z_K (the ring of
integers of Q is the ordinary integers Z; the ring of integers
of Q[\sqrt{d}] is sometimes Z[\sqrt{d}] but it other times a
slightly larger ring, "and so on"), that every nonzero prime ideal P of Z_K is maximal and such that the quotient field Z_K/P is
finite, and especially the fact that ideals in Z_K factor uniquely
into products of primes, although elements may not. At some point, it will become helpful to know how to complete
a number field with respect to one of the prime ideals in its
ring of integers, getting a p-adic field.
There are many fine textbooks on algebraic number theory. We mention two:
Daniel Marcus, Number Fields, Springer Universitext.
Marcus' book is concise and core-minded, and develops the necessary facts with complete detail and with little unnecessary
sophistication. It also has many good exercises, so is ideal for
self-study.
Serge Lang, Algebraic Number Theory, Springer Graduate
Texts in Mathematics.
The (sadly recently deceased) Lang was one of the great number
theorists of the latter half of the twentieth century, and wrote
many (many!) books. This one is a standard reference in the
subject, including many things that are, frankly, virtually
guaranteed to be impenetrable upon a casual reading, like class
field theory. (So as not to scare you, I will not comment on
whether class field theory would be very useful to know
for certain aspects of our project!) Nevertheless it is a good
book to have on hand, and by perusing the beginning one can get a
reasonable glimpse of the "local" theory alluded to above.
Evidently our discussion of an elliptic curve E/K and the group E(K) raised many more questions than it answered: why is an elliptic curve only "given by" an equation (1) -- what is it then? And what was that about the chord-and-tangent process, and this mysterious point at infinity??
These questions have very satisfying answers. To give them requires some space, time, helpful pictures, and participatory contemplation on your part, so it does not seem
fruitful to include them here. In fact, the simple trick of introducing an extra variable Z to get a homogeneous equation in
projective space clears up almost all of these matters (except
the associativity of the group law). The real sticking point
in elliptic curve theory is that it is right on the border
between being something which can be pursued as a purely
algebraic subject -- i.e., by actually writing down equations
for everything, including the group law on E(K) -- and something
which requires some cognizance of algebraic geometry for a
good conceptual understanding. Algebraic geometry is one of those
subjects where setting up the proper foundations takes a disproportionate amount of time and effort compared to what one
will ultimately think about and use when doing research in that
subject and related areas. It is not fair to a would-be arithmetic geometer to say, "Read [[Hartshorne]] and then when you're done with that you can learn about elliptic curves." So
the trick in learning basic elliptic curve theory is to get the
minimum dose of algebraic geometry necessary to be able to think
about some aspects of elliptic curve theory, and then
to learn more about the subject when one wishes to or sees profit
in it. There are two textbooks that accomplish this very well:
J.W.S. Cassels, Lectures on elliptic curves, LMS.
Cassels is, along with John Tate and Igor Shafarevich, one
of the principal founders of the arithmetic theory of elliptic curves
(and, what makes him even more of a hero of mine, of curves of
genus one that are not necessarily elliptic curves). However,
if one reads his books and even his research papers, he has a real
preference for concreteness. Really he likes to prove theorems by manipulating actual equations. As usual, the equations he writes down were not discovered by accident but come from a conceptual
and theoretical understanding. Whereas most earlier elliptic curve theorists (e.g. Weber) would simply write down the equations and trust that, if you really are interested, you will perform enough similar calculations to figure out what is going on -- but will not condescend to come straight out and tell you -- and many contemporary theorists will expect you to master years of
background theory before you can go on to touch anything new,
Cassels is simply wonderful at giving you just enough background to understand what he is doing. His book is highly recommended.
Joseph A. Silverman, Introduction to the Arithmetic of Elliptic
Curves, Springer Graduate Texts in Mathematics.
An equally spectacular book, justly the standard "serious"
reference on elliptic curves. Silverman's book takes a more
explicitly arithmetic-geometric viewpoint -- Chapter 1 is on
algebraic varieties and Chapter 2 is on algebraic curves; elliptic curves as Y^2 = X^3+AX+B only appear in Chapter 3. But Silverman's mastery of arithmetic geometry is such that he has
skillfully parcelled it out into manageable pieces. Moreover,
and this is very much the point for us -- to a large degree he
has written the book so that you have a large amount of leeway
to take or leave each piece of geometric background independently,
according to taste. I recommend that you read through Chapter 1
rather carefully -- it is only 15 pages long including exercises, and this is the little bit of geometry that goes a long way. Then
flip through Chapter 2 more cursorily -- if you have no previous
background in geometry you will almost surely find things like differentials and the Riemann-Roch theorem to be difficult to
understand but -- even more -- difficult to understand why they
are being discussed. Then move on to Chapter 3, and, if you like,
beyond. You will be led back to the topics in Chapter 2 exactly
when they help you to increase your understanding of elliptic curves.
We still have not said what it means for an elliptic curve to have
complex multiplication. It is in fact a level of abstraction yet
above: every elliptic curve has an endomorphism ring: see
Section 3.9 of Silverman. Over a field of characteristic 0
(so over any number field) the endomorphism ring is either just
the integers, or it is an integral domain whose quotient field
is an imaginary quadratic field Q(\sqrt{-d}). Curves of the latter sort are said to have complex multiplication (CM).
It turns out that the CM / non-CM dichotomy recurs throughout
the deeper study of elliptic curves. As a general rule, CM elliptic curves are much more special than non-CM elliptic curves
(for instance, over the complex numbers there are uncountably
many isomorphism classes of elliptic curves but only countably
many of them which have CM) and they have a simpler structure
that they can be exploited in various ways.
There is something called the theory of complex multiplication, which was historically the first major link between the three fields of arithmetic geometry, algebraic number theory, and modular functions and modular forms. This is a very important
story, but also a very complicated one: you will find only
the briefest hint of it in Silverman's book, on pages 338-342.
To learn about it you can read Chapter II of the sequel to Silverman's book, the aptly named Advanced Topics in the Arithmetic of Elliptic Curves. Evidently if we are going to
recommend a GTM as part of the background reading for a semester long seminar, we cannot very well recommend that you also read
the more advanced book that came after it, so the truth is that
we will be treating many facts about CM elliptic curves as BLACK BOXES in our work group this semester.
In the spring semester I will also be teaching the 8000 level topics course in arithmetic geometry. At that time it could be
appropriate to discuss complex multiplication in more detail, and if our project continues in the spring we may wish to consider
certain closely related problems, to which a more active knowledge
of the CM theory could be fruitfully applied.
Our Problems
The general setup will be as follows: K/Q is a number field
of degree [K:Q] = d, and E/K is an elliptic curve. For the most
part, we will be restricting our attention to elliptic curves
with Complex Multiplication (CM).
Problem 0: Compute the torsion subgroup E(K)[tors] of
the Mordell-Weil group E(K) of K-rational points on E.
Comment: This problem has an amazingly short solution: it suffices
to input E into MAGMA and type
TorsionSubgroup(E). But I for one would like to know how MAGMA
does this.
Problem 1: Create and implement an algorithm for the
following problem:
INPUT: A positive integer d.
OUTPUT: The complete list of groups G which
are (up to isomorphism) the torsion subgroup E(K)[tors]
of some CM elliptic curve E defined over some (any!) number field
K of degree [K:Q] = d.
Comments on previous work on this problem:
First it is important to know that for any d the list will be finite. For our case of CM elliptic curves this is
relatively easy to prove; moreover work of Silverberg, Prasad-Yogananda and Hindry-Silverman gives workable explicit
upper bounds: the gap between these upper bounds and what
sorts of torsion we should be able to exhibit will be of interest
to us, but is a comparatively modest one.
But one should
certainly keep in mind the spectacular Strong Uniform Boundedness Theorem of Loic Merel: in 1996, Merel proved that as we
range over all elliptic curves defined over degree d number fields, only finitely many groups arise as torsion subroups
(click here).
The case of d = 1 -- i.e., elliptic curves over Q -- is the subject of a 1974 paper by Loren Olson
(click here). He shows that |G| is 1,2,3,4 or 6, and that
both groups of order 4 occur. In fact he gives a
separate classification for each of 13 rational CM j-invariants,
obtaining e.g. the following stronger result: for j = 0
the torsion subgroup has order 1,2,3 or 6, and for j = 1728
the torsion subgroup has order 2 or 4 (and both group structures).
Before we wave goodbye to elliptic curves over Q, let us mention
the following related results:
In 1977, Gerhard Frey gave the classification of torsion subgroups of elliptic curves over Q with integral j-invariant
(click here). Since the
j-invariant of any CM elliptic curve over a number field is
an algebraic integer, Frey's set of rational elliptic curves contains Olson's set (and in fact is vastly larger). Curiously, the result is the same
as Olson's theorem: |G| = 1,2,3,4, or 6.
Also in 1977, Barry Mazur (click here) classified the torsion subgroups of ALL
elliptic curves over Q, getting the following list: Z/NZ for
1 <= N <= 10 or N = 12; Z/2Z x Z/2NZ for 1 <= N <= 4. In
particular, |G| <= 16.
A few years ago X. Xarles and I proved (click here) that for a
third subclass of rational elliptic curves strictly containing those of integral j-invariant, the torsion subgroups are again the same as in the theorems of Olson and Frey. I mention this mostly
because you might find our proof easier to understand than Olson's, which uses results from the theory of complex multiplication.
In the case d = 2, the answer is the following:
G = Z/NZ for N = 1,2,3,4,6,7, or 10; or
G = Z/2Z x Z/NZ for N = 1,2,3, or 4; or
G = Z/3Z x Z/3Z.
This is a special case of a theorem of Muller, Stroher and Zimmer,
who in 1989 solved the larger problem of classifying torsion subgroups of elliptic curves over quadratic fields
with algebraic integral j-invariant. The computations here are
substantial -- their paper is 62 pages long, much of it tables
recording their results.
In the case d =3, the answer is the following:
G = Z/NZ for N = 1,2,3,4,6,9 or 14; or
G = Z/2Z x Z/2Z.
A similar story holds here: the larger problem of classifying
torsion subgroups of elliptic curves with algebraic integral
j-invariant over cubic fields was solved by Horst Zimmer's
computational research group, first in 1990 for a special kind
of cubic number field, and then in 1997 in general (CITE). The
amount of computation required for this is massive and impressive.
But take heart -- Zimmer's team was working on a much more general
problem. Restricting (as we have here) to the class of CM
elliptic curves, I found in the summer of 2004 a different approach which allowed the above d = 2, d = 3 cases to be reduced
to a much more tractable calculation, which (even) I was able
to implement on my harried McGill office desktop without too much
trouble. This is described in my arxiv preprint (CLICK HERE).
To set a specific goal, I would like us to extend these
calculations to the cases d = 4 and d = 5. In principle one
can use the same procedure as in the d = 2 and d = 3 cases,
although in practice we should certainly keep an eye out for
possible improvements (or totally different approaches). Ultimately the problem reduces (or at least can be reduced) to
a computation involving a zero-dimensional ideal in a polynomial
ring, so some rather visceral knowledge about how best to
implement this calculation -- including software issues (any number of programs will do this calculation -- I used MAGMA --
but which will do it fastest?) and hardware issues (memory
allocation and that sort of thing) will be very helpful.
SUPPLEMENTARY READING
The algorithm that I have in mind is described in the case where d is a prime in Section 3.3 of the following
preprint (of mine):
Bounds for torsion on abelian varieties with integral moduli (pdf )
Here are some papers on the subject of torsion points on elliptic
curves (the link may be either to the paper or to the MathSciNet review of the paper):
1969: Manin, The p-torsion of elliptic curves is uniformly bounded
(pdf)
1974: Olson, Points of finite order of elliptic curves with complex multiplication
(pdf)
1986: Reichert, Explicit determination of nontrivial torsion structures of elliptic curves
over quadratic number fields
(pdf)
1988: Kenku and Momose, Torsion points on elliptic curves defined over quadratic fields
(pdf)
1999: Parent, Bornes effectives pour la torsion des courbes elliptiques sur les
corps de nombres [Effective bounds for the torsion of elliptic curves over number
fields] (pdf)
Some further useful information:
The following gives a complete list of imaginary quadratic fields with class number d, for 1 <= d <= 23:
(click here)
Let O = Of be the order of conductor f in the imaginary quadratic field K of discriminant D0. Then
the class number h(O) of the order is related to the class number h of the maximal order as follows:
h(O)/w(O) = (h/w)*f*(&Pi p|f(1 - (D0/p)/p)).
Here w is the number of units in the ring of integers of K and w(O) is the number of units in
the order O (so w = 2,4, or 6), and (D/p) is the Legendre symbol.
Luckily for us, MAGMA knows how to compute the minimal polynomial corresponding to the Galois
conjugacy class of j-invariants of elliptic curves with CM by a quadratic order of discriminant
D = D0 * f2:
(click here)
MAGMA CODE Click
here
to access the MAGMA code.
Here is a draft of a paper that summarizes past results and contains some theorems and conjectures to be proved this semester:
pdf