``Weak'' congruences for coefficients of the Eisenstein series for \(\mathbb F_q[T]\) of weight \(q^k-1\) (Q1403937)

Let \(A={\mathbb F}_q[T]\). For every \(k\in{\mathbb N}\) the function \[ E_k(z)=\sum_{\substack{ c,d\in A\\ (c,d)\neq(0,0)}} \frac{1}{(cz+d)^k} \] on the Drinfeld upper halfplane is a modular form of weight \(k\) for \(GL_2(A)\). The most interesting ones are those of the form \(E_{q^k -1}(z)\), for the same reasons that the most interesting classical Eisenstein series are those of weight \(p-1\) with \(p\geq 5\) a prime [see for example \textit{E.-U. Gekeler}, Contemp. Math. 224, 111--141 (1999; Zbl 0926.11032)]. After scaling with a function field analog \(\bar{\pi}\) of \(2\pi i\), there exists an expansion \[ {\bar{\pi}}^{1-q^k}E_{q^k -1}=\sum_{n=0}^\infty a_n s^n \] where \(s(z)\) is a suitable uniformizer. The coefficients \(a_n\) lie in \({\mathbb F}_q(T)\) with bounded denominators, and many of them are \(0\). However, the coefficients of Drinfeld modular forms are in general more difficult to determine than those of classical modular forms and seem to encode less number-theoretic information. The authors prove that all \(a_{q^{md+k}+q^{k-1}+q^{k-2}+\cdots +q+1}\) (\(m\in {\mathbb N}_0\)) are congruent modulo (certain powers of) all irreducible \({\mathfrak p}\in A\) of degree \(d\). The word ``weak'' in the title refers to the fact that the congruence allows these coefficients to be determined up to a factor of degree \(q^k-q\), but not completely.