§2. Elliptic Curves: J-Invariant (Jan 31, Feb 4,7,9,11,14) After
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24 JENIA TEVELEV §2. Elliptic curves: j-invariant (Jan 31, Feb 4,7,9,11,14) After the projective line P1, the easiest algebraic curve to understand is an elliptic curve (Riemann surface of genus 1). Let M = isom. classes of elliptic curves . 1 { } We are going to assign to each elliptic curve a number, called its j-invariant and prove that 1 M1 = Aj . 1 1 So as a space M1 A is not very interesting. However, understanding A ! as a moduli space of elliptic curves leads to some breath-taking mathemat- ics. More generally, we introduce M = isom. classes of smooth projective curves of genus g g { } and M = isom. classes of curves C of genus g with points p , . , p C . g,n { 1 n ∈ } We will return to these moduli spaces later in the course. But first let us recall some basic facts about algebraic curves = compact Riemann surfaces. We refer to [G] and [Mi] for a rigorous and detailed exposition. §2.1. Algebraic functions, algebraic curves, and Riemann surfaces. The theory of algebraic curves has roots in analysis of Abelian integrals. An easiest example is the elliptic integral: in 1655 Wallis began to study the arc length of an ellipse (X/a)2 + (Y/b)2 = 1. The equation for the ellipse can be solved for Y : Y = (b/a) (a2 X2), − and this can easily be differentiated !to find bX Y ! = − . a√a2 X2 − 2 This is squared and put into the integral 1 + (Y !) dX for the arc length. Now the substitution x = X/a results in " ! 1 e2x2 s = a − dx, 1 x2 # $ − between the limits 0 and X/a, where e = 1 (b/a)2 is the eccentricity. − This is the result for the arc length from X = 0 to X/a in the first quadrant, ! beginning at the point (0, b) on the Y -axis. Notice that we can rewrite this integral as a ae2x2 − dx = P (x, y) dx, (1 e2x2)(1 x2) # − − # where P (x, y) is a rational! function and y is a solution of the equation y2 = (1 e2x2)(1 x2). − − This equation defines an elliptic curve! y is an example of an algebraic func- tion. Namely, an algebraic function y = y(x) is a solution of the equation n n 1 y + a1(x)y − + . + an(x) = 0, (2.1.1) MODULI SPACES AND INVARIANT THEORY 25 where ai(x) C(x) are rational functions (ratios of polynomials). Without ∈ loss of generality, we can assume that this equation is irreducible over C(x). For example, we can get nested radicals y(x) = 3 x3 7x√x, although − after Abel and Galois we know that not any algebraic function is a nested ! radical (for n 5)! An Abelian integral is the integral of the form ≥ P (x, y) dx # where P (x, y) is some rational function. All rational functions P (x, y) form a field K, which is finitely generated and of transcendence degree 1 over C (because x and y are algebraically dependent). And vice versa, given a field K such that tr.deg.CK = 1, we can let x be an element transcendent over C. Then K/C(x) is a finitely generated, algebraic (hence finite), and sepa- rable (because we are in characteristic 0) field extension. By a theorem on the primitive element, we have K = C(x, y), where y is a root of an irreducible polynomial (2.1.1). Notice that of course there are infinitely many choices for x and y, thus the equation (2.1.1) is not determined by the field exten- sion. It is not important from the perspective of computing integrals either (we can always do u-substitutions). So on a purely algebraic level we can study isomorphism classes of f.g. field extensions K/C with tr.deg.CK = 1. Clearing denominators in (2.1.1) gives an irreducible affine plane curve 2 C = f(x, y) = 0 A { } ⊂ and its projective completion, an irreducible plane curve in P2. Recall that the word curve here means “of dimension 1”, and dimension of an irreducible affine or projective variety is by definition the transcendence degree of the field of rational functions C(C). So we can restate our moduli problem as understanding birational equivalence classes of irreducible plane curves. Here we use the following definition 2.1.2. DEFINITION. Irreducible (affine or projective) algebraic varieties X and Y are called birationally equivalent if their fields of rational functions C(X) and C(Y ) are isomorphic. More generally, we can consider an arbitrary irreducible affine or projec- tive curve C An or C Pn: ⊂ ⊂ birational equivalence classes of irreducible algebraic curves. This gives the same class of fields, so we are not gaining any new objects. Geometrically, for any such curve a general linear projection n 2 P !!" P is birational onto its image. Let us remind some basic facts related to regular maps (morphisms) and rational maps (see lectures on the Grassmannian 1.8.2 for definitions): 26 JENIA TEVELEV 2.1.3. THEOREM ([X, 2.3.3]). If C is a smooth curve and f : C Pn is a → rational map then f is regular. More generally, if X is a smooth algebraic vari- ety and f : X Pn is a rational map then the indeterminancy locus of f has → codimension 2. 2.1.4. THEOREM ([X, 1.5.2]). If X is a projective variety and f : X Pn is a → regular morphism then f(X) is closed (i.e. also a projective variety). 2.1.5. THEOREM. For any algebraic curve C, there exists a smooth projective curve C! birational to C. Taken together, these facts imply that our moduli problem can be rephrased as the study of isom. classes of smooth projective algebraic curves. 2.1.6. REMARK. Theorem 2.1.5 is proved in [G] by take a plane model C P2 (by projecting Pn P2). • ⊂ !!" compute the normalization C C. • ! → Construction of the normalization in [G] is transcendental: one first con- structs C! as a compact Riemann surface and then invokes a general fact (see below) that it is in fact a projective algebraic curve. Notice however that there exist purely algebraic approaches to desingularization by either (a) algebraic normalization (integral closure in the field of fractions) [X, 2.5.3] or (b) blow-ups [X, 4.4.1] . The analytic approach is to consider Riemann surfaces instead of alge- braic curves. It turns out that this gives the same moduli problem: biholomorphic isom. classes of compact Riemann surfaces. It is easy to show that a smooth algebraic curve is a compact Riemann sur- face. It is harder but not too hard to show that a holomorphic map between two smooth algebraic curves is in fact a regular morphism, for example ant meromorphic function is in fact a rational function. But a really difficult part of the theory is to show that any compact Riemann surface is an al- gebraic curve. It is hard to construct a single meromorphic function, but once this is done the rest is easy. This is done by analysis: to construct a harmonic function on a Riemann surface one (following Klein and Rie- mann): “This is easily done by covering the Riemann surface with tin foil... Suppose the poles of a galvanic battery of a given voltage are placed at the points A1 and A2. A current arises whose potential u is single-valued, con- tinuous, and satisfies the equation ∆u = 0 across the entire surface, except for the points A1 and A2, which are discontinuity points of the function." A modern treatment can be found in [GH], where a much more general Kodaira embedding theorem is discussed. §2.2. Genus. The genus g of a smooth projective algebraic curve can be computed as follows: topologically: the number of handles. • analytically: the dimension of the space of holomorphic differentials. • algebraically: the dimension of the space of rational differentials with- • out poles ω = a dx, where a, x are rational functions on C. MODULI SPACES AND INVARIANT THEORY 27 One also has the following genus formula: 2g 2 = (number of zeros) (number of poles) (2.2.1) − − of any meromorphic (=rational) differential ω. For example, a form ω = dx on P1 at the chart x = 1/y at infinity is dx = d(1/y) = (1/y2)dy. − So it has no zeros and a pole of order 2 at infinity, which agrees with (2.2.1). A smooth plane curve C P2 of degree d has genus ⊂ (d 1)(d 2) g = − − (2.2.2) 2 (d 1)(d 2) (more generally, if C has only nodal singularities then g = − − δ, 2 − where δ is the number of nodes). There is a nice choice of a holomorphic form on C: suppose C A2 is given by the equation f(x, y) = 0. Differen- ∩ x,y tiating this equation shows that dx dy = fy − fx along C, where the first (resp. second) expression is valid at points where x (resp. y) is a holomorphic coordinate. This gives a non-vanishing holomor- phic form ω on C A2. A simple calculation shows that ω has zeros at points ∩ at infinity each of multiplicity d 3. Combined with (2.2.1), this gives − 2g 2 = d(d 3), − − which is equivalent to (2.2.2). §2.3. Divisors on curves. A divisor D is just a linear combination aiPi of points Pi C with integer multiplicities. Its degree is defined as ∈ % deg D = ai. If f is a rational (=meromorphic) function& on C, we can define its divisor (f) = ordP (f)P, P C &∈ where ordP (f) is the order of zeros (or poles) of f at P .