A mod \(p\) variant of the André-Oort conjecture (Q2174821)

The André-Oort conjecture says that if \(S\) is a Shimura variety and \(\Sigma\) is a set of special points of \(S\) then the Zariski closure of \(\Sigma\) is a finite union of special subvarieties of \(S\). In the case that \(S = \mathbb C \times \mathbb C\) is the coarse moduli space for pairs of elliptic curves, the special points are pairs of CM-points and the irreducible one-dimensional special subvarieties are the fibers of the two projection maps to \(\mathbb C\) and the images of the modular curves \(Y_{0}(n)\) which parameterize pairs of elliptic curves which are related by an \(n\)-isogeny. In this special case, the André-Oort conjecture was proved by \textit{Y. André} [J. Reine Angew. Math. 505, 203--208 (1998; Zbl 0918.14010)] and by the first author (under the generalized Riemann hypothesis for quadratic fields) [Compos. Math. 114, No. 3, 315--328 (1998; Zbl 0928.14019)]. The authors define a notion of special points and special subvarieties of \(\mathbb A_{\mathbb F_{p}}^2\). Roughly speaking, the special points on \(\mathbb A_{\mathbb F_{p}}^2\) are the reductions of pairs of CM-points and the one-dimensional special subvarieties are the fibers of the two projections maps to \(\mathbb A_{\mathbb F_{p}}\) and the irreducible components of the reductions of modular curves \(Y_{0}(n)_{\mathbb F_{P}}\). They also prove an André-Oort statement in this case: The Zariski closure of any set of special points of \(\mathbb A_{\mathbb F_{p}}^2\) is a finite union of special subvarieties. The proof goes through several results about the intersections of curves in \(\mathbb A^{2}_{\mathbb F_{p}}\) with their images under certain Hecke operators. To prove these results, the authors use arguments that combine the strategy used by the first author to study the André-Oort conjecture in [Duke Math. J. 126, No. 2, 325--348 (2005; Zbl 1072.14027)] with reduction mod \(p\), as well as some group theory arguments that replace topological arguments from the complex case.