Heights of motives (Q2251302)

This paper defines the height of a motive over a number field. This definition generalizes the definition of the height of an abelian variety over a number field, due to \textit{G. Faltings} [Invent. Math. 73, 349--366 (1983; Zbl 0588.14026); erratum ibid. 75, 381 (1984)]. In the paper, as well as in this review, motive means pure motive. Let \(M\) be a motive over a number field. To define the height of \(M\), let \[ L(M)_{\mathbb Q} = \bigotimes_{r\in\mathbb Z} (\text{det}_{\mathbb Q}\text{gr}^r M_{\text{dR}})^{\otimes r} \;. \] Here \(M_{\text{dR}}\) denotes the de Rham realization of \(M\), and \(\text{gr}^r\) is that of the Hodge filtration on \(M_{\text{dR}}\). This vector space is given a metric at the infinite place, defined using Hodge theory, and an integral structure, defined using p-adic Hodge theory. The height of \(M\) is then defined to be the Arakelov degree of \(L(M)_{\mathbb Q}\). If \(A\) is an abelian variety and \(M=H_1(A)\), then \(\text{gr}^r M_{\text{dR}}\) is \(\text{Lie}(A)\) if \(r=-1\) and is \(0\) if \(r\neq0,-1\). Therefore the definition given here coincides with Faltings' definition, since his height is the Arakelov degree of the dual of \(\text{Lie}(A)\). Define the type of a motive \(M\) to be \((w,(h^r)_{r\in\mathbb Z})\), where \(w\) is the weight and \(h^r=\dim\text{gr}^r_{dR}\). Two conjectures are posed for motives of fixed type. The first conjecture is similar to Northcott's finiteness theorem. It says that, given a number field \(K\) and a constant \(c\), there are only finitely many isomorphism classes of motives \(M\) over \(K\) of type \(\Phi\), with semistable reduction and such that \(h(M)\leq c\). The other conjecture generalizes the \(abc\) conjecture. For a motive \(M\) over a number field \(K\), let \(n(M)=\sum_v\log N(v)\), where the sum is over all non-archimedean places of \(K\) at which \(M\) has bad reduction, and \(N(v)\) is the order of the residue field at \(v\). Also let \(D_K\) denote the discriminant of \(K\). Then it is conjectured that there are constants \(c>0\) and \(c'>0\), presumably depending only on \(\Phi\), such that \[ n(M) \geq c\cdot h(M) - \log|D_K| - c'[K:\mathbb Q] \] for all number fields \(K\) and all \(\mathbb Z\)-motives \(M\) over \(K\) of type \(\Phi\) with semistable reduction.