Elliptic Curves and Big Galois Representations

Describes the arithmetic of modular forms and elliptic curves; self-contained and ideal for both graduate students and professional number theorists.

Daniel Delbourgo (Author)

9780521728669, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 31 July 2008

288 pages, 70 b/w illus. 1 table 5 exercises
22.7 x 15.3 x 1.5 cm, 0.41 kg

"This research monograph contains much that has not been published elsewhere, and will be useful for specialists in the field who want to catch up on the author's work."
Neil P. Dummigan, Mathematical Reviews

The arithmetic properties of modular forms and elliptic curves lie at the heart of modern number theory. This book develops a generalisation of the method of Euler systems to a two-variable deformation ring. The resulting theory is then used to study the arithmetic of elliptic curves, in particular the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer (BSD) formula. Three main steps are outlined: the first is to parametrise 'big' cohomology groups using (deformations of) modular symbols. Finiteness results for big Selmer groups are then established. Finally, at weight two, the arithmetic invariants of these Selmer groups allow the control of data from the BSD conjecture. As the first book on the subject, the material is introduced from scratch; both graduate students and professional number theorists will find this an ideal introduction. Material at the very forefront of current research is included, and numerical examples encourage the reader to interpret abstract theorems in concrete cases.

Introduction
List of notations
1. Background
2. p-adic L-functions and Zeta-elements
3. Cyclotomic deformations of modular symbols
4. A user's guide to Hida theory
5. Crystalline weight deformations
6. Super Zeta-elements
7. Vertical and half-twisted arithmetic
8. Diamond-Euler characteristics: the local case
9. Diamond-Euler characteristics: the global case
10. Two-variable Iwasawa theory of elliptic curves
A. The primitivity of Zeta elements
B. Specialising the universal path vector
C. The weight-variable control theorem
Bibliography.

Subject Areas: Number theory [PBH]