Modular forms of rational weights and modular varieties (Q5954704)

The author studies certain rings of modular forms of one variable. More precisely, for any odd integer \(N>3\), he provides some systematic construction of modular forms of rational weight \((N-3)/2N\) (with a certain multiplier system) belonging to the principal congruence subgroup \(\Gamma(N)\). This construction transpires \((N-2)/2\) linearly independent forms, which allows the corresponding theories of modular forms for the levels 5, 7, 9 and 11 to be rewritten in a more general context. Also, by means of his construction, the author is able to interpret some classical works of Felix Klein from the viewpoint of modular forms of rational weight \(1/5\), furthermore to determine the rings of modular forms of weight \(2k/7\) for \(\Gamma(7)\) and \(\text{SL}_2(\mathbb{Z})\) completely, and to point out the connection with invariant polynomials of a certain finite unitary reflection group in the case of level 7. The author's approach and results shed some new light on the classical work of F. Klein on transformations of elliptic functions (1878/1879) as well as on some earlier results of H. Petersson and R. A. Rankin concerning dimension bounds for spaces of modular forms.