No label defined (Q4249712)

In this paper the author surveys results related to the existence of a uniform bound for the number of rational points of a curve \(C\) of genus at least 2 defined over a number field \(K\). The first step is to relate the weak Lang conjecture, i.e., for any variety of general type defined over \(K\) the set \(X(K)\) of \(K\)-rational points of \(X\) is not Zariski dense in \(X\). A variety is of general type if any desingularization is of general type, i.e., its dualizing sheaf \(\omega_X\) is such that for \(k\) suffficiently large \(H^0(X,\omega_X)\) has enough sections to induce a birational map to the projective space. In J. Am. Math. Soc. 10, No.~1, 1-35 (1997; Zbl 0872.14017), \textit{L. Caporaso, J. Harris} and \textit{B. Mazur} obtained as a consequence of this conjecture that any smooth curve of genus \(g\) over \(K\) has at most \(B(K,g)\) rational points, where the bound \(B(K,g)\) depends only on \(K\) and \(g\). The author's first result in this direction sharpening the latter statement and generalizing a theorem due to \textit{D. Abramovich} [C. R. Acad. Sci., Paris, Sér. I 321, No.~6, 755-758 (1995; Zbl 0874.14011)] for \(d\leq 3\), states that the weak Lang conjecture implies that for any \(g\geq 2\) and \(d\geq 1\) any smooth curve of genus \(g\) defined over a number field \(K\) of degree \(d\) over \(\mathbb{Q}\) has at most \(B_1(d,g)\) rational points, where the bound depends only on \(d\) and \(g\) [cf. \textit{P. Pacelli}, Duke Math. J. 88, No.~1, 77-100 (1997)]. The second step in the paper is the sketch of the proof which is nicely done and clearly describes the author's main contribution to the subject. More precisely, let \(X\to B\) be a family of stable curves of genus \(g\) and \(Y_n=\text{Sym}^d(X_{B}^{n})\) the \(d\)-th symmetric power of the \(n\)-th fibered power of \(X\to B\), \(\sigma_1,\cdots,\sigma_d\) the \(\mathbb{Q}\)-embeddings of \(K\) into \(\overline{\mathbb{Q}}\), \(C/K\) a smooth projective curve of genus \(g\) defined over \(K\) and \(P_1,\cdots,P_n\in C(K)\). This set of rational points induces a \(\mathbb{Q}\)-rational point \(y_{(P_1,\cdots,P_n)}=\{(P_1,\cdots,P_n)^{\sigma_1},\cdots,(P_1, \cdots,P_n)^{\sigma_d}\}\) of \(Y_n\). This point is said off-diagonal if and only if \(P_i\neq P_j\) for \(i\neq j\). Given \(m>n\) this point is \(m\)-prolongable if furthermore each \(P_i\) is defined over a number field of degree \(d\) and no smaller number field and there exists an off-diagonal \(y_{(P_1,\cdots,P_m)} \in Y_m(\mathbb{Q})\) whose first \(n\) coordinates yield \(y_{(P_1,\cdots,P_n)}\). Denote by \(E_{n}^{(m)}\) the set of \(m\)-prolongable points in \(Y_n(\mathbb{Q})\). Let \(F_{n}^{(m)}\) be its closure and \(F_n=\bigcap_{m>n}F_{n}^{(m)}\). The proof of the author's main result follows from \(F_n=\emptyset\) for some \(n\geq 1\). The way this is proved is by showing that for sufficiently large \(n\), every component of \(F_n\) of maximal dimension is of general type. Similar ideas apply to a more geometric setting. The geometric Lang conjecture states that on a variety \(X\) of general type defined over a number field \(K\) the rational curves in \(X\) are not Zariski dense in \(X\). Replacing the \(n\)-tuples of points by \(n\)-tuples of non-constant morphisms of \(d\)-gonal curves to a curve of genus \(g\), the author was able to show that the geometric Lang conjecture implies that for any fixed \(g\geq 2\) and \(d\geq 1\) there exists an integer \(N\) such that for each smooth curve \(C\) defined over \(K\) of genus \(g\) and any \(d\)-gonal curve \(D\) there are at most \(N\) non-constant morphisms \(f:D\to C\) (cf. \textit{P. Pacelli}, loc. cit.). This generalizes previous results from \textit{D. Abramovich} and \textit{J. F. Voloch} [New York J. Math. 2, 20-34 (1996; Zbl 0887.14010)] for the case \(d=2\). Finally, in a more arithmetic side, the Lang-Vojta conjecture states the non-denseness of integral points on quasi-projective varieties of logarithm general type. In a similar way to the work of Caporaso, Mazur and Harris, Abramovich was able to show that this conjecture implies a uniform bound for the number of \(K\)-stable \(S\)-integral points of elliptic curves defined over number fields \(K\) with the bound depending just on \(K\) and \(S\). If \(S\) is a finite set of places of \(K\) a point \(P\in E(K)\) is said stably \(S\)-integral if it is \(S\)-integral away from the origin after semi-stable reduction. The author is able to generalize this result showing that the Lang-Vojta conjecture implies that for a fixed \(d\geq 1\) and a fixed finite set of places \(S_0\) of \(\mathbb{Q}\) with \(3\in S_0\) there exists a bound \(N\) depending just on \(d\) and \(S_0\) such that for any number field \(K\) of degree \(d\) and for any finite set \(S\) of places of \(K\) containing \(S_0\) and for every elliptic curve \(E/K\) the number of stably \(S\)-integral points of \(E\) over \(K\) is at most \(N\). For the entire collection see [Zbl 0910.00037].