Non-triviality of CM points in ring class field towers. With an appendix by Christophe Cornut. (Q5962253)

Let \(E\) be an elliptic curve over \(\mathbb Q\) of conductor \(N\) and let \(K\) be an imaginary quadratic field. After the work of \textit{K. Heegner} [Math. Z. 56, 227--253 (1952; Zbl 0049.16202)] and \textit{B. J. Birch} [Symp. math. 15, Inf. teor., Strutt. Corpi algebr., Convegni 1973, 441--445 (1975; Zbl 0317.14015)], we can use the modular parametrization of \(E\) to construct special points, called \textit{Heegner points}, defined over certain ring class fields of \(K\). If \(p\) is a prime which does not divide \(N\) or \(\text{disc}(K)\) and \(K\) satisfies certain technical condition, then for every positive integer \(n\) one can define a Heegner point \(x_n \in E(K[p^n])\), where \(K[p^n]\) is the ring class field of \(K\) conductor \(p^n\). A conjecture of Mazur, proved by Cornut and Vatsal, asserts that these Heegner points are generically non-torsion. More precisely, given a fixed character \(\chi_0\) of \(\text{Gal}(K[p^\infty]/K)_{tor}\), where \(K[p^\infty] =\cup_nK[p^n]\), Cornut and Vatsal proved that the \(\chi_0\)-part of \(x_n \in E(K[p^n]) \otimes \mathbb C\) is nonzero for all \(n\) sufficiently large (see \textit{C. Cornut} [Invent. Math. 148, No. 3, 495--523 (2002; Zbl 1111.11029)]; \textit{V. Vatsal} [Invent. Math. 148, No. 1, 1--46 (2002; Zbl 1119.11035)]). In the paper under review the authors prove a generalization of Mazur's conjecture on families of higher Heegner points valid for modular abelian surfaces over totally real fields equipped with certain fixed Shimura curve parametrizations. The paper extends a previous work, also due to \textit{C. Cornut} and \textit{V. Vatsal} [London Mathematical Society Lecture Note Series 320, 121--186 (2007; Zbl 1153.11025)], to more general families of CM points on slightly less general Shimura curves (those with central trivial character). We state the results. Let \(A_0\) be a simple quotient of the Jacobian of a Shimura curve \(X\) defined over a totally real number field \(F\). Fix \(K\) a CM extension of \(F\) and two relatively prime ideals \(c\) and \(b\neq 1\) of \(F\). Let \(K[cb^n]\) be the ring class field of \(K\) conductor \(cb^n\), so that the Galois group \(G^c(n)\) of \(K[cb^n]/K\) is isomorphic to the Picard group of the \(\mathcal O_F\)-order \(\mathcal O_{cb^n}:=\mathcal O_F+cb^n\mathcal O_K\), namely, \(G^c(n)\simeq\hat K^\times/K^\times\hat F^\times\hat\mathcal O_{cb^n}^\times\) via the Artin reciprocity map. Again setting \(K[cb^\infty]=\cup_n K[cb^n]\), the Galois group \(G^c(\infty)\) of \(K[cb^\infty]/K\) has finite torsion subgroup \(G^c_0\). Fix a character \(\chi_0\) of \(G_0^c\) and let \(\{x_m\}_{m\in\mathbb N}\) be a sequence of CM points on \(X\) where each \(x_m\) is associated with the order \(\mathcal O_{cb^m}\) for all \(m>0\). The main result of the paper states that, assuming a certain natural necessary compatibility condition for \(A_0\) and \(\chi_0\), for each suficiently large \(m\) there exists a character \(\chi_m\), with conductor \(c'b^m\) (\(c'\mid c\)), such that the \(\chi_m\)-component of \(x_m\) in \(A_0\) is not torsion. More precisely, if \(y_m\in A_0(K[cb^m])\) is the image of \(x_m\) in \(A_0\), it is shown that \[ e_{\chi_m}(y_m)=\sum_{\sigma\in G^c(m)}\chi_m(\sigma)\otimes y_m^ \sigma\in\mathbb Z[\chi_m]\otimes A_0(K[cb^m]) \] is not torsion. The proof of this result is based on the techniques introduced by Cornut and Vatsal, who proved the result (for slightly more general Shimura curves) in the special case \(c=1\) and \(b\) a prime ideal. The idea is to decompose the Galois orbits of the CM points \(\{x_m\}_m\) into a ``geometric'' part (whose description is purely local) and a ``chaotic'' part. The chaotic part is treated using a known case of the André-Oort conjecture proved by \textit{B. Edixhoven} and \textit{A. Yafaev} [Ann. Math. (2) 157, No. 2, 621--645 (2003; Zbl 1053.14023)]. The principal innovation of the paper is the analysis of the geometric part using representation theory of \(\text{GL}(2)\) over \(p\)-adic fields. This local analysis leads to a special case of the main theorem where the compatibility condition for \(A_0\) and \(\chi_0\) alluded to above is replaced by explicit local conditions.