On a problem of Matsumoto and Tamagawa concerning monodromic fullness of hyperbolic curves: genus zero case (Q372605)

The article under review contributes to the understanding of a question of Matsumoto and Tamagawa about \textit{monodromic fullness} of hyperbolic curves over a number field. If \(k\) is a number field, and \((g,r)\) a pair of nonnegative integers such that \(2g-2+r>0\), then \(\mathcal{M}_{g,r}\) (resp.~\(\mathcal{M}_{g,[r]}\)) is defined to be the moduli stack of hyperbolic curves of type \((g,r)\) (resp.~of ordered \(r\)-pointed proper smooth curves of genus \(g\)) over \(k\). If \(\bar{k}\) is an algebraic closure of \(k\), and \(l\) a prime number, then to a hyperbolic curve \(X\) of type \((g,r)\) over \(k\), one attaches two outer representations \[ \rho^{l}_{X/k}:\mathrm{Gal}(\bar{k}/k)\rightarrow \mathrm{Out}(\pi_1^{l}(X_{\bar{k}})), \] and \[ \rho^{l}_{g,[r]}:\pi_1(\mathcal{M}_{g,[r]})\rightarrow \mathrm{Out}(\pi_1^{l}(X_{\bar{k}})), \] where \(\pi_1^{l}\) denotes the maximal pro-\(l\)-quotient of the étale fundamental group. It is always true that \(\rho_{X/k}^{l}(\mathrm{Gal}(\bar{k}/k))\subset \rho_{g,[r]}^{l}(\pi_1(\mathcal{M}_{g,[r]}))\). The hyperbolic curve \(X\) is called \textit{quasi-\(l\)-monodromically full}, if \(\rho_{X/k}^{l}(\mathrm{Gal}(\bar{k}/k))\) is open in \(\rho_{g,[r]}^{l}(\pi_1(\mathcal{M}_{g,[r]}))\). Note that the covering map \(\mathcal{M}_{g,r}\rightarrow \mathcal{M}_{g,[r]}\) makes \(\pi_1(\mathcal{M}_{g,r})\) into a normal open subgroup of \(\pi_1(\mathcal{M}_{g,[r]})\). The hyperbolic curve \(X\) is called \textit{\(l\)-monodromically full}, if \(\rho^{l}_{g,[r]}(\mathcal{M}_{g,r})\subset\rho_{X/k}^{l}(\mathrm{Gal}(\bar{k}/k))\). Due to a result of \textit{J.-P. Serre} [Invent. Math. 15, 259--331 (1972; Zbl 0235.14012)] about elliptic curves, the above notions can be seen as analogues of the property of an elliptic curve to not admit complex multiplication. In [Am. J. Math. 122, No. 5, 1017--1026 (2000; Zbl 0993.12002)] \textit{M. Matusumoto} and \textit{A. Tamagawa} posed the question, whether \(X\) is quasi-\(l\)-monodromically full for every prime \(l\), if and only if there exists one \(l\), such that \(X\) is \(l\)-monodromically full. In the article under review, the author gives a negative answer to this question, by producing counterexamples which are hyperbolic curves of genus \(0\). Additionally, the author answers a second part of the question of Matsumoto-Tamagawa, in the case that \(k\) is imaginary quadratic. It is proved that under this condition, \(X\) is \(l\)-monodromically full for some \(l\), if and only if it is \(l\)-monodromically full for almost all primes \(l\).