Coregular spaces and genus one curves (Q281747)

A geometric counting technique due to the first author [Ann. Math. (2) 172, No. 3, 1559--1591 (2010; Zbl 1220.11139)] recently enabled him with \textit{A. Shankar} [Ann. Math. (2) 181, No. 2, 587--621 (2015; Zbl 1317.11038); Ann. Math. (2) 181, No. 1, 191--242 (2015; Zbl 1307.11071)] to obtain remarkable results on the average size of the \(2\)- and \(3\)- Selmer groups of the family of all elliptic curves over \({\mathbb{Q}}\), as well as upper bounds for the average rank of their Mordell-Weil group. These results are based on \(3\)-, \(4\)- and \(5\)-descent computations due to Cassels, Cremona, Cremona-Fisher-Stoll and Fisher, analogous to the original \(2\)-descent of \textit{B. J. Birch} and \textit{H. P. F. Swinnerton-Dyer} [J. Reine Angew. Math. 212, 7--25 (1963; Zbl 0118.27601)]. A key ingredient in these descent computations is the orbit space parametrization for the moduli space of genus one curves equipped with degree \(2\) line bundle, in terms of the orbit of the action of \({\mathrm{GL}}_2\) on \({\mathrm{Sym}}^4(2)\) (space of binary quartic forms) for Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer, line bundles of degree \(3\), \(4\), \(5\) for subsequent works. The purpose of the paper under review is to develop further such correspondences. The original program of \textit{D. J. Wright} and \textit{A. Yukie} [Invent. Math. 110, No. 2, 283--314 (1992; Zbl 0803.12004)], of using prehomogeneous representations (meaning with only one open orbit over \({\mathbb{C}}\)) to determine densities of arithmetic objects, has been completed by the first author [Ann. Math. (2) 162, No. 2, 1031--1063 (2005; Zbl 1159.11045); Ann. Math. (2) 172, No. 3, 1559--1591 (2010; Zbl 1220.11139)]. Here, the authors show that the orbits of most coregular representations (i.e. representations in which the ring of polynomial invariants is freely generated) that are not prehomogeneous parametrize data involving genus one curves together with line bundles, vector bundles, points on their Jacobian curves. A number of explicit examples are given.