Representation of integers by positive ternary quadratic forms and equidistribution of lattice points on ellipsoids (Q583261): Difference between revisions

The authors make use of recent advances in the theory of modular forms of half-integral weight and the arithmetic theory of quadratic forms to obtain a result which could be proved so far only in more than three variables: For a positive definite ternary integral quadratic form q the integral points on the ellipsoid \(q(x)=n\) are uniformly distributed for \(n\to \infty\). Moreover, an asymptotic formula is given for the number of points \(x\in {\mathbb{Q}}^ 3\) in a region of \(q(x)=n\) which satisfy some fixed congruence condition modulo \({\mathbb{Z}}^ 3.\) The first part of the paper reduces the problem to the formula for the number of points on the whole ellipsoid. It is based on results by \textit{H. Iwaniec} [Invent. Math. 87, 385-401 (1987; Zbl 0606.10017)] and the first-named author [Invent. Math. 92, 73-90 (1988; Zbl 0628.10029)]. A similar result for the sphere, but with a worse error term, had been obtained by \textit{E. P. Golubeva} and \textit{O. M. Fomenko} [Zap. Nauchn. Semin. Leningr. Otd. Mat. Inst. Steklova 160, 54-71 (1987; Zbl 0634.10043)]. The second part then deals with the representation number problem. The steps of the solution come all from the literature, in particular from papers of the second-named author [Invent. Math. 75, 283- 299 (1984; Zbl 0533.10021); J. Reine Angew. Math. 352, 114-132 (1984; Zbl 0533.10016); Nagoya Math. J. 102, 117-126 (1986; Zbl 0566.10015)].