On the distribution of torsion points modulo primes: the case of function fields (Q889638)

The purpose of this paper is the study of the analogue for function fields of a result of the authors [Bull. Aust. Math. Soc. 86, No. 2, 339--347 (2012; Zbl 1272.11110)] on the distribution of torsion points in a commutative algebraic group modulo primes. For a commutative algebraic group \({\mathbb A}\) defined over a global field \(K\), let \(P(K)\) be the set of prime divisors in \(K\) and let \(n\) be a positive integer. Let \(M({\mathbb A}_{/K},n)\) be the limit \[ M({\mathbb A}_{/K},n)=\lim_{s\to 1^+}\frac{\sum_{\wp\in P(K)} N_{\wp,n} (N\wp)^{-s}}{\sum_{\wp\in P(K)}(N\wp)^{-s}}, \] if it exists, where \(N_{\wp,n}\) denotes the number of \(n\)-torsion points in \(\tilde{\mathbb A}({\mathbb F}_{\wp})\), \(\tilde{\mathbb A}\) is the reduction modulo \(\wp\) and \({\mathbb F}_{\wp}\) denotes the residue field at \(\wp\). The main objective of this paper is to find formulas for \(M({\mathbb A}_{/K},n)\). First, it is obtained that \(M({\mathbb A}_{/K},n)\) exists and it is equal to the number of orbits of \(\roman{Gal}(K({\mathbb A}[n])/K)\) in \({\mathbb A}[n]\) where \(K\) is a global field. When \(K\) is a function field and \(E/K\) is a non-isotrivial elliptic curve defined over \(K\), there exists an integer constant \(C_{E_{/K}}\) such that, for all positive integers \(n\) prime to \(C_{E_{/K}}\), we have \(M(E_{/K},n)= \tau(n)\), where \(\tau(n)\) is the number of positive divisors of \(n\). In the case of isotrivial elliptic curves over function fields, the formulas are much more involved (Theorem 4.2) and very different from those in the case of elliptic curves with CM over number fields. In fact, instead of elliptic curves over function fields, the authors consider Drinfeld modules. Fix a nonzero ideal \(\mathfrak n\) of \(A\), the ring of integers of a function field \(F\) over \({\mathbb F}_q\) and let \(K/F\) be a finite extension. Then the authors are interested in the limit \[ M(\varphi_{/K}, {\mathfrak n})=\lim_{s\to 1^+}\frac{\sum_{\wp\in P(K)} N_{\wp, \mathfrak n} (N\wp)^{-s}}{\sum_{\wp\in P(K)} (N\wp)^{-s}}, \] where \(\varphi\) is a Drinfeld module \(\varphi: A\to K\{\tau\}\). It is proved that this limit exists and it is equal to the number of orbits of \(G=\roman{Gal}(L/K)\) in \(\varphi[\mathfrak n]\), where \(K(\varphi[\mathfrak n])\subseteq L\) and \(L/K\) is a finite normal extension. The main result of this work is Theorem 1.5 which describes \(M(\varphi_{/K},\mathfrak n)\) for a Drinfeld module \(\varphi_{/K}\) of rank \(r\) and generic characteristic over \(K\). First the authors consider the cases \(\mathbb G_a\) and \(\mathbb G_m\) in Section 2 and the case of one dimension tori in Section 3. In Section 4 the case of elliptic curves is studied and it is given the proof of Theorem 4.2. In the last section the authors consider Drinfeld modules and prove Theorem 1.5.