An inverse Jacobian algorithm for Picard curves (Q2028702)

In the paper under review, the authors study the inverse Jacobian problem for the case of Picard curves over \({\mathbb C.}\) More precisely, the authors provide an algorithm (see Section 3) accepting input and returning output as follows: ``Input: A period matrix \(\Omega\in \mathbf{H}_3\) of the Jacobian of a Picard curve \(C\), and the transposed rational representation \(N\in {\mathbb Z}^{6\times 6}\) of the automorphism of the Jacobian \(\rho_*\) induced by the curve automorphism \(\rho(x,y)=(x,z_3y).\) Output: The complex values \(\lambda\) and \(\mu\) in a Legendre-Rosenhain equation \(y^3=x(x-1)(x-\lambda)(x-\mu)\) for the Picard curve \(C\),'' where \(\mathbf{H}_3\) is the Siegel upper half-space, and \(z_3\) is a primitive third root of unity. The results follow in a great part from earlier work of [\textit{K. Koike} and \textit{A. Weng}, Math. Comput. 74, No. 249, 499--518 (2005; Zbl 1049.14014)], but these have been presented to refine, correct or generalize the results of Koike and Weng. One of the key reasons that the inverse Jacobian problem can be done for Picard curves is the following proposition in Section 3 (cf. Lemma 1 of [\textit{K. Koike} and \textit{A. Weng}, Math. Comput. 74, No. 249, 499--518 (2005; Zbl 1049.14014)]). \textbf{Proposition 1.} Let \(X\) be a simple principally polarized abelian variety of dimension \(3\) defined over an algebraically closed field \(k\). If \(X\) has automorphism \(\phi\) of order \(3\), then we have that \(X\) is the Jacobian of a Picard curve. Furthermore, let \(\rho\) be the curve automorphism \(\rho(x,y)=(x,z_3y),\) and let \(\rho_*\) be the automorphism of the Jacobian that it induces. Then we get \(\langle\phi\rangle=\langle\rho_*\rangle.\) The authors of the paper under review mentioned that their proof followed the idea of Koike and Weng, but they fixed a gap by their reference to a result of Estrada. Furthermore, they remarked that the result can be seen by applying the classification of plane quartics and genus-3 hyperelliptic curves by their automorphism group [\textit{D. Lombardo} et al., ``Decomposing Jacobians via Galois covers'', Preprint, \url{arXiv:2003.07774}]. The algorithm mentioned above was made possible by establishing the following two theorems which are refined statements or generalizations of the results in [\textit{K. Koike} and \textit{A. Weng}, Math. Comput. 74, No. 249, 499--518 (2005; Zbl 1049.14014)]. \textbf{Theorem 3.} Let \(C\) be a Picard curve defined over \({\mathbb C}\) given by \[y^3=x(x-1)(x-\lambda)(x-\mu),\] and consider the branch points \(P_0=(0,0),P_1=(1,0),P_{\lambda}=(\lambda,0),P_{\mu}=(\mu,0),\) and \(P_{\infty}\) at infinity. Let \(J(C)\) be the Jacobian of \(C\) with period matrix \(\Omega\), let \(\alpha\) be the Abel-Jacobi map with base point \(P_{\infty},\) and let \(\Delta\in J(C)\) be the associated Riemann constant. Then, for \(\eta\in {\lambda,\mu},\) we have \[\eta=\varepsilon_{\eta}\left(\frac{\theta[\widetilde{P_1}+2\widetilde{P_{\eta}}-\widetilde{P_0}-\widetilde{\Delta}](\Omega)} {\theta[2\widetilde{P_1}+\widetilde{P_{\eta}}-\widetilde{P_0}-\widetilde{\Delta}](\Omega)}\right)^3,\] where \(\varepsilon_{\eta}=\exp(6\pi i((\widetilde{P_{\eta}}-\widetilde{P_1})_1(\widetilde{P_0})_2+\widetilde{\Delta_1}(3\widetilde{P_1}+3\widetilde{P_{\eta}}-2\widetilde{\Delta})_2)).\) The proof of the above theorem (see Section 2) uses Riemann's Vanishing Theorem, a result of Siegel, and a transition step (see Corollary 1 for details and for other undefined notations) which converts a product of Riemann theta constants as a product of theta constants with characteristics. For \(P\in C\), \(\widetilde{P}\) is a shorthand notation for the image under Abel-Jacobi map with identification of \(J(C)\) with \({\mathbb R}^{2g}/{\mathbb Z}^{2g}\) and reduction (so \(\widetilde{P}\in [0,1)^{2g},\) see (6) for details). The formula for \(\eta\) (i.e. \(\lambda\) or \(\mu\)) is to be compared with that of Corollary 11 of [\textit{K. Koike} and \textit{A. Weng}, Math. Comput. 74, No. 249, 499--518 (2005; Zbl 1049.14014)], where the correction factor \(\varepsilon_{\eta}=1,\) because the authors of [\textit{K. Koike} and \textit{A. Weng}, Math. Comput. 74, No. 249, 499--518 (2005; Zbl 1049.14014)] took a four-element subset \(\{D_1,\cdots,D_4\}\) (of which \(\widetilde{P_{\eta}},\widetilde{P_1}\), etc, are analogues) of a set analogous to \(\Theta_3\) in Theorem 4 below with \(\sum_i D_i=\mathbf{0}.\) The authors of the paper under review clarified the existence of such four-element subset and its relation to the image of branch points under the Abel-Jacobi map. Accordingly Theorem 4 below (see Section 3) gives a refinement, clarification, or generalization of Corollary 11 of [\textit{K. Koike} and \textit{A. Weng}, Math. Comput. 74, No. 249, 499--518 (2005; Zbl 1049.14014)]. \textbf{Theorem 4.} Let \(J(C)\) be the Jacobian of a Picard curve \(C,\) let \(\rho_*\) be the automorphism of \(J(C)\) induced by the curve automorphism \(\rho(x,y)=(x,z_3y).\) Let \(\mathcal{B}\) be the set of affine branch points of \(C,\) let \(\alpha\) be the Abel-Jacobi map with base point \(P_{\infty}=(0:1:0),\) let \(\Delta\) be the Riemann constant with respect to \(\alpha\) and define \[\Theta_3:=\{x\in J(C)[1-\rho_*]:\theta[\underline{x}+\underline{\Delta}](\Omega)=0\}.\] Then \(\alpha(\mathcal{B})\) and \(-\alpha(\mathcal{B})\) are the only subsets \(\mathcal{T}\subset J(C)\) of four elements such that: \noindent (i) the sum \(\sum_{x\in \mathcal{T}}x\) is zero, \noindent (ii) \(\mathcal{T}\) is a set of generators of \(J(C)[1-\rho_*],\) and \noindent (iii) the set \(\mathcal{O}(\mathcal{T}):=\{\sum_{x\in \mathcal{T}}a_xx:a\in {\mathbb Z}^4_{\geq 0},\sum_{x\in \mathcal{T}}a_x\leq 2\}\) satisfies \[\mathcal{O}(\mathcal{T})=\Theta_3.\] In Section 4, the authors of the paper under review applied their revised algorithm to obtain equations of all the isomorphism classes of Picard curves with maximal complex multiplication by the maximal order of the sextic CM-fields with class number at most \(4\). In the Appendix, the third named author of the paper under review applied the tools used in Section 2 to correct a sign in the generalization of Takase's formula [\textit{K. Takase}, Proc. Japan Acad., Ser. A 72, No. 7, 162--165 (1996; Zbl 0924.14016)] for the inverse Jacobian problem for hyperelliptic curves, given in [\textit{J. S. Balakrishnan} et al., LMS J. Comput. Math. 19A, 283--300 (2016; Zbl 1404.11085)].