A visible factor of the Heegner index
Let \(E/\mathbb{Q}\) be an elliptic curve and assume that its analytic rank over \(\mathbb{Q}\) -- namely, the order of vanishing at \(s=1\) of the \(L\)-series \(L(E/\mathbb{Q},s)\) -- is \(1\); fix an imaginary quadratic field \(K\) (subject to certain conditions on the splitting of primes dividing the conductor of the curve). By a combination of results of [\textit{V. A. Kolyvagin}, Euler systems. The Grothendieck Festschrift. Vol.~II, Prog. Math. 87, 435--483 (1990; Zbl 0742.14017)] and \textit{B. H. Gross} and \textit{D. B. Zagier} [Invent. Math. 84, 225--320 (1986; Zbl 0608.14019)] the (second part of the) Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture for \(E/\mathbb{Q}\) takes the form \textbf{Conjecture} Let \(c_E\) be the Manin constant of \(E\) and, for every prime \(p\), let \(c_p(E)\) be the Tamagawa number of \(E\) at \(p\). Then \[ | E(K)/\pi(\mathbb{T}P)| \overset{?}{=}c_E\cdot \prod_{p\mid N}c_P(E)\sqrt{| \text Ш(E/K)|} \] where \(\pi:J_0(N)\to E\) is modular parametrization (known to exist thanks to [\textit{C. Breuil} et al., J. Am. Math. Soc. 14, No. 4, 843--939 (2001; Zbl 0982.11033)] and \(P\in J_0(N)(K)\) is a suitable Heegner point depending on \(E,N,K\); here \(\mathbb{T}\) denotes the Hecke algebra acting on \(J_0(N)\). The aim of the paper under review is to study a divisibility in the above conjectured equality, namely ``left-hand side divides right-hand side'' as an application of the theory of ``visibility'' introduced by \textit{J. E. Cremona} and \textit{B. Mazur} in [Exp. Math. 9, No. 1, 13--28 (2000; Zbl 0972.11049)]. The work stems from the main idea of \textit{A. Agashe} [J. Reine Angew. Math. 644, 159--187 (2010; Zbl 1221.11147)], where the author shows that if a modular form giving rise to an abelian variety with analytic rank \(0\) is congruent to another modular form whose attached abelian variety has positive Mordell-Weil rank, then the theory of visibility can be used to produce non-trivial elements in the Tate-Shafarevich group of the first variety. Pushing this principle a little further allows one to bound the order of Tate-Shafarevich groups from below by producing suitable congruent forms. In the paper under review the strategy is refined in order to start with elliptic curves of analytic rank equal to \(1\). Let then \(T\) be a set of Galois conjugacy classes of newforms of level dividing the conductor of \(E\) and not containing \(f\), the modular form attached to \(E\): this set should be seen as a parameter, rather than a fixed choice, upon which the following definitions depend. Varying this parameter is the key to turn Theorem 1.3 below in a concrete tool (see Section 2 of the paper for a more precise discussion). Given \(T\) as above, one defines an ideal in the Hecke algebra (roughly speaking, the ``annihilator'' of \(T\)) and -- accordingly -- a quotient \(J_0(N)\rightarrow{\text{pr}}J'_T=J'\) of \(J_0(N)\) through which \(\pi\) factors, so that \(B'_T=B':=\mathrm{Ker}(\pi\circ\mathrm{pr})\) makes sense; similarly, put \(E'=\mathrm{pr}(E^\lor)\subseteq J'\). The main result of the paper is the following \textbf{Theorem 1.3} Let \(q\) be a prime that divides the product \[ \Big| \frac{J'(K)}{B'(K)+E'(K)}\Big|\cdot\Big| \mathrm{ker}\big(H^1(K,B')\to H^1(K,J')\big)\Big|\;. \] 1) Then \(q\) divide the order of \(B'\cap E'\), and there is an eigenform \(g\) in \(S_T\) such that \(f\) is congruent to \(g\) modulo a prime ideal \(\mathfrak{q}\) over \(q\) in the ring of integers of the number field \(F_{f,g}\) generated by the Fourier coefficients of \(f\) and \(g\) (here \(S_T\) is a set of forms generated by \(g(dz)\) for \(g\in T\) of level \(N_g\) and \(d\mid N/N_g\)). 2) Suppose that \(q\nmid 2N\) and that \(E[q]\) is an irreducible representation of the absolute Galois group of \(\mathbb{Q}\). Assume that the first part of the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture holds (namely, the order of vanishing of the \(L\)-function equals the rank of the Mordell-Weil group) for all quotients of \(J_0(N)\) associated to eigenforms of analytic rank greater than one. Suppose that for all primes \(p\mid N,p\not\equiv -w_p\pmod{q}\), where \(w_p\) is the sign of the Atkin-Lehner involution \(W_p\) acting on \(f\) and that for all primes \(p\) such that \(p^2\mid N\), we have \(p\not\equiv -1\pmod{q}\). Assume that \(f\) is not congruent to a newform \(g\) in \(T\) of level \(N\) and analytic rank one modulo a prime ideal over \(q\) in the ring of integers of \(F_{f,g}\). Suppose, moreover, that for all primes \(p\mid N\), \(f\) is not congruent to a newform \(g\) of level dividing \(N/p\) (for Fourier coefficients of index coprime to \(Nq\)) modulo a prime ideal over \(q\) in the ring of integers of \(F_{f,g}\). Then \(q\) divides \(|\text СХ (E/\mathbb{Q})|\) and \(|\text СХ (E/K)|\). The connection between Theorem 1.3 and the conjecture of Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer comes from Lemma 3.1, saying that the above quantity \(\big| \frac{J'(K)}{B'(K)+E'(K)}\big|\cdot| \mathrm{ker}(H^1(K,B')\to H^1(K,J'))\big|\) divides \(| E(K)/\pi(\mathbb{T}P)|\). Several corollaries of the above theorem are discussed, giving instances when \(| E(K)/\pi(\mathbb{T}P)|\neq 1\) (and so there exists at least one prime \(q\) as above). The paper falls into four sections: the first contains a general introduction, it fixes notations and contains the statement of Theorem 1.3 and of some corollaries. Section 2 discusses good choices of \(T\), while Section 3 contains the proof of the main results stated in Section 1. Finally, Section 4 is an appendix presenting connections between congruences with forms of lower level and component group; it contains the following interesting result: \textbf{Corollary 4.2} Let \(q\) be a prime such that \(q\neq p\). Assume that \(p\parallel N\) and \(w_p=-1\). Suppose \(f\) is congruent to a newform \(g\) of level dividing \(N/p\) (for Fourier coefficients of index coprime to \(Nq\)) modulo a prime ideal \(\mathfrak{q}\) over \(q\) in the ring of integers of \(F_{f,g}\). Assume that \(E[q]\) and \(A_g[\mathfrak{q}]\) are irreducible as \(\mathrm{Gal}(\overline{\mathbb{Q}}/\mathbb{Q})\)-modules (\(A_g\) is the abelian variety attached to \(g\)). Then \(q\) divides the order of the arithmetic component group of \(E\) at \(p\).
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