Average size of 2-Selmer groups of elliptic curves over function fields (Q2345434)

Let \(K=k(C)\) be a global function field over the finite field \(k\) of order \(q>32\) and characteristic \(p\geqslant 5\), and consider the elliptic curves \(E_K\) defined over \(K\) and ordered by height (i.e., the degree of the line bundle associated with a family of Weierstrass curves which extends \(E_K\)). The paper extends the main results of \textit{M. Bhargava} and \textit{A. Shankar} [Ann. Math. (2) 181, No. 1, 191--242 (2015; Zbl 1307.11071)] on the average rank of elliptic curves defined over \(\mathbb{Q}\) to the setting above, showing that \[ \limsup_{d\to +\infty} \mathrm{AS}(d) := \limsup_{d\to +\infty} \frac{\sum_{h(E_K)\leqslant d } \frac{|\mathrm{Sel}_2(E_K)|}{|\mathrm{Aut}(E_K)|}}{\sum_{h(E_K)\leqslant d } \frac{1}{|\mathrm{Aut}(E_K)|}} \leqslant 3+\frac{T}{(q-1)^2} \] \[ \liminf_{d\to +\infty} \mathrm{AS}(d) := \liminf_{d\to +\infty} \frac{\sum_{h(E_K)\leqslant d } \frac{|\mathrm{Sel}_2(E_K)|}{|\mathrm{Aut}(E_K)|}}{\sum_{h(E_K)\leqslant d } \frac{1}{|\mathrm{Aut}(E_K)|}} \geqslant 3\zeta_C(10)^{-1} \] (on the average size of 2-Selmer groups), and \[ \limsup_{d\to +\infty} \mathrm{AR}(d) := \limsup_{d\to +\infty} \frac{\sum_{h(E_K)\leqslant d } \frac{|\mathrm{Rank}(E_K)|}{|\mathrm{Aut}(E_K)|}}{\sum_{h(E_K)\leqslant d } \frac{1}{|\mathrm{Aut}(E_K)|}} \leqslant \frac{3}{2}+\frac{T}{2(q-1)^2} \] (on the average rank), where \(\mathrm{Sel}_2(E_K)\) is the 2-Selmer group, \(\zeta_C\) is the zeta function associated with \(C\) and \(T\) is a constant depending only on \(C\). The last formula is easily derived from the first two because of the well known relation between the Selmer group and the rank of an elliptic curve. \noindent The authors exploit the relations between elliptic curves and the invariant theory of binary quartic forms \(f(x,y)=c_0x^4+c_1x^3y+c_2x^2y^2+c_3xy^3+c_4y^4\) in the space \(V:=\mathrm{Spec}(k[c_0,\dots,c_4])\). They describe the orbits of \(V\) with respect to the action of \(\mathrm{PGL}_2\) and, in particular, the group scheme \[ I:=(\mathrm{PGL}_2\times_SV)\times_{V\times_S V} V \] (the \textit{universal stabilizer}, here \(S:=\mathrm{Spec}(k[a,b])\) is isomorphic to the GIT quotient \(V//\mathrm{PGL}_2\)). Over a dense subset \(V^{\mathrm{reg}}\) of \(V\) (the union of some specific orbits), the action of \(\mathrm{PGL}_2\) on the family of arithmetic genus one curve \(D\) yields an isomorphism between \(I_{|V^{\mathrm{reg}}}\) and the 2-torsion of the Jacobian \(E\) of \(D\). This provides a crucial link (over \(S\) as well) between \(I\) and the 2-torsion of elliptic curves \(E_K\), which gives a strategy to compute (or, at least estimate) the size of 2-Selmer groups. \noindent The authors are then able to reduce the estimates of \(\mathrm{AS}(d)\) (hence of \(\mathrm{AR}(d)\) as well) to counting points on the moduli spaces \(\mathcal{M}:=\Hom(C,[BI_S/\mathbb{G}_m])\) (\(BI_S\) is the relative classifying stack of \(I_S\) over \(S\)) and \(\mathcal{A}:=\Hom(C,[S/\mathbb{G}_m])\) and computing limits of \(\frac{|\mathcal{M}_{\mathcal{L}}(k)|}{|\mathcal{A}_{\mathcal{L}}(k)|}\) for certain line bundles \(\mathcal{L}\). These computations are carried out in the last section with the help of a generalization of a result of \textit{B. Poonen} [Duke Math. J. 118, No. 2, 353--373 (2003; Zbl 1047.11021)], which reduces the computation of global densities to a product of local ones.