An ``infinite fern'' in the universal deformation space of Galois representations (Q1924840)

The aim of this article is twofold: to give a quick overview of how modular representations fit into the theory of deformations of Galois representations and to sketch a construction of a ``point-set topological'' configuration (the image of an ``infinite fern'') which emerges from consideration of modular representations in the universal deformation space of all Galois representations. \textit{F. Q. Gouvêa} and \textit{B. Mazur} had already conjectured the existence of the ``infinite fern'' in [Math. Comput. 58, 793-806 (1992; Zbl 0773.11030)]. Now, thanks to some recent important work of \textit{R. Coleman} [Invent. Math. 124, 215-241 (1996; Zbl 0851.11030); J. Théor. Nombres Bordx. 7, No. 1, 333-365 (1995); \(p\)-adic Banach spaces and families of modular forms, Preprint August (1995), Invent. Math. (to appear)], it is something one can actually produce! A consequence of the existence of these infinite ferns (which will be written up in a future joint paper with Gouvêa) is that if \(\;\overline {\rho}: G_\mathbb{Q}\to GL_2 (\mathbb{F}_p)\) is an absolutely irreducible residual representation which comes from a modular form on \(\Gamma_0 (p)\), and for which the corresponding ``unramified outside \(p\)'' deformation problem is ``unobstructed'', then the entire universal deformation ring attached to \(\overline {\rho}\) may be reconstructed from modular representations.