Wehler \(K3\) surfaces with Picard number 3 and 4. Appendix to: ``Orbits of points on certain \(K3\) surfaces'', by Arthur Baragar (Q626848)

This paper supplements [J. Number Theory 131, No. 3, 578--599 (2011; Zbl 1225.14028)] by showing that specific \(K3\) surfaces exist over \(\mathbb{Q}\). The surfaces under consideration are \(K3\) surfaces, i.e. smooth intersections of a \((2,2)\) form and a \((1,1)\) form in \(\mathbb{P}^2\times\mathbb{P}^2\). The additional requirements are that the Wehler \(K3\) surface \(X\) contain a \((-2)\) curve, given by a line inside a fiber of one of the two natural projections, and that the Picard number be 3. The author derives such surfaces over \(\mathbb{Q}\) explicitly by the methods developed in [Algebra Number Theory 1, No. 1, 1--17 (2007; Zbl 1123.14022)]. Namely he finds a surface over \(\mathbb{Q}\) with good reduction of Picard number 4 modulo \(2\) and \(3\). Both Picard numbers are obtained as follows: 1) compute the characteristic polynomial of Frobenius on the 2nd étale cohomology by the Lefschetz fixed point formula; its number of roots equaling \(p\) times a root of unity bounds the Picard number from above (equality is subject to the Tate conjecture); 2) exhibit four independent explicit divisors on each reduction. But then the square classes of the discriminants of the Picard groups are seen to be incompatible. This implies that the Picard number over \(\mathbb{Q}\) can be at most 3, and in fact is 3 thanks to the line at hand.