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Bjorn Poonen

Publications and source records attributed to Bjorn Poonen.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2026

The Mathieu group $M_{23}$ is a Galois group over $\mathbb{Q}$

Researchers studying the inverse Galois problem realized 25 of the 26 sporadic finite simple groups as Galois groups over $\mathbb{Q}$ during 1984--1989. We complete this program by proving that the last remaining sporadic group, the Mathieu group $M_{23}$, occurs as a Galois group over $\mathbb{Q}$. In fact, we produce an explicit degree $23$ polynomial with rational coefficients whose splitting field has Galois group $M_{23}$ over $\mathbb{Q}$. To accomplish this, we use a non-rigid triple of conjugacy classes of $M_{23}$ and compute Belyi maps to construct an explicit regular Galois extension of $\mathbb{Q}(t)$ with Galois group $M_{23}$. Essential for our computation is the numerical Belyi map algorithm developed and implemented by Klug, Musty, Schiavone, Sijsling, and Voight, inspired by ideas of Hejhal and Stark.

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arXiv2025

Diophantine sets

Diophantine subsets of $\mathbb{Z}$ play a key role in the negative answer to Hilbert's tenth problem. The definition of diophantine set generalizes in several ways to other commutative rings. We compare these definitions. Along the way, we prove that for every finitely presented scheme $Y$ over a ring $R$, there exists an affine $R$-scheme $X$ with a finitely presented $R$-morphism $X \to Y$ such that $X(R') \to Y(R')$ is surjective for every $R$-algebra $R'$.

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arXiv2025

Rank stability makes rings of integers diophantine

The recent negative answer to Hilbert's tenth problem over rings of integers relies on a theorem that for every extension of number fields $L/K$, if there is an abelian variety $A$ over $K$ such that $0 < \operatorname{rank} A(K) = \operatorname{rank} A(L)$, then $\mathcal{O}_K$ is $\mathcal{O}_L$-diophantine. We present an alternative proof of this theorem and review how it is used.

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arXiv2025

The valuation of the discriminant of a hypersurface

Let $R$ be a discrete valuation ring, with valuation $v \colon R \twoheadrightarrow \mathbb{Z}_{\ge 0} \cup \{\infty\}$ and residue field $k$. Let $H$ be a hypersurface $\operatorname{Proj}(R[x_0,\ldots,x_n]/\langle f \rangle)$. Let $H_k$ be the special fiber, and let $(H_k)_{\mathrm{sing}}$ be its singular subscheme. Let $Δ(f)$ be the discriminant of $f$. We use Zariski's main theorem and degeneration arguments to prove that $v(Δ(f))=1$ if and only if $H$ is regular and $(H_k)_{\mathrm{sing}}$ consists of a nondegenerate double point over $k$. We also give lower bounds on $v(Δ(f))$ when $H_k$ has multiple singularities or a positive-dimensional singularity.

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arXiv2025

Lattices in Tate modules

Refining a theorem of Zarhin, we prove that given a $g$-dimensional abelian variety $X$ and an endomorphism $u$ of $X$, there exists a matrix $A \in \operatorname{M}_{2g}(\mathbb{Z})$ such that each Tate module $T_\ell X$ has a $\mathbb{Z}_\ell$-basis on which the action of $u$ is given by $A$, and similarly for the covariant Dieudonné module tensored with $\mathbb{Q}$ if over a perfect field of characteristic $p$.

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arXiv2025

Curve equations from expansions of 1-forms at a nonrational point

We exhibit an algorithm to compute equations of an algebraic curve over a computable characteristic 0 field from the power series expansions of its regular 1-forms at a nonrational point of the curve, extending a 2005 algorithm of Baker, González-Jiménez, González, and Poonen for expansions at a rational point. If the curve is hyperelliptic, the equations present it as an explicit double cover of a smooth plane conic, or as a double cover of the projective line when possible. If the curve is nonhyperelliptic, the equations cut out the canonical model. The algorithm has been used to compute equations over $\mathbb{Q}$ for many hyperelliptic modular curves without a rational cusp in the L-functions and Modular Forms Database.

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arXiv2024

Irreducibility of Littlewood polynomials of special degrees

Let $f$ be sampled uniformly at random from the set of degree $n$ polynomials whose coefficients lie in $\{ \pm 1\}$. A folklore conjecture, known to hold under GRH, states that the probability that $f$ is irreducible tends to $1$ as $n$ goes to infinity. We prove unconditionally that $$\limsup_{n \to \infty} \mathbb{P}(f \text{ is irreducible}) = 1.$$

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arXiv2021

Abelian varieties of prescribed order over finite fields

Given a prime power $q$ and $n \gg 1$, we prove that every integer in a large subinterval of the Hasse--Weil interval $[(\sqrt{q}-1)^{2n},(\sqrt{q}+1)^{2n}]$ is $#A(\mathbb{F}_q)$ for some geometrically simple ordinary principally polarized abelian variety $A$ of dimension $n$ over $\mathbb{F}_q$. As a consequence, we generalize a result of Howe and Kedlaya for $\mathbb{F}_2$ to show that for each prime power $q$, every sufficiently large positive integer is realizable, i.e., $#A(\mathbb{F}_q)$ for some abelian variety $A$ over $\mathbb{F}_q$. Our result also improves upon the best known constructions of sequences of simple abelian varieties with point counts towards the extremes of the Hasse--Weil interval. A separate argument determines, for fixed $n$, the largest subinterval of the Hasse--Weil interval consisting of realizable integers, asymptotically as $q \to \infty$; this gives an asymptotically optimal improvement of a 1998 theorem of DiPippo and Howe. Our methods are effective: We prove that if $q \le 5$, then every positive integer is realizable, and for arbitrary $q$, every positive integer $\ge q^{3 \sqrt{q} \log q}$ is realizable.

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arXiv2020

Space vectors forming rational angles

We classify all sets of nonzero vectors in $\mathbb{R}^3$ such that the angle formed by each pair is a rational multiple of $π$. The special case of four-element subsets lets us classify all tetrahedra whose dihedral angles are multiples of $π$, solving a 1976 problem of Conway and Jones: there are $2$ one-parameter families and $59$ sporadic tetrahedra, all but three of which are related to either the icosidodecahedron or the $B_3$ root lattice. The proof requires the solution in roots of unity of a $W(D_6)$-symmetric polynomial equation with $105$ monomials (the previous record was $12$ monomials).

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arXiv2020

The exceptional locus in the Bertini irreducibility theorem for a morphism

We introduce a novel approach to Bertini irreducibility theorems over an arbitrary field, based on random hyperplane slicing over a finite field. Extending a result of Benoist, we prove that for a morphism $ϕ\colon X \to \mathbb{P}^n$ such that $X$ is geometrically irreducible and the nonempty fibers of $ϕ$ all have the same dimension, the locus of hyperplanes $H$ such that $ϕ^{-1} H$ is not geometrically irreducible has dimension at most $\operatorname{codim} ϕ(X)+1$. We give an application to monodromy groups above hyperplane sections.

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arXiv2020

Local arboreal representations

Let $K$ be a field complete with respect to a discrete valuation $v$ of residue characteristic $p$. Let $f(z) \in K[z]$ be a separable polynomial of the form $z^\ell-c.$ Given $a \in K$, we examine the Galois groups and ramification groups of the extensions of $K$ generated by the solutions to $f^n(z)=a$. The behavior depends upon $v(c)$, and we find that it shifts dramatically as $v(c)$ crosses a certain value: $0$ in the case $p \nmid \ell$, and $-p/(p-1)$ in the case $p=\ell$.

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arXiv2020

A $p$-adic approach to rational points on curves

In 1922, Mordell conjectured the striking statement that for a polynomial equation $f(x,y)=0$, if the topology of the set of complex number solutions is complicated enough, then the set of rational number solutions is finite. This was proved by Faltings in 1983, and again by a different method by Vojta in 1991, but neither proof provided a way to provably find all the rational solutions, so the search for other proofs has continued. Recently, Lawrence and Venkatesh found a third proof, relying on variation in families of $p$-adic Galois representations; this is the subject of the present exposition.

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arXiv2020

The local-global principle for integral points on stacky curves

We construct a stacky curve of genus $1/2$ (i.e., Euler characteristic $1$) over $\mathbb{Z}$ that has an $\mathbb{R}$-point and a $\mathbb{Z}_p$-point for every prime $p$ but no $\mathbb{Z}$-point. This is best possible: we also prove that any stacky curve of genus less than $1/2$ over a ring of $S$-integers of a global field satisfies the local-global principle for integral points.

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arXiv2020

Linear independence in linear systems on elliptic curves

Let $E$ be an elliptic curve, with identity $O$, and let $C$ be a cyclic subgroup of odd order $N$, over an algebraically closed field $k$ with $\operatorname{char} k \nmid N$. For $P \in C$, let $s_P$ be a rational function with divisor $N \cdot P - N \cdot O$. We ask whether the $N$ functions $s_P$ are linearly independent. For generic $(E,C)$, we prove that the answer is yes. We bound the number of exceptional $(E,C)$ when $N$ is a prime by using the geometry of the universal generalized elliptic curve over $X_1(N)$. The problem can be recast in terms of sections of an arbitrary degree $N$ line bundle on $E$.

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