Root numbers of Jacobi-sum Hecke characters (Q1186677)

Let \(p\) be an odd prime, \(n\) a positive integer and let \(K\) be the cyclotomic field of \(p^n\)-th roots of unity. Let \(a\), \(b\), and \(c\) be nonzero integers satisfying \(a+b+c=0\), where none of the integers \(a,b,c\) is divisible by \(p^n\) and at most one of them is divisible by \(p\). To these data \textit{A. Weil} [Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 73, 487--495 (1952; Zbl 0048.27001)] has associated a unitary Jacobi-sum Hecke character \(\chi\) and posed the problem of determining the conductor \(f(\chi)\) of \(\chi\). The case \(n=1\) was settled by Hasse in 1955 but for arbitrary \(n\), the determination of \(f(\chi)\) was accomplished very recently in a very good paper, by \textit{R. Coleman} and \textit{W. McCallum} [J. Reine Angew. Math. 385, 41--101 (1988; Zbl 0654.12003)]. The author uses this result in order to give the following precise and easy formula for the root number \(W(\chi)\) in the functional equation of the Hecke \(L\)-function \(L(s,\chi)\): If \(p\nmid abc\), \(u=v_p((a^ab^bc^c)^{p-1}-1)\), \(d=\frac{(a^ab^bc^c)^{p-1}-1}{p^u}\) then \[ W(\chi)=\begin{cases} -\left(\frac{abcd}{p}\right) \left(\frac{-1}{p}\right)^n, &\text{if } u\leq n\\ \left(\frac{2}{p}\right), &\text{if }u>n.\end{cases} \] If \(p\mid abc\), \(u=v_ p(abc)\), \(d=\frac{v_p(a^ab^bc^c)}{u}(1-u)\), if \(u\not\equiv 1\pmod p\), \(d=-v_p(a^ab^bc^c)\), if \(u\equiv 1\pmod p\) then \[ W(\chi)=-\left(\frac{a'b'c'd'}{p}\right)\left(\frac{-1}{p}\right)^{n+u}. \] (Here, for every nonzero element of \(\mathbb{Q}_ p\), say \(v\), \(v'\) is defined by \(v=p^{v_p(v)}v'\).) The paper can be considered as a continuation of his paper [Am. J. Math. 104, 517--543 (1982; Zbl 0503.12008)]. Since the conductor \(f(\chi)\) has been already calculated explicitly also in the case of \(p=2\), by \textit{D. Praparessi}, it would be desirable to have a formula for \(W(\chi)\) also in this case.