Computing the Zeta Function of Two Classes of Singular Curves
by
Robert Burko
A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of Mathematics University of Toronto
c Copyright (year of graduation) by Robert Burko Contents
1 Introduction 1 1.0.1 Point Counting and the Zeta Function ...... 1 1.0.2 Weil Cohomology ...... 3 1.1 Algorithmic Approaches ...... 4 1.1.1 `-Adic Methods ...... 4 1.1.2 p-Adic Methods ...... 5 1.1.3 Deformation and Fibration Methods ...... 6 1.1.4 Approaches to Singular Varieties ...... 7 1.2 This Thesis ...... 8 1.3 Applications and Future Work ...... 8 1.3.1 Cryptography ...... 9 1.3.2 Support for Dimca’s Conjecture ...... 10 1.3.3 Potential Generalizations and Improvements ...... 11
2 Cohomology Theories 13 2.1 Preliminaries ...... 13 2.1.1 p-Adic numbers and Witt vectors ...... 13 2.1.2 Useful Properties of Etale´ Maps ...... 14 2.2 Algebraic de Rham Cohomology ...... 15 2.2.1 K¨ahlerDifferentials ...... 15 2.2.2 de Rham Cohomology for Schemes ...... 15 2.2.3 de Rham Cohomology with Logarithmic Singularities ...... 16 2.3 p-Adic Cohomology Theories ...... 20 2.3.1 Monsky-Washnitzer Cohomology ...... 20 2.3.2 Rigid Cohomology and Crystalline Cohomology ...... 21 2.3.3 Comparisons Theorems Between p-Adic and de Rham Cohomology 22 2.4 Exact Sequences ...... 23
ii 3 Superelliptic Curves 25 3.1 Basic Properties ...... 25 3.1.1 The Genus ...... 26 3.1.2 The Zeta Function ...... 30 1 0 − 3.1.3 The Vector Space HMW(CK /K) ...... 31 3.1.4 Some Useful Order-preserving Functions ...... 34 3.2 Computing a Basis for Cohomology ...... 38 3.2.1 The Reduction Process ...... 39 3.2.2 Two Lemmas ...... 43 3.3 The Matrix of Frobenius ...... 51 3.4 Working Within a Crystalline Basis ...... 52 3.5 p-Adic Precision Analysis ...... 59
4 Nodal Curves in P2 62 4.1 Cohomology of the Affine Complement of a Hypersurface in Pn ...... 62 4.2 Basic Properties of Nodal Curves ...... 68 4.2.1 Computing a Lift ...... 68 4.2.2 The Zeta Function of a Nodal Curve ...... 74 4.3 A Crystalline Lattice of the Affine Complement ...... 77 4.4 The Matrix of Frobenius ...... 85 4.5 p-Adic Precision Analysis ...... 88
5 Algorithms and Complexity Estimates 90 5.1 Superelliptic Curve ...... 90 5.1.1 Algorithm ...... 90 5.1.2 Complexity Analysis ...... 92 5.2 Nodal Plane Curve ...... 92 5.2.1 Algorithm ...... 92 5.2.2 Complexity Analysis ...... 93
6 Experiments 95 6.1 Examples of Superelliptic Curves ...... 95 6.2 Examples of Nodal Plane Curves ...... 97
iii Chapter 1
Introduction
1.0.1 Point Counting and the Zeta Function
Let p be a prime, let Fp be a finite field with p elements, and let X be an algebraic variety defined over Fp. For instance, X might be the simultaneous solution of the system of polynomial equations f1(x1, ..., xn) ≡ 0 mod p f2(x1, ..., xn) ≡ 0 mod p . . fm(x1, ..., xn) ≡ 0 mod p
where the variables x1, ..., xn lie in Fp. If we restrict the variables to take values in a finite extension of Fp, then there are only a finite set of possibilities for each variable, and so this system has a finite number of solutions. An interesting question in number theory, dating back at least of far as Gauss’ Disquisitiones Arithmeticae [1], asks for the number of solutions to such systems.
An almost equivalent but slightly more involved question is to calculate what is known as the zeta function of X. In general, we let X be an algebraic variety defined over a a finite field with q = p elements, and let #X(Fqk ) denote the number of solutions its defining equation has over the finite field Fqk , the so-called “Fqk -rational points” of X. One defines the zeta function, a formal power series associated to X, by
∞ ! X T k Z(X,T ) = exp #X( k ) ∈ [[T ]]. Fq k Q k=1 The zeta function has many interesting properties. For instance, from Galois theory one can determine that the coefficients of its expanded power series are integers. More
1 Chapter 1. Introduction 2 astonishingly, in 1960 it was proven by Dwork that the zeta function is rational, that is, a quotient of two polynomials with integer coefficients [2]. Dwork’s proof is analytic in nature − he shows that the zeta function is meromorphic, both as a function on the complex plane and on the completion of the algebraic closure of the field of rational p-adic numbers. The following theorem was conjectured by Weil in 1948 and proven by him in the case of curves, but not proven in full generality until 1974 by Deligne [3].
Theorem 1.0.1. Let X by a smooth projective variety of dimension n defined over Fq. Then
1. Z(X,T ) is a rational function of T , and can be written
P (T )P (T ) ··· P (T ) Z(X,T ) = 1 3 2n−1 P0(T )P1(T ) ··· P2n(T )
with Pi(T ) ∈ 1 + T Z[T ]. Moreover, the polynomials Pi(T ) satisfy the following properties:
n i) P0(T ) = 1 − T and P2n(T ) = 1 − q T .
n ii) The map x → q /x sends the roots of Pi(T ) to the roots of P2n−i(T ), pre- serving multiplicities. iii) If one writes Y Pi(T ) = (1 − αijT ) j
i/2 then αij is an algebraic integer with complex absolute value q .
P i 2. Let E = i(−1) deg(Pi). There is a functional equation
1 Z X, = ±qnE/2tEZ(X,T ). qnT
3. If R is the integer ring of a number field, p is a prime ideal in R lying over p, and
X is the reduction modulo p of a smooth scheme Y over R, then deg(Pi) is the i-th
Betti number of Y ×R C as a topological space
Note that the condition for this theorem is that X is smooth and projective, whereas Dwork’s proof of the rationality of the zeta function is valid for any variety defined over
Fq. Chapter 1. Introduction 3
1.0.2 Weil Cohomology
The proof of Theorem (1.0.1) requires finding a “good” cohomology theory for X, known as a Weil cohomology. Such a theory is not unique for X and can be defined in the following way.
k Definition 1.0.2. Let = Fq be a finite field of characteristic p, and let K be a field of characteristic 0. A Weil cohomology is a contravariant functor from smooth proper varieties X over k to graded algebras H•(X), where each Hi(X) is a finite dimensional K-vector space satisfying the following properties:
1. If n = dim(X), then Hi(X) = 0 for i∈ / {0, 1, ..., 2n}.
i i 2. (Lefschetz fixed point theorem) There are “Frobenius maps” Fi : H (X) → H (X), i ∈ {0, ..., 2n} such that
2n X i k i #X(Fqk ) = (−1) Tr(Fi |H (X)) i=0
3. (Poincar´eduality) The vector space H2n(X) is one-dimensional, and the map
Hi(X) × H2n−i(X)(n) → H2n(X)(n)
is a perfect pairing for i ∈ {0, 1, ..., 2n}, and equivariant under the Frobenius maps i i −n (here H (X)(n) denotes the vector space H (X) with Fi replaced by q Fi).
In actuality, Weil cohomologies possess more structure than this, including a cycle class map, K¨unneth formula, and a Lefschetz hyperplane theorem, as well as Frobenius compatibility maps, but for the purposes of this thesis we are interested in the above properties.
When X is not smooth or proper, it is possible that X → Hi(X) is still a well-defined functor, and satisfies some of the above properties. For instance, the rigid cohomology i groups Hrig(X) are defined for any Fq-scheme X, and are finite dimensional and satisfy the Lefschetz fixed point theorem when X is smooth and affine. If X is a singular, projective hypersurface, then Poincar´eduality still holds for 0 ≤ i ≤ dim(X) − dim(Y ), where Y is the singular locus of X. From the following lemma, to ensure rationality of the zeta function it is sufficient to have finite dimensionality of each Hi(X) combined with the Lefschetz fixed point formula. Chapter 1. Introduction 4
Lemma 1.0.3. Let V be a finite dimensional vector space over a field K, and let I denote the identity on V . Then for any endomorphism F of V , there is an identity in the power series ring K[[T ]]
∞ ! X T k exp Tr(F |V ) = det(I − TF |V )−1. k k=1
Proof. A simple calculation, see for instance [4, Appx C, Lemma 4.1].
i It follows immediately that if one defines Pi(T ) = det(I − TFi|H (X)), then the zeta function of X can be written
∞ 2n ! X X T k Z(X,T ) = exp (−1)iTr(F k|Hi(X)) i k k=1 i=0 i 2n ∞ !!(−1) Y X T k = exp Tr(F k|Hi(X)) i k i=0 k=1 2n Y (−1)i+1 = Pi(T ) . i=0 1.1 Algorithmic Approaches
∞ For a variety X defined over Fq, the problem of computing the sequence {#X(Fqk )}k=1 is considered to be a hard problem. The brute force approach of inserting values into the defining equation of X has running time polynomial in q (i.e. exponential in log q) whereas modern approaches (albeit usually only studied for curves and abelian varieties) are expected to run in a number of operations polynomial in log q. Methods for com- putation of zeta functions of algebraic varieties are commonly placed under two main headings, `-adic and p-adic approaches. In this section we will give short summaries of the various algorithms, as well as work that has been done to broaden their scope.
1.1.1 `-Adic Methods
The first polynomial-time algorithm was developed by Schoof [5] and is used to count 2 3 points on an elliptic curve E/Fq given by a Weierstrass model y = x + Ax + B . Schoof computes the trace of the Frobenius endomorphism t = q − #E(Fq) + 1 modulo various primes ` different from the characteristic of Fq, by computing the action of Frobenius on √ the `-torsion points of the curve. He then uses the Hasse-Weil bound |t| ≤ 2 q along with the Chinese remainder theorem to calculate t. This algorithm, after improvements Chapter 1. Introduction 5 by Atkins, Elkies and Couveignes, has running time O((log q)4).
In 1990, an attempt to extend Schoof’s algorithm to more general curves and abelian varieties was made by Pila in [6] and improved by Adelman and Huang [7]. Using a similar approach to that of Pila, a randomized algorithm was developed by Huang and Ierardi [8] in which one computes the number of points on a plane curve of degree d which has only ordinary multiple points in time (log q)dO(1) . Practical methods for these “Schoof-like” algorithms have not been implemented nearly as much as in the case of elliptic curves. However, some success in the case of genus 2 curves has been achieved [9].
1.1.2 p-Adic Methods
In 2000, Satoh demonstrated algorithmically [10] that for an elliptic curve E/Fq, one could explicitly construct a unique elliptic curve E/K˜ called the “canonical lift”, defined over a p-adic field K, and satisfying End(E) ∼= End(E˜). One could thereby compute the trace of Frobenius on E directly as the trace of some corresponding endomorphism on E˜. If q = pa and if we consider p to be fixed, then the running time of his algorithm is O(a2+ε). This is much faster than corresponding `-adic methods. However a significant drawback is that Satoh’s algorithm runs exponentially in log p, so one is forced to use curves over fields with small characteristic.
One of the great advantages of Satoh’s algorithm is that it does not depend on the group structure of the curve. Rather one only needs to consider its defining equation. Thus it spawned a number of new techniques for computing zeta functions of more gen- eral algebraic varieties. What was required was a sufficiently strong cohomology theory for varieties over Fq that could somehow be represented using the defining equation. One theory that is especially relevant to this thesis originates from the work of Monsky and Washnitzer [11].
In a paper [12] which appeared in 2001, Kedlaya showed in odd characteristic how to explicitly construct the Monsky-Washnitzer cohomology groups of a curve C0, obtained by removing points from a hyperelliptic curve C/Fq given by a nonsingular affine planar equation y2 = f(x). One lifts the coordinate ring of C0 to the integer ring of a p-adic field and “weakly completes” it with respect to the p-adic norm (obtaining what is called a “dagger algebra”). This defines an object with two fibres, one of which is isomorphic to Chapter 1. Introduction 6
C0 (the special fibre), and the other defined over a field of characteristic 0 and possessing analytic properties (the generic fibre). One can then compute the trace of Frobenius from the cohomology of the generic fibre.
Kedlaya’s algorithm has running time O(g4+εa3+ε) where g is the genus of the curve, assuming that the characteristic of the base field is fixed. There has been effort made to show Kedlaya’s algorithm can be implemented effectively for curves over finite field of large characteristic (see [13] and [14]). The algorithm has also been adapted extensively to include more general settings. The algorithm was extended to the characteristic 2 case by Denef and Vercauteren [15], to superelliptic curves by Gaudry and G¨urel[16], to
Ca,b curves by Denef and Vercauteren [17], and to smooth projective hypersurfaces by Abbott, Kedlaya, and Roe [18].
1.1.3 Deformation and Fibration Methods
Other p-adic methods for computing zeta functions derive from p-adic analysis, based on the cohomology and deformation theory of Dwork. In 2004, Lauder [19] [20] proposed a method for computing zeta functions of projective hypersurfaces of arbitrary dimension by embedding the surface into a family of hypersurfaces containing a diagonal element1. On such a family Dwork associates a differential equation whose solution parameterizes the matrices of Frobenius for each fibre. One first computes the Frobenius matrix for Dwork cohomology on the diagonal fibre (a relatively simple task), solves the differen- tial equation locally around this specific value, and then evaluates the solution at the intended fibre. This method was later recast by Gerkmann in a framework more akin to algebraic geometry, first for the case of families of elliptic curves [21] and later for fam- ilies of smooth projective hypersurfaces [22] using Berthelot’s “rigid cohomology” [23] [24]. This is a Weil cohomology theory that has the added advantage of being defined for arbitrary varieties (not necessarily smooth or proper), as well as comparison maps to de Rham cohomology from which it inherits the differential equation of Dwork’s theory.
Yet another novel algorithm for computing zeta functions was proposed by Lauder [25] using a “fibration method”. That is, instead of deforming X to a diagonal hypersurface, one views some affine open subset of X as a parameterized family X → S of lower dimensional subvarieties. The relative cohomology of this family is a vector bundle on a
1 d d A hypersurface of the form X0 + ··· + Xn = 0. Chapter 1. Introduction 7 subset of the projective line, and one computes the cohomology of X as the cokernel of a natural integrable connection associated to this vector bundle. The Frobenius matrix can then be recovered through the commutativity between the connection and Frobenius maps. This method was later improved and implemented by Lauder [26] for the special case of a fibration into hyperelliptic curves, and for more general cases by Walker [27].
1.1.4 Approaches to Singular Varieties
Though methods for computing zeta functions on smooth varieties have been studied ex- tensively, it appears that only a small amount of consideration has been given to varieties which possess singularities, or even smooth varieties which admit known singular models in affine space. This could be for any number of possible reasons: the lack of comparison isomorphisms between de Rham and rigid cohomology, the fact that the Weil conjectures do not hold for singular varieties, that families which possess singular fibres can be com- pleted in various ways, or that they are thought to be less secure from a cryptographic standpoint. In general, computing the zeta function of a singular variety is considered a much harder problem. However the author feels that this study is undervalued and has great potential for the future.
In 2008, Kloosterman [28] published an article reviewing the various p-adic meth- ods for computing zeta functions of hypersurfaces, and identifying the obstructions to extending these methods to hypersurfaces which possess singularities. He proposed a modified algorithm which attempts to compute the discrepancy between de Rham and rigid cohomology by searching for and discarding eigenvalues of Frobenius which contra- dict a weak form of the Riemann Hypothesis2. It is clear that this tactic is difficult to implement in practice, and only can be prescribed for special situations.
The fundamental obstruction that Kloosterman points out is that for the affine com- plement of a singular projective hypersurface, the spectral sequence associated to the pole order filtration of the de Rham complex used to compute cohomology does not degenerate at E2. He argues that
“One could try to adjust [Kedlaya’s] algorithm by taking an equisingular lift, and try to identify the extra relations needed to obtain [the cohomology group] as a quotient of [the de Rham complex]. Unfortunately, such a lift
2Contrary to its name, this is in fact a theorem for varieties over finite fields. Chapter 1. Introduction 8
might not exist and, except for a few cases, it is not clear at all which relations one needs to add.”
This thesis in part resolves certain cases where these obstructions are manageable, giving some evidence that one could eventually apply these types of algorithms to more general environments.
1.2 This Thesis
Modern methods have yet to provide effective algorithms for counting points on singular varieties. This thesis is comprised of two algorithms for computing the zeta function in specific cases. Chapter 2 reviews the cohomology theories that will be necessary, along with relevant comparison isomorphisms and useful exact sequences. The material in this chapter is not new, however Theorem (2.2.16) is a reformulation of part of Deligne’s work [29] and can be viewed as a generalization of a proposition of Abbott, Kedlaya, and Roe [18, Proposition 2.2.8]. Chapter 3 covers the technical details of a polynomial- time algorithm which computes the zeta function of a superelliptic curve over a finite field whose equation yr = f(x) in affine space has singularities3 along y = 0. This is an extension of the work of Kedlaya [12] as well as Gaudry and G¨urel [16]. The main contribution of this chapter is the modified cohomological reduction method when gcd(f, f 0) 6= 1 and the p-adic precision-loss estimates from Lemmas (3.2.3) and (3.2.4). Chapter 4 then deals with the case of computing the zeta function of a nodal curve in P2. The notable parts of this chapter are the construction of a finite equisingular lift of a curve with a small number of singularities (Proposition (4.2.5)), as well as finding a suitable integer k to meet the requirements of Proposition (4.3.2). In Chapter 5, the algorithms are assembled in a step-by-step manner, and estimates on the complexity of each are given. The final chapter displays several results of a simple-minded implementation of both algorithms in MAGMA programming language.
1.3 Applications and Future Work
The algorithms described in this thesis are woven from deep theories that arise from alge- braic geometry and p-adic analysis, however the applications admit themselves to various Diophantine questions. For instance, if one desired to know how often a cube could be written as the square of the product of two adjacent numbers modulo a prime, then one
3Equivalently, f(x) is not squarefree. Chapter 1. Introduction 9 could rephrase the question as a point-counting problem on the singular superelliptic 3 2 2 curve y = x (x − 1) over Fp. These algorithms are likely to have industrial applications as well.
1.3.1 Cryptography
Since the late 1980’s, mathematicians and computer scientists have prolifically used al- gebraic varieties in encryption systems, with the majority of attention given to elliptic curves. This was made possible since elliptic curves over finite fields possess a natural group structure4. The encryption is devised in the following way: Alice and Bob wish to share a secret key. They choose an elliptic curve with a point P . Alice chooses a secret number m, computes mP , and sends the result to Bob. Bob chooses a secret number n, computes nP , and sends the result to Alice. Now Alice computes mnP = m(nP ) and Bob computes mnP = n(mP ), and this is the secret that they share. We assume that no one can determine the secret key mnP without knowledge of either m or n, even if they have intercepted all the communication between Alice and Bob (this is known as the Diffie-Hellman problem).
Elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) was shown to give similar security as RSA5 but used smaller key sizes. In order to ensure the security of an ECC system, one needs to know that the number of rational points on the curve is divisible by a large prime, and it was this necessity that provided the initial motivation for fast point-counting algorithms. The natural question was then to ask whether other geometric objects could be useful in cryptography. A curve C in general does not have a group structure on its points, however one can consider the associated “Jacobian” variety J(C) which does have the structure of an abelian group. Systems based on the Jacobians of hyperelliptic curves,
superelliptic curves, and Ca,b curves have been proposed and are widely studied, and they seem to share many of the advantages of ECC. In the vast majority of such systems, the affine planar representation of the curve has no singularities, which not only limits the number of possible choices for curves, but perhaps also misses some potential benefits.
There have been several attempts to create a secure cryptographic system using sin- gular curves. In 1995 Koyama [30] proposed an RSA-type cryptosystem based on a nodal cubic curve of the form y2 +axy ≡ x3 mod n, where n is the product of two large primes
4One can add two points P and Q together to get a new point P + Q on the curve, or multiply P by an integer n to get a new point nP . 5A standard cryptographic protocol relying on the difficult of factoring large integers. Chapter 1. Introduction 10 p and q, and showed that the decryption speed could be performed twice as fast as RSA. One uses what is known as the “generalized Jacobian”, which in Koyama’s case is a group comprised of the points on the curve minus the point at the origin. Generalized Jacobians of singular curves are quasi-projective group schemes, with some quotient isomorphic to the Jacobian of the normalization of the curve. Algorithms for representing elements and performing group operations on generalized Jacobians have been developed (see for instance [31] or [32]), giving hope for the idea of using singular curves for cryptographic purposes, however it is argued that generalized Jacobians are no more secure than stan- dard Jacobians, and in some cases less secure due the presence of pairing-based attacks [33].
An alternative application, suggested in 2004 by Kohel [34], uses the idea of embed- ding a finite field problem into the generalized Jacobian group of a singular hyperelliptic curve6 over a smaller base field that is amenable to the index calculus attack, which is subexponential in time. An interesting project for the future would be to see if one could extend this method to the singular curves studied in this thesis. The algorithms for com- puting zeta functions would then be essential for selecting a curve with an appropriate generalized Jacobian.
1.3.2 Support for Dimca’s Conjecture
In a beautiful paper by Griffiths [35], the following statement is shown:
If a closed i-form ω in complex projective space with pole order k along a smooth hypersurface V has the property that for some differential ϕ, ω + dϕ has pole order k −1 along V , then there exists a differential ψ with pole order k − 1 along V such that ω + dψ also has pole order k − 1 along V .
The same is not true if V is singular, in fact it is always false. Dimca proves [36] that one can make the same assertion for singular curves with ψ having pole order k + 1 + i. In the case that V is a normal crossings divisor in Pn, Proposition (4.3.2) proves that for k large enough7 one can take ψ with pole order k + 1, or pole order k when i = n. Dimca’s general conjecture is that one will be able to find ψ with pole order at most k +n along V (see Conjecture (4.1.3)). The reduction algorithm of Chapter 4 could easily be adapted to more general singular hypersurfaces to provide evidence for this conjecture.
6Kohel considers curves of the form y2 = xf(x)2 where f is a squarefree polynomial. 7For nodal curves we see this is k ≥ 2, for higher dimensional normal crossings divisors one would suspect the requirement to be k ≥ n. Chapter 1. Introduction 11
1.3.3 Potential Generalizations and Improvements
The methods used in this thesis should be immediately extendable to more general situ- ations. For instance, one would expect that an algorithm similar to the one described in
Chapter 3 should be extendable to Ca,b curves with singular planar equations. For the algorithm of Chapter 4, one could try to extend this method to the case of curves in P2 with ordinary multiple points. Since every irreducible projective plane curve is birational to a curve with ordinary multiple points [37, Appx. A], one would then have an algo- rithm to compute the zeta function of a wide selection of curves. With additional effort, an extension of the algorithm to certain classes of higher dimensional singular varieties should be feasible, particularly in the case of normal crossings divisors.
For projective curves with worse singularities the situation may be more dire since an equisingular lift may not exist, however it seems highly likely that the zeta function may be recovered through different types of lifting. For instance, Kloosterman [28] con- siders the case where one can define a sequence of lifts to smooth varieties Xk where the singular locus is lifted mod pk. Lauder [38] considers projective singular hypersurfaces that can be embedded into a family of smooth varieties and lifted to the integer ring of a number field. He then performs a base change of the parameterizing curve t 7→ te so that the family extends to “semistable degeneration”, and shows that one can uniquely define a computable “limiting Frobenius structure” for the new family. It seems, at least experimentally, that Frobenius action on the cohomology of the semistable fibre can be computed from the limiting Frobenius structure. Unfortunately it is unclear for now what the relationship is to the zeta function of the original hypersurface. However, the theory behind limiting Frobenius structures suggests another possible application. If one could reverse the process, and use the Frobenius action on the degenerate fibre to compute the limiting Frobenius structure, there would immediately exist a deformation algorithm to compute the zeta function of a smooth variety from a singular one. This has the potential of leading to faster algorithms, since one expects at least heuristically that the cohomology of the singular fibre will have lower dimension.
Lastly, it should be mentioned that the author feels that the algorithm in Chapter 4 is not yet optimal. In particular, as opposed to the explicit reduction method of Chapter 3, the algorithm of Chapter 4 requires finding solutions to seemingly random systems of linear equations in a vector space of dimension roughly d2, where d is the degree of the curve. This is the limiting step of that algorithm (see Step 4 of the complexity analysis) and might be possible to avoid using local data at the singular points of the curve in Chapter 1. Introduction 12 conjunction with the Poincar´eresidue map (see Theorem (2.2.16)). Chapter 2
Cohomology Theories
In this section we give an overview of the cohomology theories that will be used in this thesis, relevant theorems, as well as the comparison maps between them.
2.1 Preliminaries
2.1.1 p-Adic numbers and Witt vectors
Let p be a prime, a a positive integer, put q = pa, and let k be the finite field with q elements.
Proposition 2.1.1. There is a unique local domain W (k) having characteristic 0, maxi- mal ideal (p), complete with respect to its p-adic topology, and such that W (k)/pW (k) ∼= k. Proof. See [39, Section 8.10].
Definition 2.1.2. The ring W (k), which we will henceforth denote by V , is called the ring of Witt vectors of k.
One can construct V explicitly: Let θ ∈ k be a primitive element with minimal poly- nomial P (x). Let P (x) ∈ Z[x] be the monic polynomial with coefficients in {0, 1, ..., p} such that its reduction modulo p is P . Then P (x) is irreducible, by irreducibility of P . Fix an algebraic closure Q of Q, and let θ ∈ Q be an algebraic integer with minimal polynomial P (x). Then the ring Zp[θ] is then a local domain, complete with respect to its maximal ideal (p), and with residue field
Zp[θ] ∼ ∼ k = Fp[θ] = . pZp[θ]
Therefore Zp[θ] = V .
13 Chapter 2. Cohomology Theories 14
Definition 2.1.3. Let Z(p) denote the subring of Q consisting of elements whose denom- inators are not divisible by p. Then we will call Z(p)[θ] ⊂ V the ring of Witt vectors of
finite length, and denote it Vfin.
Definition 2.1.4. Let K denote the quotient field of V . The p-adic valuation on K, i denoted ordp : K → Z, is the function which sends b ∈ K to max{i ∈ Z : b ∈ p V }.
Define the p-adic absolute value, denoted | · |p, to be the absolute value on K given by
−ordp(b) |b|p = p .
Remark 2.1.5. In the the case that a = 1, one has V = Zp and K = Qp. For a > 1, K is the unique unramified extension of Qp of degree a. Definition 2.1.6. The p-power Frobenius on k, which sends x to xp, induces an endo- morphism on V which extends to an automorphism on K. Either of these maps will be called the p-power Frobenius map, denoted by σ. If V is a K-vector space, and φ is an additive map on V , we will say that φ is σ-linear if φ(cv) = σ(c)φ(v) for all c ∈ K, v ∈ V .
Remark 2.1.7. Note that σa is the identity on K, so if φ is a σ-linear map on a K-vector space V , then φa is linear. If V is finite dimensional, and M is the matrix of φ with respect to some basis B, then the matrix for φa is MM σ ··· M σa−1 , where M σi is the matrix with entries equal to the entries of M acted upon by σi.
2.1.2 Useful Properties of Etale´ Maps
We will use this section to recall a few results about ´etalemorphisms. These will later allow us to collect information near singularities of particular curves by performing an ´etalebase change.
Proposition 2.1.8. Suppose S is a locally Noetherian scheme, and f : X → S be an ´etalemorphism of schemes over an algebraically closed field. Fix a point x ∈ X. Then
the map between formal completions of the local rings ObS,f(x) → ObX,x is an isomorphism. Proof. See [40, Proposition 3.26].
Definition 2.1.9. Let I be coherent sheaf of ideals on a locally Noetherian scheme X, n defining a closed subscheme Y . The X-scheme Proj(⊕n≥0I ) → X is called the blowing- up of X along Y , and is denoted XeY . Proposition 2.1.10. Let X and Z be locally Noetherian schemes, and let Y be a closed subscheme of X. Let g : Z → X be a flat morphism of schemes. Then there is a canonical isomorphism ∼ Zeg−1(Y ) −→ XeY ×X Z Chapter 2. Cohomology Theories 15
Proof. See [40, Proposition 1.12 (c)].
2.2 Algebraic de Rham Cohomology
Algebraic de Rham Cohomology, introduced by Grothendieck, is the algebraic analogue of de Rham theory on smooth manifolds. Given a morphism X → S of objects in a i category C, define the i-th (algebraic) relative de Rham cohomology group HdR(X/S).
2.2.1 K¨ahlerDifferentials
Let A be a commutative ring with identity, let B be an A-algebra, and let M be a B-module.
Definition 2.2.1. An A-derivation of B into M is an A-linear map d : B → M which 0 satisfies da = 0 for all a ∈ A, as well as the Leibniz rule: for b1, bb2 ∈ B, d(bb ) = bdb0 + b0db.
Definition 2.2.2. A module of relative differential forms of B over A is a B-module 1 1 ΩB/A equipped with an A-derivation d : B → ΩB/A, satisfying the following universal property: For any B-module M, and for any A-derivation d0 : B → M, there exists a 1 0 unique B-module homomorphism f :ΩB/A → M such that d = f ◦ d.
1 The universal property ensures that ΩB/A is unique. One way to prove existence of 1 ΩB/A is to give an explicit construction: One takes the free B-module generated by the symbols {db : b ∈ B} and quotients by the submodule generated by d(bb0) − bdb0 − b0db and d(b + b0) − db − db0 for b, b0 ∈ B, and da for a ∈ A. Define the module of relative 1 differential i-forms to be i-th exterior power of the B-module ΩB/A
i i 1 ΩB/A := ∧ ΩB/A
i i+1 with induced maps di :ΩB/A → ΩB/A satisfying di+1 ◦ di = 0.
• Definition 2.2.3. The complex (ΩB/A, d) is called the de Rham complex of B over A, i and an element ω ∈ ΩB/A is called a relative i-form. We call ω closed if di(ω) = 0 and i−1 exact if ω = di−1ν for some ν ∈ ΩB/A.
2.2.2 de Rham Cohomology for Schemes
Definition 2.2.4. Given affine schemes X = Spec(B) and Y = Spec(A), and a morphism X → Y , we define the (algebraic) relative de Rham cohomology of X over Y , denoted Chapter 2. Cohomology Theories 16
i • HdR(X/Y ), to be the cohomology of the complex (ΩB/A, d). i To be more precise, we define HdR(X/Y ) to be the closed i-forms modulo exact i-forms
i i+1 ker{di :Ω → Ω } Hi (X/Y ) := B/A B/A . dR i−1 i im{di−1 :ΩB/A → ΩB/A}
This definition can be generalized to arbitrary schemes. Proposition 2.2.5. Let f : X → Y be a morphism of schemes. Then there exists a 1 unique quasi-coherent sheaf ΩX/Y on X such that for any affine open subset V of Y , any affine open subset U of f −1(V ), and any x ∈ U, we have
Ω1 ∼= Ω1 (Ω1 ) ∼= Ω1 X/Y U OX (U)/OY (V ) X/Y x OX,x/OY,f(x)
Proof. see [40, Proposition 6.1.17].
1 Definition 2.2.6. The sheaf ΩX/Y is called the sheaf of relative differential 1-forms of X over Y . The sheaf Ωi := ∧i Ω1 is called the sheaf of relative differential i-forms of X/Y OX X/Y i i+1 X over Y . Exterior differentiation then induces maps di :ΩX/Y → ΩX/Y . If Y = Spec(A) i is affine, we also denote these sheaves ΩX/A. Definition 2.2.7. Let f : X → Y be a morphism of schemes. We define the (algebraic) i relative de Rham cohomology of X over Y , denoted HdR(X/Y ), to be the global sections i • of the sheaf R f∗ΩX/Y on Y . i • Remark 2.2.8. If Y is affine, and X is quasi-compact and separated, then R f∗ΩX/Y (Y ) = i • i • H (X, ΩX/Y ) := R ΓΩX/Y , where Γ is the global sections functor [40, Proposition 2.28]. i i • In this case, ΩX/Y (U) is acyclic for any open affine subset U of X, and H (X, ΩX/Y ) may i • • be computed as H (X, ΩX/Y ), i.e. the hypercohomology of ΩX/Y . In particular, if X is affine, we arrive at the previous definition. Remark 2.2.9. It can be shown (e.g. [40, Proposition 6.2.2]) that if f : X → Y is smooth, i then ΩX/Y is a locally free OX -module.
2.2.3 de Rham Cohomology with Logarithmic Singularities
Here we will review the constructions involving differentials with logarithmic poles along a subscheme. First we require several preliminary definitions. Definition 2.2.10. Let f : X → S be a morphism of finite type. Then f is smooth of relative dimension n if it is smooth, and all of its non-empty fibres are equidimensional of dimension n. We say f is ´etale if it is smooth of relative dimension 0. Chapter 2. Cohomology Theories 17
Definition 2.2.11. A smooth pair (resp. a smooth proper pair) of relative dimension n over a scheme S, is a pair of S-schemes (X,Z) in which f : X → S is smooth (resp. smooth proper) of relative dimension n, and Z is a relative reduced normal crossings divisor on X. That is, ´etale-locally on X, one can find an S-isomorphism of X with n a Zariski open subset of AS under which Z is carried to an open subset of a union of coordinate hyperplanes.
Remark 2.2.12. In the definition of a smooth pair (X,Z) we include the possibility of Z being empty.
Definition 2.2.13. Let (X,Z) be a smooth pair of relative dimension n over a scheme S, such that U := X \ Z is affine with inclusion map ι : U → X. We define the sheaf of rel- 1 ative differential 1-forms on X with logarithmic singularities along Z, denoted Ω(X,Z)/S, 1 to be the sub-OX -module of ι∗ΩU/S defined on affine ´etaleopen sets V in the following 1 way: If t1, ..., tn are local coordinates for V on AS, and Z|V is defined by an equation 1 t1 ··· tr = 0, then Γ(V, Ω(X,Z)/S) is defined to be the free Γ(V, OX )-module generated by the elements dt1/t1, ..., dtr/tr, dtr+1, ..., dtn.
Setting Ωi = ∧i Ω1 , the exterior differentiation operator inherited from (X,Z)/S OX (X,Z)/S i ι∗ΩU/S induces maps i i+1 di :Ω(X,Z)/S → Ω(X,Z)/S. The resulting complex is called the de Rham complex of (X,Z) over S. We define the i i-th algebraic de Rham cohomology group of (X,Z) over S, denoted HdR((X,Z)/S), to i • be the global sections of R f∗Ω(X,Z)/S.
i Remark 2.2.14. As in the remark of the previous section, if S is affine then HdR((X,Z)/S) i • can be computed as H (X, Ω(X,Z)/S), the hypercohomology of the de Rham complex of (X,Z).
i Definition 2.2.15. Using the notation from the previous definition, denote by Wk(Ω(X,Z)/S) i the submodule of Ω(X,Z)/S generated on affine ´etaleopen sets V by differentials of the form dtj(1) dtj(l) ∧ · · · ∧ ∧ dtj(l+1) ∧ · · · ∧ dtj(i), l ≤ k. tj(1) tj(l) • • Then Wk(Ω(X,Z)/S) is a subcomplex of Ω(X,Z)/S. Let
W • • • Grk (Ω(X,Z)/S) = Wk(Ω(X,Z)/S)/Wk−1(Ω(X,Z)/S) denote the associated graded complex. Chapter 2. Cohomology Theories 18
We will make use of the following construction of Deligne from [29, section 3.I], adapted from the language of complex analytic geometry to our present environment. Let (X,Z) be a smooth pair over a scheme S of relative dimension n. Then around each point P ∈ X, there is an ´etaleneighbourhood i : U → X, and an open immersion n −1 j : U → AS, such that i (Z) is a union H1 ∪ · · · ∪ Hr where each Hi is the intersection n T of a distinct hyperplane in AS with U. For a subset J ⊂ {1, ..., r}, let HJ = i∈J Hi, k S k F and define ZU = |J|=k HJ and ZeU = |J|=k HJ , where the union is taken over all sub- sets of {1, ..., r} of length k. These glue together to form S-schemes Zk and Zek. Put Z0 = Ze0 = X. By construction, Zek is a smooth scheme, Z1 = Z, and for k > 1, Zk is k−1 F S the singular locus of Z . Additionally, the projection |J|=k HJ → |J|=k HJ gives a k k k k map Ze → Z which is in fact the normalization of Z . Let ik : Ze → X denote the compositions of the normalization with the inclusion map.
We now define a sheaf of Z-modules εk on the small ´etalesite of Zek as follows. Let k Vk L ε (HJ ) = ( i∈J ZHi ), where ZHi denotes a copy of the integers corresponding to Hi. These glue together to form a locally free sheaf of rank 1. For a sheaf F on Zek, let F(εk) k denote the tensor product F ×Z ε .
Theorem 2.2.16 (Poincar´eResidue Theorem). Suppose (X,Z) is a smooth pair of rela-
tive dimension n over S. Then for each 1 ≤ k ≤ n there is an isomorphism of OX -modules
W • • k Res : Gr (Ω ) → ιk∗Ω (ε )[−k]. k (X,Z)/S Zek
´ n Proof. Etale-locally on X, Z is given in some Zariski-open set U ⊂ AS as a union
of hyperplanes H1, ..., Hr. Localizing further, we may assume that U = Spec(R) and
S = Spec(A) are affine, and the hyperplanes are defined by local coordinates t1, ..., tr ∈ R. Then by definition • k M • k ιk∗Ω (ε )(U) = Ω ⊗ ε (HJ ) Zek RJ /A |J|=k
where RJ = R/(tj1 , ..., tjk ) for J = {j1, ..., jk} ⊂ {1, .., r}. We can define a surjective map
• • Wk(Ω(X,Z)/S)(U) → ιk∗ΩZk (ε)(U)
dt dt by first defining it on sections ω = α ∧ j1 ∧ · · · ∧ jk to be tj1 tjk
ω 7→ (α mod t , ..., t ) ⊗ (1 ∧ · · · ∧ 1 ) j1 jk Hj1 Hjk Chapter 2. Cohomology Theories 19 and extending linearly over A. We define Res to be the above map modulo its kernel, • which is equal to Wk−1(Ω(X,Z)/S)(U), thus defining an isomorphism on the graded com- plex. To see that Res is well-defined globally, it is enough to see that it is independent of the choice the local parameters defining Z. This is immediate from the following observations:
1. If σ is a permutation of J, then
dt dt dt dt ω = α ∧ j1 ∧ · · · ∧ jk = sgn(σ)α ∧ σ(j1) ∧ · · · ∧ σ(jk) , tj1 tjk tσ(j1) tσ(jk)
so the map
ω 7→ (sgn(σ)α mod tj , ..., tj ) ⊗ (1H ∧ · · · ∧ 1H ) 1 k σ(j1) σ(jk) = (α mod t , ..., t ) ⊗ (1 ∧ · · · ∧ 1 ) j1 jk Hj1 Hjk
is the same as the one defined previously.
∗ • 2. If u ∈ R is a unit and α ∈ Wk−1(Ω(X,Z)/S)(U), then
d(utji ) dtji du • α ∧ − α ∧ = α ∧ ∈ Wk−1(Ω(X,Z)/S)(U), utji tji u
so choosing a new parameter for Hji gives an equivalent element in the graded complex.
Remark 2.2.17. It is clear that εk is isomorphic to the constant sheaf on Zek for k = 1. The same is true for k = n, since Zen is a disjoint union of schemes isomorphic to S, on which εn is constant. Therefore for n = 2 we can ignore εk entirely, however it is worth noting that the map W • • Res : Gr (Ω ) → i2∗Ω [−2] 2 (X,Z)/S Ze2 is noncanonical, i.e. it depends on a choice of sign at each crossing.
Definition 2.2.18. Let (X,Z) be a smooth pair over a scheme S, let F be a sheaf of
OX -modules, and let m be a nonnegative integer. Let OX (mZ) denote the invertible sheaf on X corresponding to the divisor mZ. Define the m-th twist of F along Z to be
F(mZ) := F ⊗OX OX (mZ). Chapter 2. Cohomology Theories 20
Remark 2.2.19. On affine ´etaleopen sets V of X, where V |Z is defined by t1 ··· tr = 0, i i Ω(X,Z)/S is the sub-OX -module of ΩX/S(Z) generated freely by dt1/t1, ..., dtr/tr, dtr+1, ..., dtn i and ΩX/S is the submodule generated by dt1, ..., dtn. Thus for any integer m there are
natural inclusions of OX -modules
i i i i ΩX/S(mZ) ⊂ Ω(X,Z)/S(mZ) ⊂ ΩX/S((m + 1)Z) ⊂ ι∗ΩU/S,
i i i and ι∗ΩU/S is equal to the direct limit of either ΩX/S(mZ) or Ω(X,Z)/S(mZ) as m increases. On affine subsets V ⊂ X, we can write
i i i+1 Γ(V, Ω(X,Z)/S) = {s ∈ Γ(V, ΩX/S(Z)) : dis ∈ Γ(V, ΩX/S(Z))}.
We have the following useful fact about the homology sheaves of differential forms and their twists.
Theorem 2.2.20. Let (X,Z) be a smooth pair over a scheme S. For each nonnegative integer m, the natural map of complexes of sheaves
• • Ω(X,Z)/S → Ω(X,Z)/S(mZ)
induces maps on the homology sheaves whose kernels and cokernels are killed by lcm(1, ..., m).
Proof. For the assertion about the cokernel, see [18, Theorem 2.2.5]. For the assertion about the kernel, see [41, Proposition 3]
2.3 p-Adic Cohomology Theories
If a variety is defined over a field of characteristic p > 0, then de Rham cohomology is not a suitable cohomology theory, for it does not offer finite dimensionality in even the 1 simplest of cases. For instance, the HdR(Spec(Fp[x])) contains the linearly independent pi−1 ∞ set {x dx}i=1. It is therefore necessary to develop cohomology theories over a field of characteristic 0.
2.3.1 Monsky-Washnitzer Cohomology
Definition 2.3.1. For a V -algebra A, we will denote by Aˆ its completion with respect to the ideal pA, that is, the universal object of the inverse system · · · → A/p2A → A/pA. Chapter 2. Cohomology Theories 21
ˆ Remark 2.3.2. If A is finitely generated by elements {x1, ..., xn}, then an element of A can be written as power series in multi-index notation
X α cαx
with cα ∈ V satisfying |cα|p → 0 as |α| → ∞. Here α = a1, .., an is a multi-index of
α a1 an nonnegative integers, x = x1 ··· xn , and |α| = a1 + ··· + an.
Definition 2.3.3. Let A be a finitely generated V -algebra, and let {x1, ..., xn} be a set of generators. We define the dagger algebra of A, denoted A†, to be the subalgebra of Aˆ consisting of the overconvergent power series. That is, A† consists of elements representable as X α cαx
with cα ∈ V , such that there exist real numbers C, r with C > 0, 0 < r < 1, satisfying |α| |cα|p ≤ Cr for all α.
Definition 2.3.4. Let X be a smooth affine variety over k with coordinate ring A. By a theorem of Elkik [42], there exists a V -algebra A such that A/pA ∼= A and X = Spec(A) is a smooth affine -scheme. The i-th cohomology group of the complex Ω• is denoted V A†/V i HMW(X/V ). We define the i-th Monsky-Washnitzer cohomology group of X, denoted i i HMW(X/K), to be HMW(X/V ) ⊗V K. Remark 2.3.5. Monsky and Washnitzer prove [11, Theorem 5.6] that the map sending i X to HMW(X/K) is a contravariant functor. In particular, it is independent of the choices that were made (namely, the choice of the V -algebra A and its generators). Additionally, σ can be extended to a σ-linear map on A†, which induces a σ-linear map i F on HMW(X/K).
2.3.2 Rigid Cohomology and Crystalline Cohomology
We now discuss the notions and relevant theorems of rigid cohomology and crystalline cohomology. We do not give the technical background, as it is lengthy and unnecessary for putting the theory to practical use. The explicit constructions may be found in a work of Shiho [43] for crystalline cohomology, and Berthelot [23] for rigid cohomology.
Definition 2.3.6. Let (X,Z) be a smooth proper pair over k. One can define a V -module i Hcrys((X,Z)/V ), contravariantly functorial in the pair (X,Z), called the i-th crystalline cohomology group of (X,Z). Moreover, the Frobenius on k induces a σ-linear map on i i Hcrys((X,Z)/V ). If Z is empty, we will write the crystalline cohomology as Hcrys(X/V ). Chapter 2. Cohomology Theories 22
Definition 2.3.7. Let X be a smooth k-scheme. One can define a finite-dimensional K- i vector space Hrig(X/K), contravariantly functorial in X, called the i-th rigid cohomology group of X, with a σ-linear map induced by the Frobenius on k.
From Berthelot [24, Propositions 1.9 and 1.10], we have the following comparison isomorphisms, connecting rigid, crystalline, and Monsky-Washnitzer cohomology groups.
Proposition 2.3.8. Let X be a smooth, proper k-scheme. There is a functorial, Frobenius- equivariant isomorphism
i ∼ i Hrig(X/K) = Hcrys(X/V ) ⊗V K
Proposition 2.3.9. Let X be a smooth, affine k-scheme. There is a functorial, Frobenius- equivariant isomorphism i ∼ i Hrig(X/K) = HMW(X/K)
The following is a result of Shiho [43, Theorem 2.4.4]
Theorem 2.3.10. Let (X,Z) be a smooth pair over k, and set U = X \ Z. There is a functorial, Frobenius-equivariant isomorphism
i ∼ i Hcrys((X,Z)/V ) ⊗V K = Hrig(U/K)
2.3.3 Comparisons Theorems Between p-Adic and de Rham Co- homology
Fundamental to all p-adic point counting algorithms is the ability to compute a p-adic co- homology group as the de Rham cohomology of some scheme. Additionally, the following comparison isomorphisms can be used to give effective p-adic bounds for the algorithms.
Theorem 2.3.11. [44, Cor 2.6] Let (X, Z) be a smooth proper pair over V . Put U =
X \ Z, and let U and UK denote the special and generic fibres of U. Then there is an isomorphism i ∼ i Hrig(U/K) = HdR(UK /K)
In particular, when Z is empty the theorem reduces to an isomorphism
i ∼ i Hrig(X/K) = HdR(XK /K). Chapter 2. Cohomology Theories 23
Proposition 2.3.12. Let (X, Z) be a smooth proper pair over V . Let X and Z be the special fibres of X and Z, respectively. Then there is an isomorphism
i ∼ i Hcrys((X,Z)/V ) = HdR((X, Z)/V )
Proof. See [45, Theorem 6.4].
2.4 Exact Sequences
Of particular use to us will be several be exact sequences which have analogues in each cohomology theory. We begin with an algebraic version of the Gysin sequence from the theory of complex manifolds.
Theorem 2.4.1. Let X be a smooth variety over a field of characteristic 0, and let Z be a smooth closed subvariety of pure codimension r. Then there is a long exact sequence
i i δ i+1−2r i+1 · · · → HdR(X) → HdR(X \ Z) −→ HdR (Z) → HdR (X) → · · ·
The map δ we will refer to as the Poincar´eresidue map.
Proof. Combine Theorem 3.3 and Proposition 3.4 from [46].
As in most cohomology theories, there is a notion of cohomology with compact support i i for both de Rham and rigid cohomology, denoted HdR,c(X) and Hrig,c(X), respectively, which are isomorphic to cohomology without compact support for X proper. One has the following excision sequences for these objects, which carries the added benefit of allowing us to forgo smoothness assumptions.
Proposition 2.4.2. Let X be variety over a field of characteristic 0, let Z be closed subvariety, and let U denote the complement. Then there is a long exact sequence
i i i i+1 · · · → HdR,c(U) → HdR,c(X) → HdR,c(Z) → HdR,c(U) → · · ·
Proof. See [47, Proposition 1.11]
Proposition 2.4.3. Let X be a separated k-scheme of finite type, let Z be closed sub- scheme, and let U denote the complement. Then there exists a Frobenius-equivariant long exact sequence
i i i i+1 · · · → Hrig,c(U/K) → Hrig,c(X/K) → Hrig,c(Z/K) → Hrig,c(U/K) → · · · Chapter 2. Cohomology Theories 24
Proof. See [48, 3.1 (iii)].
For a space M that has an action of Frobenius, given an integer l, we denote by M(l) the space M with the action of Frobenius multiplied by q−l. For X a smooth k-scheme of dimension n, Poincar´eduality in rigid cohomology gives a Frobenius-equivariant K- pairing i 2n−i Hrig,c(X) × Hrig (X)(n) → K (2.1) which leads to the following proposition (for details of these constructions see [49]).
Proposition 2.4.4. Let (X,Z) be a smooth pair over k with Z also smooth. Put U = X \ Z. Then there exists a Frobenius-equivariant long exact sequence
i i i−1 i+1 · · · → Hrig(X/K) → Hrig(U/K) → Hrig (Z/K)(−1) → Hrig (X/K) → · · ·
Proof. See [18, Proposition 2.4.1 b] Chapter 3
Superelliptic Curves
3.1 Basic Properties
Definition 3.1.1. We define a superelliptic curve C → S of genus g to be a smooth projective morphism of schemes such that the fibre over each closed point η → S is connected, has dimension 1, genus g, and is birationally equivalent to an affine plane curve C0 given by an equation
n r d d−1 Y ei y = x + ad−1x + ··· + a0 = (x − αi) ∈ k(η)[x] i=1 where r is a fixed prime and d is a positive integer such that (r, d) = 1. We require the singular points of the planar equation to be rational over k(η)(αi ∈ k(η) if ei > 1) and if char(k(η)) = p > 0, we require (p, r) = 1 and (p, ei) = 1 for each i.
A superelliptic curve C over a field F comes equipped with an automorphism ρ of order r induced by the map (x, y) 7−→ (x, ζy), where ζ is a primitive r-th root of unity. Letting C/hρi be the quotient variety, there is an isomorphism
1 C/hρi → PF given by [(x, y)] 7→ x on C0. Suppose C is a superelliptic curve over a field F , birationally equivalent to an affine plane curve C0 defined by the equation
n r Y ei y = f(x) = (x − αi) . i=1
25 Chapter 3. Superelliptic Curves 26
For simplicity assume that αi ∈ F for all i, and write the division of ei by r with remainder 0 as ei = δir + λi. Let D be the curve defined by the equation
n r Y λi y = (x − αi) . i=1
For a point (a, b) ∈ D0 one has
n !r n Y δi r Y rδi b (a − αi) = b (a − αi) i=1 i=1 n ! n ! Y λi Y rδi = (a − αi) (a − αi) i=1 i=1 n Y ei = (a − αi) i=1
0 0 Qn so we can define a morphism ϕ : D → C as the map which sends (a, b) to (a, b i=1(a− δi 0 0 αi) ). This gives a birational equivalence between C and D over F . We will therefore assume from now on that 1 ≤ ei ≤ r − 1 for all i.
3.1.1 The Genus
a k Let p > 0 be a prime, p 6= 2. Fix a positive integer a, and put q = p and = Fq. Let V denote the ring of Witt vectors over k, Vfin the Witt vectors of finite length, and K the fraction field of V .
0 Suppose Cek is a superelliptic curve over k with associated planar curve Ck defined by an equation n r Y ei y = f(x) = (x − αi) . i=1 0 Suppose that the singular points of Ck are ordered (α1, 0), ..., (αm, 0) for some m ≤ n. k Qn k Then by definition αi ∈ for 1 ≤ i ≤ m. Let τ(x) = i=m+1(x−αi) ∈ [x]. Let α1, ..., αm be lifts of the elements α1, ..., αm to Vfin[x], and let τ(x) ∈ Vfin[x] be a polynomial obtained by lifting the coefficients of τ(x) to Vfin[x]. We then define
m Y ei f(x) = τ(x) (x − αi) . i=1 Chapter 3. Superelliptic Curves 27
r 0 0 The equation y = f(x) defines a V -scheme C with special fibre isomorphic to Ck . Let 0 2 C denote the closure of C in PV , and let CK and Ck denote the generic and special fibres 0 0 0 0 of C, respectively. Put C = C \{y = 0} and let CK and Ck denote the generic and special fibres of C0.
Proposition 3.1.2. There exists a smooth V -scheme Ce over C, isomorphic to C0 outside a finite number of points, and admitting a unique point lying above each singular point of
C. If P∞ is the closed point in Ce lying above ∞, then ordP∞ (x) = −r and ordP∞ (y) = −d.
If Pi is the closed point lying above (αi, 0), then ordPi (x − αi) = r and ordPi (y) = ei.
Proof. To prove the proposition we compute a sequence of blowups of the closed singular points of C restricted to affine neighbourhoods. Fix an algebraic closure K of K, and let V denote its ring of integers. Then V is flat over V . Suppose Ce → C is a blowup of C along a closed subvariety Z. To check that Ce is smooth, from [40, Ch. 4, Definition 3.35] it suffices to check smoothness at the closed points of Ce ×Spec(V ), which by Proposition (2.1.10) is isomorphic to the blowup of C × Spec(V ) along Z. Therefore we can assume K = K and V = V .
r d−r d X Suppose r < d. Then C has equation Y Z = Z f( Z ) in projective coordinates, which is the union of C0 with an additional singular point at infinity ∞ = [0 : 1 : 0]. 1 Restricting to Y 6= 0 and letting (S,T ) be projective coordinates for PV , the blowup at 2 1 the closed point of ∞ gives equations for the total transform of the curve in AV × PV as x zd−r = zdf( ) z T x = Sz
where z := Z/Y and x := X/Y . Note that any point above ∞ occurs at x = z = 0.
Let U1 and U2 be the affine spaces corresponding to T 6= 0 and S 6= 0 respectively. We
choose s := S/T to be an affine coordinate on U1, and t := T/S to be an affine coordinate d−r d on U2. The local equation for the total transform of C on U1 is z = z f(s) so the coordinates of the strict transform satisfy the equation zrf(s) = 1. Thus there is no
point lying above ∞ on U1, and the strict transform of the curve is contained entirely in
U2.
d−r d−r d d 1 The total transform of C in U2 is defined in affine coordinates by t x = x t f( t ) = d d x f−1(t) where we have set f−1(t) = t f(1/t). Note that f−1(0) = 1 6= 0. The strict trans- d−r r form W satisfies the equation t = x f−1(t), which contains a single point lying above Chapter 3. Superelliptic Curves 28
∞, at x = t = 0. Let OW denote the coordinate ring of W , and define
1 O [u, ] W u B = r . (u − f−1(t))
Let g : Spec(B) → W denote the induced morphism of schemes. Since (p, r) = 1, we find d that (ur − f (t)) = rur−1 is a unit, so g is ´etale.Letting v = ux, we can rewrite the du −1 ring B 1 1 OW [u, ] V [t, v, u, ] u u B = r = d−r r r . (u − f−1(t)) (t − v , u − f−1(t)) −1 Since f−1(0) 6= 0, the set g ((0, 0)) consists of r distinct closed points, corresponding r to the roots of u − f−1(0). Let V ⊂ Spec(B) be an open affine set containing exactly one of these points, which we will denote by Q∞. The map
1 V [w, u, ] u ϕ : B −→ r r =: Be (u − f−1(w )) t 7→ wr v 7→ wd−r induces a morphism ϕ∗ : Spec(Be) → Spec(B) which is the composition of a sequence of blowups at the closed point of Spec(B) where t = v = 0. Additionally, it resolves the singularity at Q∞, admits a single closed point Qe∞ lying above Q∞ with uniformizing parameter w, and is an isomorphism outside of the support of the divisor w. Let Ve denote the preimage of V under ϕ∗, and Wf denote the corresponding series of blowups of W at Q∞, by (2.1.10) there is a commutative diagram
∼ Ve = Wf ×W V −−−→ V y y Wf −−−→ W
Since there is only one point in Ve lying above Q∞, there must be a unique point
P∞ ∈ Wf lying above Q∞. Moreover, since g is ´etale,by Proposition (2.1.8) there is an isomorphism on the completed local rings
Oˆ ∼= Oˆ . Wf ,P∞ V,e Qe∞ Chapter 3. Superelliptic Curves 29
which preserves the order of vanishing of an element in the coordinate ring. We have the following calculations
ord (Y/Z) = −ord (z) = −ord (tx) = −ord (tv/u) = −ord (wd/u)) = −d P∞ P∞ P∞ Qe∞ Qe∞
ordP∞ (X/Z) = ordP∞ (x) − ordP∞ (z) = ord (v/u) − d = ord (wd−r/u)) − d = d − r − d = −r. Qe∞ Qe∞
We now turn our attention to points of the form Pi := [αi : 0 : 1], 1 ≤ i ≤ n. Around r Pi, C satisfies the affine equation y = f(x). Shifting coordinates so that Pi = (0, 0), we
r ei can write this equation as y = x fi(x), for some polynomial fi(x) with fi(0) 6= 0. Since
(r, ei) = 1, the same argument as above implies that we introduce a change of coordinates y ur = f (x), v = so that there is an ´etaleneighbourhood of P given by the equation i u i vr = xei . The resolution of singularities given by v 7→ wei , x 7→ wr shows that there is a
unique point Pei ∈ Ce lying above (0, 0). Additionally we have
ord (y) = ord (uwei ) = e Pei Pei i ord (x − α ) = ord (wr) = r. Pei i Pei
The case where d < r is proved similarly.
Proposition 3.1.3. The scheme Ce is a superelliptic curve over V with genus g = (r − 1)(n − 1) . 2 Remark 3.1.4. Note that in the case r = 2 we would have a hyperelliptic curve, and the n − 1 proposition states that its genus is . The fact that this is an integer is ensured by 2 the condition (d, 2) = 1, and the fact that d and n have the same parity.
Proof. It is enough to check the genus on the special fibre Cek. The map
0 1 Ck → Pk \ {∞, [αi : 1]}
sending (x, y) to [x : 1] gives an r-fold cover of the projective line minus n + 1 points. We can then compute
−1 0 χ(Cek) = χ(φ (Ck)) + n + 1 1 = rχ(Pk − {n + 1 points}) + n + 1 = r(2 − n − 1) + n + 1 = 2 − (r − 1)(n − 1). Chapter 3. Superelliptic Curves 30
If g is the genus of Cek, from the Hurwitz genus formula we get 2−2g = 2−(r −1)(n−1), (r − 1)(n − 1) which gives g = . 2
3.1.2 The Zeta Function
Let C be a superelliptic curve over V of genus g, birationally equivalent to the plane
r Qn ei 0 curve defined by an equation y = f(x) = i=1(x − αi) where f has degree d. Let C denote the plane curve minus the points along y = 0. By the Weil conjectures for rigid
cohomology, the zeta function of the special fibre Ck can be written
1 det(1 − TF |Hrig,c(Ck)) Z(Ck,T ) = (1 − T )(1 − qT ) where F is the map induced by Frobenius on cohomology with compact support. Since
Ck is smooth, Poincar´eduality (Equation (2.1)) gives a canonical non-degenerate pairing
1 1 Hrig,c(Ck) × Hrig(Ck)(1) → K
1 −1 where Hrig(Ck)(1) is a K-vector space where the Frobenius action is multiplied by q . It follows that
1 −1 1 det(1 − TF |Hrig,c(Ck/K)) = det(1 − qT F |Hrig(Ck/K))
If V is a K-vector space with an automorphism induced by ρ : C → C, we denote by V l the subspace {w ∈ V |ρw = ζ−lw} and by V − the direct sum V 1 ⊕ · · · ⊕ V r−1. The 1 following two propositions allow us to view HdR(C/V ) as a Frobenius-equivariant lattice 1 0 of Hrig(Ck/K)
Proposition 3.1.5. There is an injective, Frobenius equivariant map
1 1 0 Hrig(Ck/K) → Hrig(Ck/K)
1 0 − whose image is equal to Hrig(Ck/K) .
0 Proof. Let Zk = Ck \ Ck. By Proposition (2.4.4) there is a Frobenius-equivariant exact sequence containing
1 1 0 0 0 → Hrig(Ck/K) → Hrig(Ck/K) → Hrig(Zk/K)(−1) → · · · (3.1) Chapter 3. Superelliptic Curves 31
from which injectivity follows.
0 l Since ρ commutes with the Frobenius and acts as the identity on Zk, we have Hrig(Zk/K) = 1 l 1 0 l 0 for l 6= 0. Therefore Hrig(Ck/K) → HdR(Ck/K) is an isomorphism for 0 < l < r.
Since formation of cohomology commutes with ρ we also have
1 0 ∼ 1 ∼ 1 1 Hrig(Ck/K) = Hrig(Ck/K)/hρi = Hrig(Pk /K) = 0
which completes the proof.
1 1 0 Proposition 3.1.6. The module HdR(C/V ) is a Frobenius-equivariant V -lattice in Hrig(Ck/K) with no subspace which is fixed under ρ.
Proof. From Propositions (2.3.8) and (2.3.12), it follows that there is a Frobenius-equivariant isomorphism 1 ∼ 1 HdR(C/V ) ⊗V K = Hrig(Ck/K). The result follows from Proposition (3.1.5) and [50, Proposition 3.2].
1 0 − 3.1.3 The Vector Space HMW(CK/K)
0 Using the notation of the previous sections, Ck has coordinate ring
1 k[x, y, ] y A = (yr − f(x))
and C0 has coordinate ring 1 V [x, y, ] y A = . (yr − f(x)) An element of the p-adic completion of A, denoted Aˆ, can be represented
X i j z = aijx y 0≤i The dagger ring A† is the subring of Aˆ consisting of elements represented in the above |j| form, such that there exists a number 0 < c < 1 with |aij|p < c . One can then define Chapter 3. Superelliptic Curves 32 i the Monsky-Washnitzer cohomology groups HMW (A/K) as the cohomology of the de † † Rham complex over AK := A ⊗V K. • † We can construct this space explicitly. Let Ω † be the de Rham complex of AK . The AK i K-space HMW (A/K) is then the i-th cohomology group of the chain complex † d 1 0 −→ AK −→ Ω † −→ 0. AK r † r−1 0 1 The relation y = f(x) in A leads to the relation ry dy = f (x)dx in Ω † . Writing AK 0 f (x)dx 1 this as dy = r−1 , it follows that any element in Ω † can be written as a sum ry AK X i j aijx y dx. 0≤i † We can decompose AK as r−1 † M † AK = Al l=0 † i j where Al only includes the terms aijx y with j = −l (mod r). This leads to a similar decomposition r−1 1 M Ω † = Ωl. (3.2) AK l=0 Since j d(xiyj) = ixi−1yjdx + jyj−1xidy = ixi−1yjdx + f 0(x)xiyj−rdx, r therefore the operator d commutes with the decomposition (3.2), and we have a decom- position of cohomology groups r−1 i M i l HMW (A/K) = HMW (A/K) . l=0 To view this in another way, the above is the decomposition into invariant subspaces i under the group action of Z/rZ on HMW (A/K) induced by the automorphishm ρ. Each component corresponds to an eigenspace of ρ with eigenvalue ζ−l, where ζ ∈ K is an r − th root of unity. 1 Note that since A† = K[x, ]† is the dagger ring of the coordinate ring of 0 f Chapter 3. Superelliptic Curves 33 1 AK − {zeroes of f}, the cohomology of the l = 0 part is the cohomology of projective space missing n 0 0 1 0 points. In particular, HMW (A/K) = K and HMW (A/K) is a vector space of dimen- sion n. We will now focus our attention on the case where 0 < l < r. Let Sk = {i : ei ≥ k}. We will assume the set {αi} is ordered so that S2 = {1, 2, ..., m}. Define the polynomial h(x) ∈ V [x] to be the greatest common divisor of f(x) and f 0(x). Then n Y ei−1 h(x) = (x − αi) i=1 e Y = Tk(x) k=2 where we have defined T (x) = Q (x − α ) and e = max{e }. k i∈Sk i i Remark 3.1.7. In the sections that follow we will regularly use the notation K[x] i x v(x) = ai(x)u(x) + bi(x) i−1 with deg(bi(x)) < n. Note that a0 = 0, b0 = v(x), and the leading term of ai(x) is d · x k for i ≥ 1. Thus for any positive k, {ai(x)}i=1 is a basis for K[x] j a (x) = a (x) + ixi−1 i,j r i j b (x) = b (x). i,j r i jd + ri Then the leading term of a (x) is xi−1 which is nonzero as (d, r) = 1 and i,j r k d - i. Therefore {ai,j(x)}i=1 is also a basis for K[x] Consider now the K-vector space homomorphism K[x] vˆ : K[x] → (u(x)) defined by multiplication by v(x). Since u(x) and v(x) have no common roots, v(x) is not a zero divisor in K[x]/(u(x)). It follows that a polynomial is in the kernel ofv ˆ if and only if ∼ it is divisible by u(x). Thereforev ˆ induces a K-automorphism of K[x]/(u(x)) = K[x] Using this notation, we can write j d(xiyj) = ixi−1yjdx + f 0(x)xiyj−rdx r j j = ixi−1yjdx + a (x)yjdx + b (x)h(x)yj−rdx r i r i j j−r = ai,j(x)y dx + bi,j(x)h(x)y dx. (3.3) 3.1.4 Some Useful Order-preserving Functions Lk Definition 3.1.8. Given totally ordered sets T1, ..., Tk, define a total order on i=1 Ti Lk called the lexographical order as follows: For elements (t1, ..., tk), (s1, ..., sk) ∈ i=1 Ti, (t1, ..., tk) < (s1, ..., sk) if and only if the first coordinates ti, si which are different, from the left, satisfy ti < si. Given the coordinate ring A from the the previous section and any integer t, we can define a bijective map t u∞ : Z × {0, 1, ..., d − 1} → (−dt + rZ) by t s −t+kr u∞((k, s)) = −ordP∞ (x y ) = rs + d(−t + kr) = −dt + r(s + kd) which is order preserving, where Z × {0, 1, ..., d − 1} is given the lexographical order and Chapter 3. Superelliptic Curves 35 −dt + rZ is given the natural order inherited from Z. Suppose A ∈ A is given by d−1 X X s j A = λs,jx y . j∈Z s=0 Let (j0, s0) = max{(j, s): λs,j 6= 0}. Define a function o∞ : A → Z by s0 j0 o∞(A) = −ordP∞ (x y ). Proposition 3.1.9. Suppose A ∈ Al, given by a sum d−1 X X s −l+kr A = λs,l+krx y . k∈Z s=0 with j0, s0 defined as above. Then the expansion of A in the completed local ring at s0 j0 P∞ has the same leading term as the expansion of λs0,j0 x y . In particular, o∞(A) = −ordP∞ (A). s0 j0 s0 j0 Proof. It suffices to show that ordP∞ (A − λs0,j0 x y ) > ordP∞ (λs0,j0 x y ). Set k0 = s0 j0 s −l+rk (j0 + l)/r. Every term of A − λs0,j0 x y is of the form λs,−l+rkx y with (k, s) < l l (k0, s0). It follows that u∞((k, s)) < u∞((k0, s0)), which gives s −l+rk l ord(λs,−l+rkx y ) = −u∞((k, s)) l > −u∞((k0, s0)) s0 j0 = ordP∞ (λs0,j0 x y ). s0 j0 The result follows since ordP∞ (A − λs0,j0 x y ) is bounded by the minimum order of its terms. Similarly, for i = 1, ..., n, and any integer t, define t ui : Z × {0, 1, ..., ei − 1} → (−eit + rZ) by t s −t+rk ui((k, s)) = ordPi ((x − αi) y ) = sr + ei(−t + rk) = −eit + (s + eik)r Chapter 3. Superelliptic Curves 36 t for k ∈ Z. Then clearly ui is order preserving. For a polynomial Q(x) ∈ K[x] of degree less than d, we can write the following partial fraction decomposition n ei−1 Q(x) X X Qi,s = . f(x) (x − α )ei−s i=1 s=0 i for unique constants Qi,s ∈ K. Multiplying through by f(x) and defining fi(x) = ei f(x)/(x − αi) we get n ei−1 X X s Q(x) = Qi,s(x − αi) fi(x). (3.4) i=1 s=0 Note that if x − αi divides Q(x) with multiplicity t ≤ ei, then the decomposition yields Qi,s = 0 for s = 0, 1, ..., t − 1. Suppose A ∈ A. Passing to an extension of K if necessary, by Equation (3.4) we can find constants Ai,s,k such that n ei X X X s j A = Ai,s,j(x − αi) fi(x)y i=1 j∈Z s=0 Define j0 := min{j : Ai,s,j 6= 0 for some i, s}, choose i0 such that Ai0,s,j0 6= 0 for some s, and put s0 = min{s : Ai0,s,j0 6= 0}. Define o (A) = ord ((x − α )s0 yj0 ). i0 Pi0 i0 Remark 3.1.10. For any A ∈ A, it is not necessarily true that oi(A) is defined for all i, but if A 6= 0 there exists some i such that it is defined. Proposition 3.1.11. Fix l, 0 < l < r. Suppose A ∈ Al is given by a sum n ei−1 X X X s −l+rk A = Ai,s,−l+rk(x − αi) fi(x)y , i=1 k≥k0 s=0 j + l where j , s , i are as defined above, and k = 0 . Choose positive integers a, b that sat- 0 0 0 0 r a −b isfy ar −bei0 = 1, so that z := (x−αi0 ) y is a uniformizing parameter at Pi0 . Then the ei −1 bs+aj +1 sr+j e terms of order less than e (r+j ) in the expansions of A and P 0 A f (x) 0 z 0 i0 i0 0 s=s0 i0,s,j0 i0 as series in z in the completed local ring at P are equal. Moreover, o (A) = ord (A). i0 i0 Pi0 Chapter 3. Superelliptic Curves 37 Proof. To prove o (A) = ord (A), it is sufficient to prove the inequality i0 Pi0 ord (A − A (x − α )s0 f (x)yj0 ) > ord (A (x − α )s0 f (x)yj0 ), (3.5) Pi0 i0,s0,j0 i0 i0 Pi0 i0,s0,j0 i0 i0 from which it follows ord (A) = ord (A (x − α )s0 f (x)yj0 ) Pi0 Pi0 i0,s0,j0 i0 i0 = ord (A (x − α )s0 yj0 ) Pi0 i0,s0,j0 i0 = oi(A). By the minimality conditions used to define the pair (j0, s0), it follows that each term s0 j0 s −l+rk in A − Ai0,s0,j0 (x − αi0 ) fi0 (x)y has either the form Ai0,s,−l+rk(x − αi0 ) fi0 (x)y for s j (k, s) > (k0, s0), or the form Ai1,s,j(x − αi1 ) fi1 (x)y for i1 6= i0, j ≥ j0. For the first type, one can write ord (A (x − α )sf (x)y−l+rk) ≥ ord ((x − α )sy−l+rk) Pi0 i0,s,−l+rk i0 i0 Pi0 i0 l = ui0 ((k, s)) l > ui0 ((k0, s0)) = ord (A (x − α )s0 f (x)y−l+rk0 ) Pi0 i0,s0,j0 i0 i0 l where the second inequality comes from the fact that oi0 is order preserving. For the second type, we can compute ord (A (x − α )sf (x)yj) = ord (A f (x)yj) Pi0 i1,s,j i1 i1 Pi0 i1,s,j i1 ≥ rei0 + jei0 ≥ (r + j0)ei0 > rs0 + j0ei0 = ord (A (x − α )s0 f (x)y−l+rk0 ) Pi0 i0,s0,j0 i0 i0 which proves Equation (3.5). For the main part of the proposition, we follow a similar process. It is clear that each term of ei0 −1 X s j0 A − Ai0,s,j0 (x − αi0 ) fi0 (x)y . s=s0 s −l+rk either has the form Ai0,s,l+rk(x − αi0 ) fi0 (x)y where k > k0, or the form Ai1,s,j(x − Chapter 3. Superelliptic Curves 38 s j αi1 ) fi1 (x)y where i1 6= i0, j ≥ j0. We have already seen that the second type has order greater or equal to ei0 (r + j0) at Pi0 . For the first type, we calculate ord (A (x − α )sf (x)y−l+rk) ≥ ord (y−l+rk) Pi0 i0,s,−l+rk i0 i0 Pi0 l = ui((k, 0)) l = ui((k0 + 1, 0)) = ei0 (r + j0). It follows that ei −1 X0 ord A − A (x − α )sf (x)yj0 ≥ e (r + j ) (3.6) Pi0 i0,s,j0 i0 i0 i0 0 s=s0 e −1 which show that the expansions for A and P i0 A (x − α )sf (x)yj0 in z are equal s=s0 i0,s,j0 i0 i0 e (r+j )−1 up to z i0 0 . The computations x − αi0 1−ar br −be br b = (x − α ) y = (x − α ) i0 y = f (x) (3.7) zr i0 i0 i0 y 1+bei0 −aei0 ar −aei0 a e = y (x − αi0 ) = y (x − αi0 ) = fi0 (x) z i0 give s0 j0 bs0+aj0+1 rs0+ei0 j0 (x − αi0 ) fi0 (x)y = fi0 (x) z , yielding the desired result 3.2 Computing a Basis for Cohomology Proposition 3.2.1. For 0 < l < r the classes [xih(x)dx/yl], 0 ≤ i ≤ n − 2 form a basis 1 l for HMW (A/K) . The proof of this proposition will be accomplished in several steps. First we will show that these classes generate the de Rham cohomology by giving a reduction algorithm for differentials with finite degree in y. Next, we will calculate a bound for the p-adic precision loss incurred by the algorithm, proving that the classes generate the dagger cohomology. Finally we will prove linear independence. Chapter 3. Superelliptic Curves 39 r r−1 0 1 Using the relations y = f(x) and ry dy = f (x)dx, each element in Ωl can be written in the form 1 X Ak(x)dx yl yrk −∞ where Ak(x) ∈ K[x] has degree less than d. 3.2.1 The Reduction Process We will begin by giving a “reduction of poles” procedure on differentials of the form A(x)yjdx with deg(A(x)) < d, and j = −l + rk with k an integer and 0 ≤ l ≤ r − 1. To ensure that all reduction steps are performed with coefficients in V , we will assume that αi ∈ K for all i such that ei > 1. To reduce differentials of the form A(x)yjdx, j > 0, deg(A) < d, one may write A(x) as a linear combination of the ai,j(x)’s, 1 ≤ i ≤ d, and use Equation (3.3) to obtain A(x)yjdx as an exact differential plus a differential of the form B(x)yj−rdx. Repeating this process we can write dx A(x)yjdx = Ae(x) + dν yl for some 0 ≤ l < r, and deg(Ae) < d. dx To reduce differentials of the form A(x) , j > 0, we can similarly use Equation (3.3), yj dx but we must first reduce to the form B(x)h(x) . One begins with some preliminary yj computations. −ei For i ∈ S2, recall we set fi(x) = f(x)(x − αi) . By a straightforward calculation, 0 −ei+1 0 f (x)(x − αi) = fi (x)(x − αi) + eifi(x). Chapter 3. Superelliptic Curves 40 For 0 ≤ t ≤ ei − 2, we have f(x) f(x) 0 dx f(x) dy d e −t−1 j = e −t−1 j − j e −t−1 j+1 (x − αi) i y (x − αi) i y (x − αi) i y 0 r−1 f (x) (ei − t − 1)f(x) dx j f(x)(ry dy) = e −t−1 − e −t j − e −t−1 j+r (x − αi) i (x − αi) i y r (x − αi) i y 0 0 f (x) (ei − t − 1)f(x) dx j f (x)dx = e −t−1 − e −t j − e −t−1 j (x − αi) i (x − αi) i y r (x − αi) i y 0 j f (x) (ei − t − 1)f(x) dx = (1 − ) e −t−1 − e −t j r (x − αi) i (x − αi) i y j = (1 − )(x − α )t(e f (x) + (x − α )f 0(x)) r i i i i i dx − (e − t − 1)(x − α )tf (x) i i i yj je j dx = (t + 1 − i )(x − α )tf (x) + (1 − )(x − α )t+1f 0(x)) r i i r i i yj Thus dx dx (x − α )tf (x) ≡ c (x − α )t+1f 0(x) (3.8) i i yj i,j,t i i yj (j − r) where ci,j,t = . (r(t + 1) − jei) Remark 3.2.2. This expression makes sense as the denominator of ci,j,t is nonzero: If l 6= 0, then r(t + 1) − jei ≡ −lei (mod r) which is nonzero. If l = 0 then j = rk with k > 0, so r(t + 1) − jei = r(t + 1 − kei) < 0 since t + 1 < ei. ei−1 0 Note that for all i, h(x) = T2(x) ··· Te(x) divides (x − αi) fi (x), and in general for 1 ≤ tei − 1 we can write t 0 (x − αi) fi (x) = T2(x)T3(x) ··· Tt+1(x)Ri,t(x) for some polynomial Ri,t(x). [1] Let f (x) := f(x)/T2(x). Using a partial fraction decomposition and the fact that [1] deg(A) < d, we can find constants Ai,1 and a polynomial Q (x) of degree less than d−m such that [1] m A(x) Q (x) X Ai,1 = + . f(x) f [1](x) (x − α )ei i=1 i Chapter 3. Superelliptic Curves 41 Multiplying both side of the equation by f(x), one sees that m [1] X A(x) = Q (x)T2(x) + Ai,1fi(x). i=1 By Equation (3.8), we therefore have m dx dx X dx A(x) ≡ Q[1](x)T (x) + c A (x − α )f 0(x) yj 2 yj i,j,0 i,1 i i yj i=1 m ! X dx = T (x) Q[1](x) + c A R (x) 2 i,j,0 i,1 i,1 yj i=1 dx = T (x)A[1](x) 2 yj [1] [1] Pm [2] [1] where we have set A (x) := Q (x)+ i=1 ci,j,0Ai,1Ri,1(x). Letting f (x) := f (x)/T3(x), [2] we begin the same process again by finding a polynomial Q and constants Ai,2 for i ∈ S3 such that [1] [2] A (x) Q (x) X Ai,2 [1] = [2] + e −1 . f (x) f (x) (x − αi) i i∈S3 Multiplying both sides by f(x), one can then write [1] [2] X T2(x)A (x) = T2(x)T3(x)Q (x) + Ai,2(x − αi)fi(x), i∈S3 so that dx dx X dx T (x)A[1](x) ≡ T (x)T (x)Q[2](x) + c A (x − α )2f 0(x) 2 yj 2 3 yj i,j,1 i,2 i i yj i∈S3 ! X dx = T (x)T (x) Q[2](x) + c A R (x) 2 3 i,j,1 i,2 i,2 yj i∈S3 dx = T (x)T (x)A[2](x) 2 3 yj where we set A[2](x) = Q[2](x) + P c A R (x). i∈S3 i,j,1 i,2 i,2 Continuing in this manner, given A[k](x), in the following manner we can define a poly- nomial A[k+1] satisfying dx dx T (x) ··· T A[k](x) ≡ T (x) ··· T A[k+1](x) . (3.9) 2 k+1 yj 2 k+2 yj Chapter 3. Superelliptic Curves 42 [k+1] [k] Define f (x) = f (x)/Tk+2(x) and for each i ∈ Sk+2 find constants Ai,k+1 and a polynomial Q[k+1](x) such that [k] [k+1] A (x) Q (x) X Ai,k+1 [k] = [k+1] + (e −k) . (3.10) f (x) f (x) (x − αi) i i∈Sk+2 [k+1] The values Ai,k+1 and the polynomial Q (x) can be computed using [k] ei−k A (x)(x − αi) Ai,k+1 = (3.11) f [k](x) x=αi [k] [k+1] [k] X f (x) Tk+2(x)Q (x) = A (x) − Ai,k+1 e −k . (x − αi) i i∈Sk+2 After multiplication of Equation (3.10) by f(x) one has dx dx X dx T (x) ··· T (x)A[k](x) = T (x) ··· T (x)Q[k+1](x) + A (x − α )k−1f (x) 2 k+1 yj 2 k+2 yj i,k+1 i i yj i∈Sk+2 dx X dx ≡ T (x) ··· T (x)Q[k+1](x) + c A (x − α )kf 0(x) 2 k+2 yj i,j,k i,k+1 i i yj i∈Sk+2 X dx = T (x) ··· T (x) Q[k+1](x) + c A R (x) 2 k+2 i,j,k i,k+1 i,k+1 yj i∈Sk+2 and we then define A[k+1](x) = Q[k+1](x) + P c A R (x). Thus we can i∈Sk+2 i,j,k i,k+1 i,k+1 eventually compute a polynomial B(x) of degree less than n such that dx dx A(x) ≡ h(x)B(x) . (3.12) yj yj dx To reduce the differential h(x)B(x) , write B(x) as a linear combination B(x) = yj Pn−1 i=0 Bibi,r−j(x) so that n−1 dx X dx h(x)B(x) = B b (x)h(x) yj i i,r−j yj i=0 n−1 ! n−1 X xi X dx = d B − B a (x) . i yj−r i i,r−j yj−r i=0 i=0 dx Repeating this process we can write any form ω = A(x) with j > 0 as an exact yj Chapter 3. Superelliptic Curves 43 xih(x)dx differential plus a linear combination of the elements { }n−1. By subtracting an yl i=0 appropriate multiple of r − l f 0(x)dx r − l v(x)h(x)dx d(yr−l) = (r − l)yr−1−ldy = = r yl r yl xih(x)dx we can then reduce to a linear combination of the elements { }n−2. yl i=0 xidx In order to reduce differentials to a linear combination of elements { }n−2, we can yl i=0 use the relation f 0(x) dy = dx ryr−1 v(x) = ydx ru(x) and obtain xiu(x) dx dy d = (ixi−1u(x) + xiu0(x)) − lxiu(x) yl yl yl+1 l dx = ixi−1u(x) + xiu0(x) − xiv(x) . r yl dx This equation is valid for i ≥ 0 and has leading term (i + n − dl/r)xi+n−1 6= 0. There- yl dx fore, appropriate multiples can be subtracted from A(x) to obtain a linear combination yl xidx of the elements { }n−2. yl i=0 i l n−2 i l n−2 We have now shown that both sets {[x dx/y ]}i=0 and {[x h(x)dx/y ]}i=0 span the −l 1 0 1 0 ∼ 1 0 ζ -eigenspace of HdR(CK /K). The fact that HdR(CK /K) = HMW(Ck/K) follows either from the comparison isomorphism (2.3.11), or from the lemmas below, which are an adapted version of [12, Lemma 1 and Lemma 2]. 3.2.2 Two Lemmas dx Lemma 3.2.3. Suppose ω = A(x) ∈ Ω , where A(x) is a polynomial of degree less yj l blog |ej−r|c than d with coefficients in V . Set e = max{ei} and N = p p . Chapter 3. Superelliptic Curves 44 i) For j > r, then there exist ν ∈ Al, Ae(x) ∈ K[x] dx ω = Ae(x) + dν (3.13) yl and NAe(x) has coefficients in V . ii) For j > 0, there exist ν ∈ Al, Ae(x) ∈ K[x] dx ω = Ae(x)h(x) + dν (3.14) yl and NAe(x) has coefficients in V . Proof. i) Write j = kr + l. By inspection of the reduction algorithm we see that without the conditions of integrality such a ν exists, and that we can write k R0(x)u(x) X Rt(x) ν = + yj yj−tr t=1 for polynomials Rt such that deg(R0) < d − n, deg(Rk) < n, and deg(Rt) < d for 1 ≤ t ≤ k − 1. We consider the partial fraction decomposition in the same way as Equation (3.4) n ei−1 X X s R0(x)u(x) = R0,i,s(x − αi) fi(x). i=1 s=0 For each i, the linear term x − αi divides u(x) with multiplicity 1, and we therefore have R0,i,0 = 0. We can then write n ei−1 X X s R0(x)u(x) = R0,i,s(x − αi) fi(x) i=1 s=1 ei−1 X X s = R0,i,s(x − αi) fi(x) (3.15) i∈S2 s=1 Let Pi denote the closed point in C which lies over the point (αi, 0) in affine space. Then 0 0 Pi is Fqe -rational for some positive integer e. Set V = W (Fqe ) and let K denote its field of fractions. From Proposition (3.1.2) we have ordPi (x − αi) = r and ordPi (y) = ei. Since (ei, r) = 1, we can find integers ai and bi such that air − biei = 1, and therefore Chapter 3. Superelliptic Curves 45 ai bi z(i) := (x − αi) /y is a uniformizing parameter at Pi. By [51, Chapter VIII.5 Theorem 0 0 2], the completion of the local ring of C/V at Pi is V [[z(i)]]. By Proposition (3.1.11), there exists some i such that for the leading terms up to ei(r−j) z(i) the local series expansion for ν at Pi is equal to the expansion of ei−1 X bis−aij+1 rs−eij R0,i,sfi(x) z(i) . s=1 Since fi(x) is invertible in the local ring at Pi, one can write the expansions ∞ bis−aij+1 X t fi(x) = as,tz(i) (3.16) t=0 0 where as,t ∈ V and as,0 is a unit. We can therefore write the expansion for ν at Pi as ei−1 ∞ X X rs−eij+t (r−j)ei ν = R0,i,sas,tz(i) + O(z(i) ) s=1 t=0 and the differential dν as ei−1 ∞ X X rs−eij+t−1 (r−j)ei−1 dν = (rs − eij + t)R0,i,sas,tz(i) dz(i) + O(z(i) ). (3.17) s=1 t=0 Since ! Ae(x)dx ord ≥ r − 1 − le ≥ r − 1 − (j − r)e , z(i) yl i i the expansion in Equation (3.17) is equal to local expansion of the right side of (3.13). dx In the left side of (3.13), the coefficients of the expansion of A(x) in the completed yj 0 local ring at Pi are elements of V . Chapter 3. Superelliptic Curves 46 In particular we get the following system 0 (r − eij)R0,i,1a1,0 ∈ V (3.18) 0 (2r − eij)(R0,i,1a1,r + R0,i,2a2,0) ∈ V (3.19) 0 (3r − eij)(R0,i,1a1,2r + R0,i,2a2,r + R0,i,3a3,0) ∈ V . . 0 ((ei − 1)r − eij)(R0,i,1a1,(ei−2)r + R0,i,2a2,(ei−3)r + ... + R0,i,ei−1aei−1,0) ∈ V blog (ej−r)c Recalling that e = max{ei}, N = p p , and using the fact that as,0 is a unit for all s, by Equation (3.18) we have NR0,i,1 ∈ V . From Equation (3.19) it then follows that NR0,i,2 ∈ V and continuing in this way we get NR0,i,s ∈ V for 1 ≤ s ≤ ei − 1. We then move the term ei−1 ! X s −j d R0,i,s(x − αi) fi(x)y s=1 to the left-hand side of Equation (3.13) and repeat for other values of i ∈ S2. Eventually we get that the polynomial NR0(x) has coefficients in V . We repeat this process, considering next the equation k ! R0(x)u(x) dx R1(x) X Rt(x) ω − d = Ae(x) + d + (3.20) yj yl yj−r yj−tr t=2 and the decomposition n ei−1 X X s R1(x) = R1,i,s(x − αi) fi(x). i=1 s=0 Applying Proposition (3.1.11) again, locally at Pi we get k ei−1 R1(x) X Rt(x) X rs−e (j−r) −(j−2r)e + = R f (x)bis−ai(j−r)+1z i + O(z i ) yj−r yj−tr 1,i,s i (i) (i) t=2 s=0 We follow the same process and for each degree less than −(j − 2r)ei multiply the coef- ficients of the above expansion by the appropriate power of p so that the corresponding 0 0 coefficients on both sides of Equation (3.20) are in V . We then find that NR1,i,s ∈ V for all i, s and thus R1(x) ∈ V [x]. Continuing in this way, we see that NRt(x) has integer coefficients for t < k. Chapter 3. Superelliptic Curves 47 For the final step we compute the expansion at Pi of the right side of the equation k−1 ! R0(x)u(x) X Rt(x) dx Rk(x) ω − d + = Ae(x) + d . (3.21) yj yj−tr yl yl t=1 R (x) Using a partial fraction decomposition of k we can write u(x) n X u(x) R (x) = R k k,i x − α i=1 i so locally at Pi we have R (x) k = R λ z−eil + O(z−eil+1) yl k,i i (i) (i) where f(x)ai u(x) Y e 0 ai+1 0 i λi = x=α = (αi − αi ) . x − αi i i06=i This gives R (x) d k = −e lR λ z−eil−1dz + O(z−eil) yl i k,i i (i) (i) (i) which is equal to the expansion of the expression on the left side of (3.21) since ! Adxe ord ≥ ord (d(x − α )) + ord (y−l) = r − 1 − e l > −e l. Pi yl Pi i Pi i i 0 0 Therefore NRk,i ∈ V for all i, which shows that NRk(x) ∈ V [x] and completes the proof of the first part of the proposition. The proof of the second part follows the exact same procedure as in the first, with an added reduction step which gives k R0(x)u(x) X Rt(x) Rk+1(x)u(x) ν = + + yj yj−tr yl t=1 where Rk+1 is a polynomial of degree less than d − n. Chapter 3. Superelliptic Curves 48 One can write a local expansion at Pi ei−1 Rk+1(x)u(x) X (r−l)e = R f (x)bis−ail+1zrs−eil + O(z i ) yl k+1,i,s i (i) (i) s=1 ei−1 ∞ X X rs−eil+t (r−l)ei = Rk+1,i,sas,tz(i) + O(z(i) ). (3.22) s=1 t=0 such that as,0 is a unit for all s. Since ! Ae(x)h(x)dx ord ≥ r(e − 1) + r − 1 − e l = (r − l)e − 1, Pi yl i i i the coefficients of the expansion (3.22) can be compared to the coefficients in the local expansion of k ! R0(x)u(x) X Rt(x) ω − d + , yj yj−tr t=1 0 which gives NRk+1(x) ∈ V by the procedure from the proof of part one. j Lemma 3.2.4. Let ω = A(x)y dx ∈ Ωl, where 0 < l < r, j > 0, and A(x) is a polynomial 0 with coefficients in V of degree d0 < d . Set N = pblogp(r(d +1)+jd)c. i) There exists ν ∈ Al, Ae(x) ∈ K[x] dx ω = Ae(x) + dν (3.23) yl and NAe(x) has coefficients in V . ii) There exists ν ∈ Al, Ae(x) ∈ K[x] dx ω = Ae(x)h(x) + dν (3.24) yl and NAe(x) has coefficients in V . Proof. i) Writing j = rk − l, the reduction algorithm gives us Equation (3.23) where d0+1 k−1 d−1 d−n−1 X t j X X t −l+sr X t −l ν = Rk,tx y + Rs,tx y + R0,tx u(x)y . t=0 s=1 t=0 t=0 with Rs,t ∈ V . Consider the completion of the local ring at the closed point at infinity P∞ ∈ Ce. We have ordP∞ (x) = −r and ordP∞ (y) = −d, so we can choose a local parameter Chapter 3. Superelliptic Curves 49 z = xay−b where a and b are integers such that bd − ar = 1. Recall from section (3.1.4) that the map l u∞ : Z × {0, ..., d − 1} → −ld + rZ (3.25) t −l+sr (s, t) 7→ −ordP∞ (x y ), (3.26) l computed as u∞((s, t)) = rt + d(−l + rs) = (t + sd)r − ld, is order preserving. The term d0+1 j which has the largest pole at P∞ is thus Rk,d0+1x y , and we can then write the local expansions ∞ X i ν = aiz l 0 i=−u∞((k,d +1)) ∞ X i dν = (i + 1)ai+1z dz l 0 i=−u∞((k,d +1))−1 with a l 0 = R 0 . Since the degree of A is less than n − 1, the lowest possible −u∞((k,d +1)) k,d +1 e dx order of the expansion of Ae(x) at P∞ is yl l l −r − 1 − u∞((0, n − 2)) = −1 − u∞((0, n − 1)) thus the coefficients of zi in the expansions of dν and ω are equal for l i < −1 − u∞((0, n − 1)). (3.27) Since the expansion for ω is in V [[z]]dz, we have (i+1)ai+1 ∈ V for all i satisfying Equa- 0 blogp(r(d +1)+jd)c l tion (3.27). Letting N = p , it follows that Nai ∈ V if −i > u∞((0, n − 1)). 0 l 0 l In particular, since (k, d + 1) > (0, n − 1), therefore u∞((k, d + 1)) > u∞((0, n − 1)) and it follows that NRk,d0+1 ∈ V . We repeat this process using the equation d0+1 j dx d0+1 j ω − d(Rd0+1,kx y ) = Ae(x) + d(ν − Rd0+1,kx y ) yl t0 −l+rs0 and performing the same computation with the next highest term Rs0,t0 x y of ν with respect to the lexographical ordering. For any such (s0, t0) we have (s0, t0) > (0, n − 1), from which it follows that NRs0,t0 ∈ V . Repeating this gives the result for part (i). Chapter 3. Superelliptic Curves 50 To prove the part (ii), we follow the same argument as part (i) with d0+1 k−1 d−1 X t j X X t −l+rs ν = Rk,tx y + Rs,tx y . t=0 s=1 t=0 dx l and using the fact that the order of Ae(x)h(x) at P∞ is at least −r−1−u ((0, d−2)) = yl ∞ l 0 0 0 −1−u∞((0, d−1)). Since the pairs (s , t ) appearing in ν have only s > 0, we immediately have (s0, t0) > (0, d − 1), and the result follows by the method used in part (i). To complete the proof of Proposition (3.2.1), it suffices to show linear independence of the cohomology classes [xidx/yl]. Proposition 3.2.5. For l, 0 < l < r, the cohomology classes {[xidx/yl]}, 0 ≤ i ≤ n − 2, 1 l form a linearly independent set in the K-vector space HMW(A/K) . Pn−2 i −l Proof. We begin with the finite case. Let ω = i=0 cix y dx for some ci ∈ K, and suppose there exist constants λi,k ∈ K and integers k1 ≤ k2 such that k2 d−1 X X i kr−l ω = dν = d(λi,kx y ) k=k1 i=0 l Again consider the order function u∞ from Section (3.1.4). By Proposition (3.1.9), we have n−2 −l ordP∞ (ω) ≥ ordP∞ (x y ) + ordP∞ (dx) = −r(n − 2) + dl − r − 1 = −r(n − 1) + dl − 1 l = −u∞((0, n − 1)) − 1 We also have ordP∞ (ν) = −o∞(ν) l = − max{u∞((k, i)) : λi,k 6= 0}, so the order of dν = ω at P∞ is one less than the above expression. Combining these two relations it follows that l l max{u∞((k, i)) : λi,k 6= 0} ≤ u∞((0, n − 1)) Chapter 3. Superelliptic Curves 51 i.e. λi,k = 0 for (k, i) ≥ (0, n). Therefore k2 ≤ 0, and λi,0 = 0 for i ≥ n. Write 0 d−1 n 0 ei−1 X X i kr−l X X X s −l+rk ν = λi,kx y = ai,s,k(x − αi) fi(x)y j=k1 i=0 i=1 k=k1 s=0 for constants ai,s,k ∈ K. Let (k0, s0) = min{(k, s): ai,s,k 6= 0 for some i}. By Proposition (3.1.11) we have, for some i, l ordPi (ν) = ui((k0, s0)). We also have l ordPi (dν) = ordPi (ω) ≥ −eil + r − 1 = ui((0, 1)) − 1. It then follows that (k0, s0) ≥ (0, 1), which implies ai,s,k = 0 for all (k, s) < (0, 1). Hence, one can write ei−1 X X s −l ν = ai,s,0(x − αi) fi(x)y i∈S2 s=1 A(x)u(x) = yl for some polynomial A(x) with deg(A(x)u(x)) < d. But deg(u(x)) = n, and from the Pn−1 i initial calculation we have that A(x)u(x) = i=0 λi,0x . It follows that A(x) = 0, so dν = 0. An immediate consequence is that the sets xidx xih(x)dx { l }0≤i≤n−2 and { l }0≤i≤n−2 y 0 1 − form K-bases for HMW(A/K) , a vector space of dimension (n − 1)(r − 1). 3.3 The Matrix of Frobenius Following Gaudry and G¨urel[16], we can compute a representative for the action of the semi-linear p-power Frobenius automorphism 1 1 F : HMW (A/K) → HMW (A/K) Chapter 3. Superelliptic Curves 52 on our selected basis from the previous section. Let σ : V → V denote the Witt vector Frobenius automorphism. We can extend it to polynomials by taking xσ = xp, and to 1 differentials by taking (dx)σ = pxp−1dx. Setting ∆(x) = (f(x)σ − f(x)p) we can now p extend σ to A† by taking σ −l/r ∞ 1 p∆ X −l/r pk∆k = y−lp 1 + = yl yrp k ypl+prk k=0 where −l/r (−l/r)(−l/r − 1) ··· (−l/r − k + 1) = ∈ k k! Zp since (r, p) = 1. Finally we have σ ∞ xih(x)dx X −l/rpk+1xpi+p−1h(x)σ∆k = dx. (3.28) yl k ypl+prk k=0 For each i and l such that 0 ≤ i ≤ n−2 and 0 < l < r, the reduction algorithm is applied to a truncation of the above sum, which yields a (r − 1)(n − 1) × (r − 1)(n − 1) matrix M, an approximation of F with respect to the chosen basis. By semilinearity, the matrix for the q-power Frobenius F a is calculated as M σa−1 M σa−2 M ··· M. Remark 3.3.1. The p-power Frobenius σ on a curve C over k is a morphism C → Cσ, where the defining polynomial of Cσ is the polynomial for C with its coefficients replaced by their images under σ. One is therefore tempted to only consider a basis for cohomology whose coefficients are fixed by σ. This is unnecessary, since the end result will be the same: Suppose A is the matrix of Frobenius with respect to a basis α whose coefficients are stable under σ. Let B be the Frobenius matrix with respect to some other basis β, and suppose Q changes coordinates from α to β. Then B = (Q−1)σAQ, so that a−1 a−2 a a−1 a−1 a−1 a−2 a−2 Bσ Bσ ··· B = (Q−1)σ Aσ Qσ (Q−1)σ Aσ Qσ ··· (Q−1)σAQ = Q−1Aσa−1 Aσa−2 ··· AQ. 3.4 Working Within a Crystalline Basis One technical difficulty with the computations involved in the previous section is that in the general the basis {xidx/yl} is not a V -stable lattice of the Frobenius operator, i.e. the matrix M computed above may have p-power denominators. The goal of this section is to find a lower bound for s such that psM has entries in V . Chapter 3. Superelliptic Curves 53 Let C be a superelliptic curve over V of genus g, birationally equivalent to the plane r Qn ei curve defined by the equation y = f(x) = i=1(x−αi) , where f has degree d. As usual we will let C0 denote the affine curve minus all points along y = 0, and use subscripts k and K to denote special and generic fibres, respectively. By [50, Thm 2.6 and Proposition 1 1 3.2], the V -module HdR(C/V ) is a Frobenius-stable lattice in HdR(CK /K). 1 We compare a basis for HdR(C/V ) with our chosen basis. The content of the next few pages is largely based on a proposition by Edixhoven [52, Proposition 5.3.1], the details of which can be found in a paper by van den Bogaart [50]. Let D denote the relative effective Cartier divisor of degree 1 on C corresponding to the section above infinity and let s be an integer greater than 1. Consider the V -linear map of sheaves on C ds 1 OC ((s − 1)D) −→ ΩC/V (sD) 1 which is just the restriction of the derivation K (C) → ΩK (C)/K , where K (C) denotes the function field of C. Let ds denote the map ds composed with the projection Ω1 (s ) 1 C/V D ΩC/V (sD) → 1 , ΩC/V (D) and denote the cokernel of ds by Υs. By construction we have an exact sequence of sheaves of OC -modules Ω1 (s ) ds C/V D OC ((s − 1)D) −→ 1 → Υs → 0. (3.29) ΩC/V (D) 1 1 Note that the support of ΩC/V (sD)/ΩC/V (D) and Υs is contained SuppD. Let P denote the special point of SuppD. By abuse of notation we will denote by Υs both the sheaf as well as its stalk at P . In some neighbourhood of the support of D, OC (−D) is generated over OC by an element t. From Bourbaki [51, Chapter VIII.5, Theorem 2], the completion of OC,P with respect to its local ring is V [[t]]. Therefore the map ds has the local form −2 t−sV [[t]]dt M t−(s−1)V [[t]] → ∼= V tidt. t−1 [[t]]dt V i=−s Chapter 3. Superelliptic Curves 54 Since localization and completion are exact, from Equation (3.29) we obtain an exact sequence −2 −(s−1) M i t V [[t]] → V t dt → Υb s → 0 (3.30) i=−s where Υb s denotes the completion of Υs with respect to its local ring. Therefore Υb s is finitely generated over V by elements of Υs, so Υb s = Υs. The first map in Equation (3.30) is the usual exterior derivative (modulo the ideal (dt/t)), so we can write −2 M i Υs = (V /(i + 1)V ) t dt i=−s M = (V /pvp(i)V ) ti−1dt. (3.31) −s Let ϕs denote the map 1 Γ(C, ΩC/V (sD)) → Υs. blogp(s−1)c blogp(s−1)c 1 The above discussion shows that p Υs = 0, so ker ϕs contains p Γ(C, ΩC/V (sD)). It turns out that one can relate ker ϕs to a crystalline basis. Lemma 3.4.1. For s ≥ 2g, there is an isomorphism ∼ 1 ker ϕs/(im ds ∩ ker ϕs) −→ HdR(C/V ) (3.32) which is equivariant for maps induced by automorphisms of C that map D to itself. Proof. See [50, Lemma 3.10] Theorem 3.4.2. Let s ≥ 2g. There is a surjective map − 1 (ker ϕs) → HdR(C/V ) 1 Proof. Suppose v ∈ HdR(C/V ). By Lemma (3.4.1), v lifts to an element ve ∈ ker ϕs. Let r Qr−1 i ζ be a primitive r-th root of unity. Differentiating the identity x − 1 = i=0 (x − ζ ) and multiplying by x gives r−1 r−1 X Y rxr = (x − ζi)x. l=0 i=0 i6=l Chapter 3. Superelliptic Curves 55 Thus we can write r−1 r−1 r−1 r−1 r X Y i r−1 X Y i rve = rρ · ve = (ρ − ζ )ρ · ve = (1 + ρ + ··· + ρ ) · ve + (ρ − ζ )ρ · v.e (3.33) l=0 i=0 l=1 i=0 i6=l i6=l r−1 0 Now (1 + ρ + ··· + ρ ) · ve ∈ (ker ϕs) , so by Proposition (3.1.6) the image of this 1 r−1 term in HdR(C/V ) is zero. Therefore (r − (1 + ρ + ··· + ρ )) · ve is mapped to rv. Qr−1 i l Each term i=0 (ρ − ζ )ρ · v in (3.33) is killed by by ρ − ζ , and thus belongs to i6=l e l r−1 − − (ker ϕs) . Therefore (r − (1 + ρ + ··· + ρ )) · ve ∈ (ker ϕs) , which proves that (ker ϕs) 1 maps surjectively to rHdR(C/V ). The result follows as r is a unit in V . − 1 1 0 Corollary 3.4.3. For s ≥ 2g, the images of (ker ϕs) and HdR(C/V ) in HdR(CK /K) are equal. Proposition 3.4.4. Fix an integer l with 0 < l < r, let s = (d − 1)(r − 1) and as usual let h(x) = (f(x), f 0(x)). Then 1 l i) The V -module Γ(C, ΩC/V (sD)) contains the V -span of the set xih(x)dxn−2 l , y i=0 and ii) the image of the restriction map 1 l 0 1 l Γ(C, ΩC/V (sD)) → Γ(C , ΩC/V ) is contained in the V -span of the set xidxml l y i=0 d(l+r−1) where ml = b r − 2c. xih(x)dx Proof. (i) We consider when an element ω = ∈ Γ(C0, Ω1 )l can be extended yl C/V to all of C, with a pole of order at most s along SuppD. Let Pi denote the generic point in C lying above (αi, 0) and let P∞ denote the generic point above infinity. Recall from Proposition (3.1.2) that we have ordPi (y) = Chapter 3. Superelliptic Curves 56 xjh(x)dx e , ord (y) = −d, ord (x − α ) = r, and ord (x) = −r. An element ω = i P∞ Pi i P∞ yl 1 can be extended to ΩC/V (sD) if ordPi ω ≥ 0 for each i, and ordP∞ ω ≥ −s. For 0 ≤ j ≤ n − 2 we have ordP∞ (ω) = (j + d − n) · ordP∞ (x) + ordP∞ (dx) − lordP∞ (y) = −r(j + d − n) − r − 1 + ld ≥ −r(n − 2 + d − n) − r − 1 + d = −r(d − 2) − r + (d − 1) = −(r − 1)(d − 1) = −s and j ordPi (ω) = ordPi (x ) + ordPi (h(x)) + ordPi (dx) − l · ordPi (y) ≥ ordPi (h(x)) + r − 1 − lei = (ei − 1)r + r − 1 − lei = ei(r − l) − 1 ≥ 0 0 1 which proves part (i). For part (ii), note that an element of Γ(C , ΩC/V ) can be written X j ω = Aj(x)y dx L1≤j≤L2 where Aj(x) ∈ V [x] has degree less than d − 1. An order calculation gives L1 ordPi (ω) ≤ ordPi (AL1 (x)y dx) = ordPi (Aj(x))r + L1ei + r − 1. Pn Pn Since i=1 ei = d and i=1 ordPi (AL1 (x)) < d, there must be some i such that ei > ordPi (Aj(x)). In order for ω to extend to this Pi we must have 0 ≤ ordPi (ω) ≤ (ei − 1)r + L1ei + r − 1 = eir + L1ei − 1, which gives 1 − eir L1 ≥ > −r. ei Chapter 3. Superelliptic Curves 57 1 Now if ω extends to Γ(C, ΩC/V (sD)) we must also have −s ≤ ordP∞ ω, so that −(d − 1)(r − 1) ≤ −L2d − deg(AL2 (x))r − r − 1. In particular L2 < r. For l, 0 < l < r, let ωl denote the term in ω whose y-exponent is equal to −l mod r. Then we have A (x)dx ω = −l + A (x)yr−ldx r−l yl r−l B (x)dx = l yl For some polynomial Bl(x) ∈ V [x] whose degree satisfies −(d − 1)(r − 1) ≤ ld − deg(Bl(x))r − r − 1, that is, (d − 1)(r − 1) + ld − r − 1 d(r + l − 1) deg(B (x)) ≤ = − 2. l r r Corollary 3.4.5. For fixed l, 0 < l < r, let Vl denote the V -span of of the differen- i x h(x)dx 1 0 l 1 l tials { }0≤i≤n−2 in H (C /K) and let Wl denote the image of H (C/V ) in yl dR K dR 1 0 l HdR(CK /K) . Set e = max{ei}, N = blogp((d − 1)(r − 1) − 1)c, and put d(l − 1) blogp |el − r|c, < 2 N = r . l d(l − 1) N, ≥ 2 r Then Nl −N p Wl ⊂ Vl ⊂ p Wl. Proof. By Equation (3.31) and Proposition (3.4.4)(i), the differentials xih(x)dx pN yl l −blog ((d−1)(r−1)−1)c belong to (ker ϕ) . Therefore, by Corollary (3.4.3), Vl ⊂ p p Wl. By xidx Proposition (3.4.4)(ii), (ker ϕ)l is contained in the V -span of , for 0 ≤ i ≤ b d(l+r−1) − yl r d(l+r−1) 2c. If A(x) is a polynomial of degree less than b r − 2c with coefficients in V , then Chapter 3. Superelliptic Curves 58 using division with remainder we can write A(x)dx B (x)dx = 1 + B (x)yr−ldx yl yl 2 d(l − 1) with B1(x),B2(x) ∈ V [x] where B1(x) is a polynomial of degree less than d. If − r d(l − 1) 2 ≥ 0, then B (x) is a polynomial with degree less than or equal to − 2. Other- 2 r wise B2(x) = 0. By Lemma (3.2.3) (ii) and Lemma (3.2.4) (ii), and using the computation d(l − 1) r − 2 + 1 + (r − l)d = (d − 1)(r − 1) − 1, r it follows that there exist exact differentials dν1, dν2, and polynomials Be1(x), Be2(x) ∈ blog ((d−1)(r−1)−1)c B2(x)dx Be2(x)h(x)dx V [x] of degree less than n − 1 such that p p = + dν1 yl yl B1(x)dx Be1(x)h(x)dx and pblogp |el−r|c = + dν . Since e ≤ d and l ≤ r − 1, it follows that yl yl 2 A(x)dx |el − r| ≤ (d − 1)(r − 1) − 1, hence the image of pN lies in V . yl l Let Mp,Mq denote the (r − 1)(n − 1) × (r − 1)(n − 1) matrices of the p-power and q-power Frobenius maps, respectively, 1 0 − 1 0 − Fp,Fq :HMW (Ck/K) → HMW (Ck/K) xih(x)dx with respect to the basis , 0 ≤ i ≤ n − 2, 0 < l < r. yl Let Mp,l denote the (n − 1) × (n − 1) submatrix of Mp defined by restricting the 1 0 l domain of Fp to HMW (Ck/K) . Theorem 3.4.6. Let N and Nl be as defined in Corollary (3.4.5). Fix 0 < l < r, and let lp be the unique integer such that 0 < lp < r and lp ≡ lp (mod r). Then N+Nl i) the matrix p p Mp,l has entries in V 2N ii) the matrix p Mp has entries in V N 0 iii) if Mf is an approximation of the matrix Mp, correct to precision p for some integer 0 σa−1 σa−2 N ≥ 4N, then the matrix Mf Mf ··· Mf is an approximation of Mq, correct to precision pN 0−4N . Chapter 3. Superelliptic Curves 59 i n−2 0 0 x h(x)dx B 0 B Proof. For each l , 0 < l < r, let l denote the set l0 , and put = y i=0 1 l0 B1 ∪ · · · ∪ Br−1. Additionally, let Hl0 denote a V -bases for HdR(C/V ) and put H = 1 H1 ∪ · · · Hr−1. By Proposition (3.1.6), HdR(C/V ) can be viewed as a Frobenius equiv- 1 0 ariant V -lattice in HMW (Ck/K), so let Ql0 denote the change of basis matrix from Hl0 −1 0 to Bl and let Q denote the change of basis matrix from H to B. Then Mp,l = Qlp AlQl −1 and Mp = QAQ for certain matrices Al,A with entries in V . By Corollary (3.4.5), Qlp −Nlp −1 −1 −N has entries in p V , and the matrices Ql and Q have entries in p V , so part (i) follows immediately. Using the fact that |el − r| ≤ (d − 1)(r − 1) − 1, so that Nl ≤ N for each l, we have that Q has entries in p−N V , and part (ii) follows. The matrix Ae = Q−1MQf is an approximation of A, with 0 Ae ≡ A mod pN −2N . The entries of Ae are therefore in V , and thus a−1 a−2 a−1 a−2 0 QAeσ Aeσ ··· AeσQ−1 ≡ QAσ Aσ ··· AQ−1 mod pN −4N . The right side of this equation is the matrix of the q-power Frobenius with respect to the basis B. We can assume H and B are chosen such that the matrix Q has entries in Qp. Therefore one can write a−1 a−1 a−2 Mfσ ··· Mf = (QAeσ Q−1)(QAeσ Q−1) ··· (QAQe −1) a−1 a−2 = QAeσ Aeσ ··· AQe −1, from which part (iii) follows. 3.5 p-Adic Precision Analysis By the Weil conjectures [4, Appx C], the numerator of the zeta function of Ck can be written 2g 2g Y X i P (T ) = (1 − µiT ) = aiT ∈ Z[T ] i=1 i=0 1/2 where |µi| = q for all i and g is the genus of Ck. Furthermore, we can order the µi’s such that µg+i = q/µi for i = 1, .., g. Chapter 3. Superelliptic Curves 60 Let Ik denote the subsets of {1, ..., 2g} of length k. For I = (j1, ..., jk) ∈ Ik, write µI = µj1 ··· µjk . Then for each 1 ≤ i ≤ 2g, we can write i X ai = (−1) µI I∈Ii X qg = (−1)i µ{1,...,2g}\I I∈Ii X 1 = (−1)iqg µI I∈I2g−i X 1 = (−1)iqg µ q2g−i I I∈I2g−i i−g = q a2g−i. (3.34) Therefore the polynomial P (T ) can be obtained by computing each ai for 1 ≤ i ≤ g. For each ai, we have 2g 2g |a | ≤ qi/2 ≤ qi/2, i i g