Explicit points on the Legendre curve. II (Q743746)

Let \(k\) be the global function field \(\mathbb{F}_{p}(t)\) with \(p\) an odd prime number and let \(K\) be a finite extension of the form \(\mathbb{F}_{q}(t^{1/d})\) where \(q\) is a power of \(p\) and \(d\) is an integer prime to \(p\). Consider the elliptic curve \(E\) (called the \textit{Legendre curve}) defined by \[ y^{2}=x(x+1)(x+t) \] over \(k\). In the paper under review, the authors study the Mordell-Weil rank of \(E\) over \(K\). It was proven in the first part by the third author in [\textit{D. Ulmer}, J. Number Theory 136, 165--194 (2014; Zbl 1297.11055)] that the rank of \(E(K)\) and the order of vanishing at \(s=1\) of \(L(E/K,s)\) are equal. In this paper, the authors calculate the \(L\)-function of \(E/K\) for all \(d\) and all \(q\) in terms of Jacobi sums. Then they deduce an explicit formula for \(\text{ord}_{s=1}L(E/K,s)=\text{rank} E(K)\). The formula involves the notion, which is newly introduced in the paper, of \textit{balanced subgroup of the multiplicative group}. In particular, if \(d\) divides \(p^{f}+1\) for some integer \(f>0\) then the subgroup generated by \(p\) in \((\mathbb{Z}/e\mathbb{Z})^{\times}\) is a balanced subgroup for every \(e\) that divides \(d\). The formula for such a particular case has already been treated in [loc. cit.]. There are more numerous integers \(d\) that are not previously treated, for example an integer \(d\) that divides \(2(p^{f}-1)\) with an odd quotient. In such a case they deduce furthermore that the Mordell- Weil rank is at least \(d/2\). They also study the case \(d=2(p^{f}-1)\) in more detail by exhibiting points generating a finite index subgroup of the ``2-new'' part of \(E(K)\) and giving bounds of the index as well as the ``2-new'' part of the Tate-Shafarevich group.