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Manjul Bhargava

Publications and source records attributed to Manjul Bhargava.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

A positive proportion of plane cubics fail the Hasse principle

When all ternary cubic forms over $\mathbb Z$ are ordered by the heights of their coefficients, we show that a positive proportion of them fail the Hasse principle, i.e., they have a zero over every completion of $\mathbb Q$ but no zero over $\mathbb Q$. We also show that a positive proportion of all ternary cubic forms over $\mathbb Z$ nontrivially satisfy the Hasse principle, i.e., they possess a zero over every completion of $\mathbb Q$ and also possess a zero over $\mathbb Q$. Analogous results are proven for other genus one models, namely, for equations of the form $z^2=f(x,y)$ where $f$ is a binary quartic form over $\mathbb Z$, and for intersections of pairs of quadrics in $\mathbb P^3$.

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The geometric sieve and the density of squarefree values of invariant polynomials

We develop a method for determining the density of squarefree values taken by certain multivariate integer polynomials that are invariants for the action of an algebraic group on a vector space. The method is shown to apply to the discriminant polynomials of various prehomogeneous and coregular representations where generic stabilizers are finite. This has applications to a number of arithmetic distribution questions, e.g., to the density of small degree number fields having squarefree discriminant, and the density of certain unramified nonabelian extensions of quadratic fields. In separate works, the method forms an important ingredient in establishing lower bounds on the average orders of Selmer groups of elliptic curves.

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The mean number of 3-torsion elements in the class groups and ideal groups of quadratic orders

We determine the mean number of 3-torsion elements in the class groups of quadratic orders, where the quadratic orders are ordered by their absolute discriminants. Moreover, for a quadratic order $\mathcal{O}$ we distinguish between the two groups: $\mathrm{Cl}_3(\mathcal{O})$, the group of ideal classes of order $3$; and $\mathcal{I}_3(\mathcal{O})$, the group of ideals of order $3$. We determine the mean values of both $|\mathrm{Cl}_3(\mathcal{O})|$ and $|\mathcal{I}_3(\mathcal{O})|$, as $\mathcal{O}$ ranges over any family of orders defined by finitely many (or in suitable cases, even infinitely many) local conditions. As a consequence, we prove the surprising fact that the mean value of the difference $|\mathrm{Cl}_3(\mathcal{O})|-|\mathcal{I}_3(\mathcal{O})|$ is equal to $1$, regardless of whether one averages over the maximal orders in complex quadratic fields or over all orders in such fields or, indeed, over any family of complex quadratic orders defined by local conditions. For any family of real quadratic orders defined by local conditions, we prove similarly that the mean value of the difference $|\mathrm{Cl}_3(\mathcal{O})|-\frac13|\mathcal{I}_3(\mathcal{O})|$ is always equal to $1$, independent of the family.

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The average size of the 5-Selmer group of elliptic curves is 6, and the average rank is less than 1

In this article, we prove that the average rank of elliptic curves over $\mathbb{Q}$, when ordered by height, is less than $1$ (in fact, less than $.885$). As a consequence of our methods, we also prove that at least four fifths of all elliptic curves over $\mathbb{Q}$ have rank either 0 or 1; furthermore, at least one fifth of all elliptic curves in fact have rank 0. The primary ingredient in the proofs of these theorems is a determination of the average size of the $5$-Selmer group of elliptic curves over $\mathbb{Q}$; we prove that this average size is $6$. Another key ingredient is a new lower bound on the equidistribution of root numbers of elliptic curves; we prove that there is a family of elliptic curves over $\mathbb{Q}$ having density at least $55\%$ for which the root number is equidistributed.

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The average number of elements in the 4-Selmer groups of elliptic curves is 7

We prove that when all elliptic curves over $\mathbb{Q}$ are ordered by height, the average size of their 4-Selmer groups is equal to 7. As a consequence, we show that a positive proportion (in fact, at least one fifth) of all 2-Selmer elements of elliptic curves, when ordered by height, do not lift to 4-Selmer elements, and thus correspond to nontrivial 2-torsion elements in the associated Tate--Shafarevich groups.

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Ternary cubic forms having bounded invariants, and the existence of a positive proportion of elliptic curves having rank 0

We prove an asymptotic formula for the number of ${\rm SL}_3({\mathbb Z})$-equivalence classes of integral ternary cubic forms having bounded invariants. We use this result to show that the average size of the 3-Selmer group of all elliptic curves, when ordered by height, is 4. This implies that the average rank of all elliptic curves, when ordered by height, is less than 1.17. Combining our counting techniques with a recent result of Dokchitser and Dokchitser, we prove that a positive proportion of all elliptic curves have rank 0. Assuming the finiteness of the Tate-Shafarevich group, we also show that a positive proportion of elliptic curves have rank 1. Finally, combining our counting results with the recent work of Skinner and Urban, we show that a positive proportion of elliptic curves have analytic rank 0; i.e., a positive proportion of elliptic curves have non-vanishing $L$-function at $s=1$. It follows that a positive proportion of all elliptic curves satisfy BSD.

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Binary quartic forms having bounded invariants, and the boundedness of the average rank of elliptic curves

We prove a theorem giving the asymptotic number of binary quartic forms having bounded invariants; this extends, to the quartic case, the classical results of Gauss and Davenport in the quadratic and cubic cases, respectively. Our techniques are quite general, and may be applied to counting integral orbits in other representations of algebraic groups. We use these counting results to prove that the average rank of elliptic curves over $\mathbb{Q}$, when ordered by their heights, is bounded. In particular, we show that when elliptic curves are ordered by height, the mean size of the 2-Selmer group is 3. This implies that the limsup of the average rank of elliptic curves is at most 1.5.

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The proportion of plane cubic curves over ${\mathbb Q}$ that everywhere locally have a point

We show that the proportion of plane cubic curves over ${\mathbb Q}_p$ that have a ${\mathbb Q}_p$-rational point is a rational function in $p$, where the rational function is independent of $p$, and we determine this rational function explicitly. As a consequence, we obtain the density of plane cubic curves over ${\mathbb Q}$ that have points everywhere locally; numerically, this density is shown to be $\approx 97.3\%$.

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Arithmetic invariant theory II

Let $k$ be a field, let $G$ be a reductive group, and let $V$ be a linear representation of $G$. Let $V//G = Spec(Sym(V^*))^G$ denote the geometric quotient and let $π: V \to V//G$ denote the quotient map. Arithmetic invariant theory studies the map $π$ on the level of $k$-rational points. In this article, which is a continuation of the results of our earlier paper "Arithmetic invariant theory", we provide necessary and sufficient conditions for a rational element of $V//G$ to lie in the image of $π$, assuming that generic stabilizers are abelian. We illustrate the various scenarios that can occur with some recent examples of arithmetic interest.

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On the number of cubic orders of bounded discriminant having automorphism group $C_3$, and related problems

For a binary quadratic form $Q$, we consider the action of $\mathrm{SO}_Q$ on a two-dimensional vector space. This representation yields perhaps the simplest nontrivial example of a prehomogeneous vector space that is not irreducible, and of a coregular space whose underlying group is not semisimple. We show that the nondegenerate integer orbits of this representation are in natural bijection with orders in cubic fields having a fixed "lattice shape". Moreover, this correspondence is discriminant-preserving: the value of the invariant polynomial of an element in this representation agrees with the discriminant of the corresponding cubic order. We use this interpretation of the integral orbits to solve three classical-style counting problems related to cubic orders and fields. First, we give an asymptotic formula for the number of cubic orders having bounded discriminant and nontrivial automorphism group. More generally, we give an asymptotic formula for the number of cubic orders that have bounded discriminant and any given lattice shape (i.e., reduced trace form, up to scaling). Via a sieve, we also count cubic fields of bounded discriminant whose rings of integers have a given lattice shape. We find, in particular, that among cubic orders (resp. fields) having lattice shape of given discriminant $D$, the shape is equidistributed in the class group $\mathrm{Cl}_D$ of binary quadratic forms of discriminant $D$. As a by-product, we also obtain an asymptotic formula for the number of cubic fields of bounded discriminant having any given quadratic resolvent field.

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Modeling the distribution of ranks, Selmer groups, and Shafarevich-Tate groups of elliptic curves

Using maximal isotropic submodules in a quadratic module over Z_p, we prove the existence of a natural discrete probability distribution on the set of isomorphism classes of short exact sequences of co-finite type Z_p-modules, and then conjecture that as E varies over elliptic curves over a fixed global field k, the distribution of 0 --> E(k) tensor Q_p/Z_p --> Sel_{p^infty} E --> Sha[p^infty] --> 0 is that one. We show that this single conjecture would explain many of the known theorems and conjectures on ranks, Selmer groups, and Shafarevich-Tate groups of elliptic curves. We also prove the existence of a discrete probability distribution of the set of isomorphism classes of finite abelian p-groups equipped with a nondegenerate alternating pairing, defined in terms of the cokernel of a random alternating matrix over Z_p, and we prove that the two probability distributions are compatible with each other and with Delaunay's predicted distribution for Sha. Finally, we prove new theorems on the fppf cohomology of elliptic curves in order to give further evidence for our conjecture.

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Most hyperelliptic curves over Q have no rational points

By a hyperelliptic curve over Q, we mean a smooth, geometrically irreducible, complete curve C over Q equipped with a fixed map of degree 2 to P^1 defined over Q. Thus any hyperelliptic curve C over Q of genus g can be embedded in weighted projective space P(1,1,g+1) via an equation of the form C : z^2 = f(x,y) = f_0 x^n + f_1 x^{n-1} y + ... + f_n y^n where n=2g+2, the coefficients f_i lie in Z, and f factors into distinct linear factors over Q-bar. Define the height H(C) of C by H(C):=max{|f_i|}, and order all hyperelliptic curves over Q of genus g by height. Then we prove that, as g tends to infinity: 1) a density approaching 100% of hyperelliptic curves of genus g have no rational points; 2) a density approaching 100% of those hyperelliptic curves of genus g that have points everywhere locally fail the Hasse principle; and 3) a density approaching 100% of hyperelliptic curves of genus g have empty Brauer set, i.e., have a Brauer-Manin obstruction to having a rational point. We also prove positive proportion results of this type for individual genera, including g = 1.

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Coregular spaces and genus one curves

A coregular space is a representation of an algebraic group for which the ring of polynomial invariants is free. In this paper, we show that the orbits of many coregular irreducible representations where the number of invariants is at least two, over a (not necessarily algebraically closed) field k, correspond to genus one curves over k together with line bundles, vector bundles, and/or points on their Jacobians. In forthcoming work, we use these orbit parametrizations to determine the average sizes of Selmer groups for various families of elliptic curves.

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The average size of the 2-Selmer group of Jacobians of hyperelliptic curves having a rational Weierstrass point

We prove that when all hyperelliptic curves of genus $n\geq 1$ having a rational Weierstrass point are ordered by height, the average size of the 2-Selmer group of their Jacobians is equal to 3. It follows that (the limsup of) the average rank of the Mordell-Weil group of their Jacobians is at most 3/2. The method of Chabauty can then be used to obtain an effective bound on the number of rational points on most of these hyperelliptic curves; for example, we show that a majority of hyperelliptic curves of genus $n\geq 3$ with a rational Weierstrass point have fewer than 20 rational points.

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On a notion of "Galois closure" for extensions of rings

We introduce a notion of "Galois closure" for extensions of rings. We show that the notion agrees with the usual notion of Galois closure in the case of an S_n degree n extension of fields. Moreover, we prove a number of properties of this construction; for example, we show that it is functorial and respects base change. We also investigate the behavior of this Galois closure construction for various natural classes of ring extensions.

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Arithmetic invariant theory

Let $k$ be a field, let $G$ be a reductive algebraic group over $k$, and let $V$ be a linear representation of $G$. Geometric invariant theory involves the study of the $k$-algebra of $G$-invariant polynomials on $V$, and the relation between these invariants and the $G$-orbits on $V$, usually under the hypothesis that the base field $k$ is algebraically closed. In favorable cases, one can determine the geometric quotient $V//G = Spec(Sym(V^*))^G$ and can identify certain fibers of the morphism $V \rightarrow V/G$ with certain $G$-orbits on $V$. In this paper, we study the analogous problem when $k$ is not algebraically closed. The additional complexity that arises in the orbit picture in this scenario is what we refer to as arithmetic invariant theory. We illustrate some of the issues that arise by considering the regular semi-simple orbits--i.e., the closed orbits whose stabilizers have minimal dimension--in three arithmetically rich representations of the split odd special orthogonal group $G = SO_{2n+1}$.

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On the Davenport-Heilbronn theorems and second order terms

We give simple proofs of the Davenport--Heilbronn theorems, which provide the main terms in the asymptotics for the number of cubic fields having bounded discriminant and for the number of 3-torsion elements in the class groups of quadratic fields having bounded discriminant. We also establish second main terms for these theorems, thus proving a conjecture of Roberts. Our arguments provide natural interpretations for the various constants appearing in these theorems in terms of local masses of cubic rings.

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