Elliptic curves over \(\mathbb {Q}\) and 2-adic images of Galois (Q2012302)

In this highly important paper the authors give a classification of all possible 2-adic images of Galois representations associated to elliptic curves over \(\mathbb {Q}\). To this end, they compute the `arithmetically maximal' tower of 2-power level modular curves, develop techniques to compute their equations, and classify the rational points on these curves. Central is the following: Theorem 1.1. Let \(H\in \mathrm{GL}_2(\mathbb Z_2)\) be a subgroup, and \(E\) be an elliptic curve whose 2-adic image is contained in \(H\). Then one of the following holds: -- The modular curve \(X_H\) has infinitely many rational points. -- The curve \(E\) has complex multiplication. -- The \(j\)-invariant of \(E\) appears in the table 1 of exceptional j-invariants given in the paper. Further we state their Corollary 1.3. Let \(E\) be an elliptic curve over \(\mathbb Q\) without complex multiplication. Then the index of \(\rho_{E,2^\infty}(G_{\mathbb Q})\) divides 64 or 96; all such indices occur. Moreover, the image of \(\rho_{E,2^\infty}(G_{\mathbb Q})\) is the inverse image in \( \mathrm{GL}_2(\mathbb Z_2)\) of the image of \(\rho_{E,32}(G_{\mathbb Q})\). For non-CM elliptic curves \(E/\mathbb Q\), there are precisely 1208 possible images for \(\rho_{E,2^\infty}\). Several interesting remarks show relations with other papers and some are of interest in their own.