Trivial points on towers of curves (Q394275)

By analogy with the modular towers of curves \(X_1(p^n)\) and in continuation of his previous work [J. Number Theory 132, No. 3, 379--389 (2012 ; Zbl 1280.11037)], the author studies the existence of `trivial points' in towers of curves. For a tower \(\mathbf{C} = (\{C_n\}_{n \geq 0}, \{\phi_n\}_{n \geq 1})\) of smooth projective absolutely irreducible curves defined over a field \(K\) and \(\phi_n : C_n \to C_{n-1}\), non-constant morphisms, he defines the \textit{\(K\)-trivial points} of \(\mathbf{C}\) at level \(n\), denoted \(\mathbf{C}(K)_n\) as the set of \(K\)-rational points of \(C_n\) which have a pre-image (under the composition of the \(\phi_i\)s) on \(C_m(K)\) for all \(m \geq n\). He also denotes by \[ \mathbf{C}^{(d)}(K)_n = \bigcup_{L \subset \bar{K}, [L:K] \leq d} \mathbf{C}(L)_n, \] the set of \textit{\(K\)-trivial points} of \(\mathbf{C}\) at level \(n\) and degree \(d\) and by \[ \mathbf{C}^{(\infty)}(K)_n = \bigcup_{ d \geq 1} \mathbf{C}^{(d)}(K)_n \] the set of \textit{trivial points} of \(\mathbf{C}\) at level \(n\). He then divides the study of these sets over a number field \(K\) according to the limit of the genus of \(C_n\), which can be \(0\), \(1\) or \(\infty\). In the first case, his main result is when \(C_0 = \mathbb{P}^1\) and the \(\phi_i\)s are equal to a fixed rational function \(f \in K(x)\). He proves that the set of \(K\)-trivial points of \(\mathbf{C}\) at level \(0\) is finite by showing that \(\mathbf{C}^{(d)}(K)_0\) is the set of periodic points of \(f\) of degree \(d\) for any \(d \geq 1\). The finiteness for \(d=1\) then follows by Northcott theorem. The finiteness for a given \(d>1\) is then equivalent to the conjecture 3.15 in [\textit{J. H. Silverman}, The arithmetic of dynamical systems. Graduate Texts in Mathematics 241. New York, NY: Springer (2007; Zbl 1130.37001)]. The author concludes this part by constructing a tower with a finite number of trivial points at degree \(0\) and another with an infinite number. In the second case, the author shows that \(\mathbf{C}^{(d)}(K)_n\) is always finite. This is related to the finiteness of the torsion of an elliptic curve over extensions of bounded degree. Again examples are given with either a finite or an infinite number of trivial points at degree \(0\). The last case (when the genus of \(C_i\) tends to infinity) is the most interesting. As by Falting's theorem, the number of \(K\)-trivial points at any level is clearly finite, the author is looking for criteria to decide when the set of trivial points at any level is finite or not. He obtains one is in terms of the reduction of a (proper model) of the curves modulo primes which seems hard to check in general. A second attempt is by using the gonality of the tower which is defined as the limit of the gonality of the curves \(C_i\) (the gonality of \(C_i\) being the minimal degree of a \(\bar{K}\)-morphism \(C_i \to \mathbb{P}^1\)). He proves that if the gonality of the tower is infinite then \(\mathbf{C}^{(d)}(K)_n\) is finite for all \(d\) and \(n\). However, it is not clear if this implies the finiteness of the trivial points of \(\mathbf{C}\) at a given level \(n\). The article ends with three techniques to give lower bounds on the gonality of towers. The first one is for the particular case of `complete intersection' towers and uses a result of [\textit{R. Lazarsfeld}, in: Complex algebraic geometry. Lectures of a summer program, Kollár, János (ed.), IAS/Park City Math. Ser. 3, 163--219 (1997; Zbl 0906.14002)]. The second one uses a relation with the number of rational points on the reduction modulo a prime proved in [\textit{X. Xarles}, J. Number Theory 132, No. 3, 379--389 (2012; Zbl 1280.11037)]. The last one is more involved and uses results originating in [\textit{P. G. Zograf}, J. Sov. Math. 36, 106--114 (1987; Zbl 0609.10016)] and [\textit{D. Abramovich}, Int. Math. Res. Not. 1996, No. 20, 1005--1011 (1996; Zbl 0878.14019)] and developed in [\textit{J. S. Ellenberg} et al., Duke Math. J. 161, No. 7, 1233--1275 (2012; Zbl 1262.14021)] relating the gonality to Caley-Schreier graphs.