Local Diophantine properties of Shimura curves and the \(\overline{\mathbb F}_p\)-gonality (Q2637426)

This paper belongs to the line of investigation of gonality of modular curves. The \(K\)-gonality \(\gamma_K(C)\) of a geometrically integral curve \(C_{/K}\) defined over a field \(K\) is the smallest positive integer \(N\) for which there exists a degree-\(N\) dominant rational map \(C\rightarrow {\mathbb P}^1_K\). Therefore, over a finite field the gonality of a curve can be bounded by computing the number of rational points of the curve. The author considers Shimura curves \(X_0^D(N)\) where \(D\) is a quaternion algebra associate to a finite set of primes of a totally real field \(F\) of degree \(d\). Using the zeta function and deep results due, among others, to \textit{B. W. Jordan, R. Livné} and \textit{Y. Varshavsky} [``Local points on \(P\)-adically uniformized Shimura varieties'', \url{arxiv:math/0204361}] and \textit{B. Poonen} [Math. Res. Lett. 14, No. 4, 691--701 (2007; Zbl 1138.14016)], based on \(p\)-adic uniformization and its implications via Hensel's lemma, the author achieves two significant results. The first generalizes a previous paper by \textit{P. L. Clark} [Isr. J. Math. 171, 349--365 (2009; Zbl 1189.11034)], specifically: \(m_{\text{loc}}(X_0^D(N))\mid 12\), where the \(m\)-invariant is the smallest degree of a field extension over which the curve is non-empty, and \(m_{\text{loc}}\) is the lcm of the \(m_v\) over all the places of the number field \(K\), with \(m_v\) the \(m\)-invariant for the localization of the curve \(C_{/K_v}\). The second main result is a lower bound for the gonality \(\gamma_{\overline{\mathbb F}_p}(X_0^D(N))\) when \(F={\mathbb Q}\) (the reason for this restriction is that over a general totally real field \(F\), \(X_0^D(N)\) is not geometrically integral in general), with the consequence: If \(N\) is square-fee, then \(\gamma_{\overline{\mathbb F}_p}(X_0^D(N)\rightarrow\infty\) as \(N\rightarrow\infty\). The Hasse-principle violation is mentioned (but not investigated) as a potential application, cf. Clark [loc.cit.]. The paper is technical but eminently clear and, within algebraic number theory, self contained.