arXiv subjects

Matilde Lalín

Publications and source records attributed to Matilde Lalín.

25 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2015

Further explorations of Boyd's conjectures and a conductor 21 elliptic curve

We prove that the (logarithmic) Mahler measure $m(P)$ of $P(x,y)=x+1/x+y+1/y+3$ is equal to the $L$-value $2L'(E,0)$ attached to the elliptic curve $E:P(x,y)=0$ of conductor 21. In order to do this we investigate the measure of a more general Laurent polynomial $P_{a,b,c}(x,y)=a(x+1/x)+b(y+1/y)+c$ and show that the wanted quantity $m(P)$ is related to a "half-Mahler" measure of $\tilde P(x,y)=P_{\sqrt{7},1,3}(x,y)$. In the finale we use the modular parametrization of the elliptic curve $\tilde P(x,y)=0$, again of conductor 21, due to Ramanujan and the Mellit--Brunault formula for the regulator of modular units.

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arXiv2015

The distribution of $\mathbb{F}_q$-points on cyclic $\ell$-covers of genus $g$

We study fluctuations in the number of points of $\ell$-cyclic covers of the projective line over the finite field $\mathbb{F}_q$ when $q \equiv 1 \mod \ell$ is fixed and the genus tends to infinity. The distribution is given as a sum of $q+1$ i.i.d. random variables. This was settled for hyperelliptic curves by Kurlberg and Rudnick, while statistics were obtained for certain components of the moduli space of $\ell$-cyclic covers by Bucur, David, Feigon and Lalín. In this paper, we obtain statistics for the distribution of the number of points as the covers vary over the full moduli space of $\ell$-cyclic covers of genus $g$. This is achieved by relating $\ell$-covers to cyclic function field extensions, and counting such extensions with prescribed ramification and splitting conditions at a finite number of primes.

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arXiv2013

Secant Zeta Functions

We study the series $ψ_s(z):=\sum_{n=1}^{\infty} \sec(nπz)n^{-s}$, and prove that it converges under mild restrictions on $z$ and $s$. The function possesses a modular transformation property, which allows us to evaluate $ψ_{s}(z)$ explicitly at certain quadratic irrational values of $z$. This supports our conjecture that $π^{-k} ψ_{k}(\sqrt{j})\in\mathbb{Q}$ whenever $k$ and $j$ are positive integers with $k$ even. We conclude with some speculations on Bernoulli numbers.

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arXiv2012

A generalization of a theorem of Boyd and Lawton

The Mahler measure of a nonzero $n$-variable polynomial $P$ is the integral of $\log|P|$ on the unit $n$-torus. A result of Boyd and Lawton says that the Mahler measure of a multivariate polynomial is the limit of Mahler measures of univariate polynomials. We prove the analogous result for different extensions of Mahler measure such as generalized Mahler measure (integrating the maximum of $\log|P|$ for possibly different $P$'s), multiple Mahler measure (involving products of $\log|P|$ for possibly different $P$'s), and higher Mahler measure (involving $\log^k|P|$).

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arXiv2011

Higher Mahler measure for cyclotomic polynomials and Lehmer's question

The $k$-higher Mahler measure of a nonzero polynomial $P$ is the integral of $\log^k|P|$ on the unit circle. In this note, we consider Lehmer's question (which is a long-standing open problem for $k=1$) for $k>1$ and find some interesting formulae for 2- and 3-higher Mahler measure of cyclotomic polynomials.

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arXiv2009

The fluctuations in the number of points of smooth plane curves over finite fields

In this note, we study the fluctuations in the number of points of smooth projective plane curves over finite fields $\mathbb{F}_q$ as $q$ is fixed and the genus varies. More precisely, we show that these fluctuations are predicted by a natural probabilistic model, in which the points of the projective plane impose independent conditions on the curve. The main tool we use is a geometric sieving process introduced by Poonen.

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arXiv2009

Statistics for traces of cyclic trigonal curves over finite fields

We study the variation of the trace of the Frobenius endomorphism associated to a cyclic trigonal curve of genus g over a field of q elements as the curve varies in an irreducible component of the moduli space. We show that for q fixed and g increasing, the limiting distribution of the trace of the Frobenius equals the sum of q+1 independent random variables taking the value 0 with probability 2/(q+2) and 1, e^{(2pi i)/3}, e^{(4pi i)/3} each with probability q/(3(q+2)). This extends the work of Kurlberg and Rudnick who considered the same limit for hyperelliptic curves. We also show that when both g and q go to infinity, the normalized trace has a standard complex Gaussian distribution and how to generalize these results to p-fold covers of the projective line.

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