Galois representations with conjectural connections to arithmetic cohomology (Q1847921)

In [Duke Math. J. 54, 179-230 (1987; Zbl 0641.10026)], \textit{J.-P. Serre} published a conjecture relating continuous \(2\)-dimensional absolutely irreducible Galois representations (in characteristic \(p\)) to the reductions modulo \(p\) of modular forms. In a joint paper [Duke Math. J. 105, 1-24 (2000; Zbl 1015.11018)], the first author and \textit{W. Sinnott} stated another conjecture that relates niveau \(1\) Galois representations of arbitrary dimension \(n\) and cohomology groups of congruence subgroups of \(\text{GL}(n,\mathbb Z)\). In the case \(n = 2\), this conjecture of Ash and Sinnott is closely related to Serre's conjecture. An expanded version of the Ash-Sinnott conjecture is given in the present paper that includes Galois representations of higher niveau. Computational evidence for the last conjecture in the case \(n = 3\) is presented (in the form of Galois representations for which the coefficients of the characteristic polynomials of the images of the Frobenius match the Hecke eigenvalues for the corresponding cohomology of congruence subgroups). Using the results of \textit{A. Ash} and \textit{Pham Huu Tiep} [J. Algebra 222, 376-399 (1999; Zbl 0949.11032)], the authors also show that the conjecture holds for the symmetric squares of certain \(2\)-dimensional Galois representations. Some computational tests for the conjecture in the case \(n = 4\) have recently been done in \textit{A. Ash, P. E. Gunnells} and \textit{M. McConnell} [J. Number Theory 94, 181-212 (2002; Zbl 1006.11026)].