Bielliptic Drinfeld modular curves (Q700526): Difference between revisions

An algebraic curve (smooth, projective, geometrically connected) is bielliptic if it may be presented as a double cover of some elliptic curve. It is an important problem to determine all those modular curves \(X\) (e.g., of shape \(X = X_0(N)\), \(X_1(N)\), \(X(N)\) with some natural number \(N\)) which are bielliptic or hyperelliptic, since that question is related to the question of whether \(X\) admits infinitely many points rational over a quadratic extension of \(\mathbb{Q}\). In the context just described, the problem has been solved for \(X = X_0(N)\) by \textit{F. Bars} [J. Number Theory 76, 154-165 (1999; Zbl 0964.11029)], following earlier work of \textit{A. P. Ogg} [Bull. Soc. Math. Fr. 102, 449-462 (1974; Zbl 0314.10018)]. In view of the familiar analogy between number fields and function fields, it is desirable to dispose of similar results for Drinfeld modular curves. In the important paper under consideration, the author manages, applying a variety of different strategies and ad hoc arguments, to describe all the bielliptic ones among the Drinfeld modular curves \(X_0(u)\) of Hecke type. These are defined over a rational function field \(K = \mathbb{F}_q(T)\), and \(u\) refers to a monic element of the polynomial ring \(A = \mathbb{F}_q[T]\). Theorem 4.6 states that, up to coordinate changes in \(T\), there are precisely 12 bielliptic curvs \(X_0(u)\), among which 6 are at the same time hyperelliptic. Together with his former results about the classification of hyperelliptic Drinfeld modular curves given in [Drinfeld modules, modular schemes and applications, Alden-Biesen 1996, World Scientific Publishing, 330-343 (1997; Zbl 0930.11039)], the author is able to list all the curves \(X_0(u)\) with infinitely many quadratic points over \(K\): see Theorem 5.3. As an application, the following uniform boundedness theorem for Drinfeld \(A\)-modules is obtained, which sharpens a result of B. Poonen. Theorem 4: Given an irreducible \(\mathfrak p \in A = \mathbb{F}_q[T]\) and a finite field extension \(L\) of \(K\), there exists a uniform bound, depending only on \(q\), \(\mathfrak p\), and \(L\), for the size of the \(\mathfrak p\)-primary part of the \(L'\)-rational torsion of \(\phi\), where \(L'\) ranges over the quadratic extensions of \(L\) and \(\phi\) over the Drinfeld \(A\)-modules of rank two defined over \(L'\).