Let $C\; : \;y^2=f(x)$ be a hyperelliptic curve of genus $g\geq 1$, defined over a complete discretely valued field $K$, with ring of integers $O_K$. Under certain conditions on $C$, mild when residue characteristic is not $2$, we explicitly construct the minimal regular model with normal crossings $\mathcal{C}/O_K$ of $C$. In the same setting we determine a basis of integral differentials of $C$, that is an $O_K$-basis for the global sections of the relative dualising sheaf $\omega _{\mathcal{C}/O_K}$.

In the present paper, we study a new kind of anabelian phenomenon concerning the smooth pointed stable curves in positive characteristic. It shows that the topology of moduli spaces of curves can be understood from the viewpoint of anabelian geometry. We formulate some new anabelian-geometric conjectures concerning tame fundamental groups of curves over algebraically closed fields of characteristic $p>0$ from the point of view of moduli spaces. The conjectures are generalized versions of the Weak Isom-version of the Grothendieck conjecture for curves over algebraically closed fields of characteristic $p>0$ which was formulated by Tamagawa. Moreover, we prove that the conjectures hold for certain points lying in the moduli space of curves of genus $0$.

Let $\overline {\mathcal {M}}_{g, m|n}$ denote Hassett’s moduli space of weighted pointed stable curves of genus g for the heavy/light weight data

$$\begin{align*}\left(1^{(m)}, 1/n^{(n)}\right),\end{align*}$$

and let $\mathcal {M}_{g, m|n} \subset \overline {\mathcal {M}}_{g, m|n}$ be the locus parameterizing smooth, not necessarily distinctly marked curves. We give a change-of-variables formula which computes the generating function for $(S_m\times S_n)$-equivariant Hodge–Deligne polynomials of these spaces in terms of the generating functions for $S_{n}$-equivariant Hodge–Deligne polynomials of $\overline {\mathcal {M}}_{g,n}$ and $\mathcal {M}_{g,n}$.

In this note, we prove a formula for the cancellation exponent $k_{v,n}$ between division polynomials $\psi _n$ and $\phi _n$ associated with a sequence $\{nP\}_{n\in \mathbb {N}}$ of points on an elliptic curve $E$ defined over a discrete valuation field $K$. The formula greatly generalizes the previously known special cases and treats also the case of non-standard Kodaira types for non-perfect residue fields.

Let $F$ be a separable integral binary form of odd degree $N \geq 5$. A result of Darmon and Granville known as ‘Faltings plus epsilon’ implies that the degree-$N$ superelliptic equation $y^2 = F(x,z)$ has finitely many primitive integer solutions. In this paper, we consider the family $\mathscr {F}_N(f_0)$ of degree-$N$ superelliptic equations with fixed leading coefficient $f_0 \in \mathbb {Z} \smallsetminus \pm \mathbb {Z}^2$, ordered by height. For every sufficiently large $N$, we prove that among equations in the family $\mathscr {F}_N(f_0)$, more than $74.9\,\%$ are insoluble, and more than $71.8\,\%$ are everywhere locally soluble but fail the Hasse principle due to the Brauer–Manin obstruction. We further show that these proportions rise to at least $99.9\,\%$ and $96.7\,\%$, respectively, when $f_0$ has sufficiently many prime divisors of odd multiplicity. Our result can be viewed as a strong asymptotic form of ‘Faltings plus epsilon’ for superelliptic equations and constitutes an analogue of Bhargava's result that most hyperelliptic curves over $\mathbb {Q}$ have no rational points.

Let $\Sigma $ be a nonempty subset of the set of prime numbers which is either equal to the entire set of prime numbers or of cardinality one. In the present paper, we continue our study of the pro-$\Sigma $ fundamental groups of hyperbolic curves and their associated configuration spaces over algebraically closed fields in which the primes of $\Sigma $ are invertible. The present paper focuses on the topic of comparison between the theory developed in earlier papers concerning pro-$\Sigma $ fundamental groups and various discrete versions of this theory. We begin by developing a theory concerning certain combinatorial analogues of the section conjecture and Grothendieck conjecture. This portion of the theory is purely combinatorial and essentially follows from a result concerning the existence of fixed points of actions of finite groups on finite graphs (satisfying certain conditions). We then examine various applications of this purely combinatorial theory to scheme theory. Next, we verify various results in the theory of discrete fundamental groups of hyperbolic topological surfaces to the effect that various properties of (discrete) subgroups of such groups hold if and only if analogous properties hold for the closures of these subgroups in the profinite completions of the discrete fundamental groups under consideration. These results make possible a fairly straightforward translation, into discrete versions, of pro-$\Sigma $ results obtained in previous papers by the authors. Finally, we discuss a construction that was considered previously by M. Boggi in the discrete case from the point of view of the present paper.

Following Faber–Pandharipande, we use the virtual localization formula for the moduli space of stable maps to $\mathbb {P}^{1}$ to compute relations between Hodge integrals. We prove that certain generating series of these integrals are polynomials.

This paper goes beyond Katz–Sarnak theory on the distribution of curves over finite fields according to their number of rational points, theoretically, experimentally, and conjecturally. In particular, we give a formula for the limits of the moments measuring the asymmetry of this distribution for (non-hyperelliptic) curves of genus $g\geq 3$. The experiments point to a stronger notion of convergence than the one provided by the Katz–Sarnak framework for all curves of genus $\geq 3$. However, for elliptic curves and for hyperelliptic curves of every genus, we prove that this stronger convergence cannot occur.

Bogomolov and Tschinkel [‘Algebraic varieties over small fields’, Diophantine Geometry, U. Zannier (ed.), CRM Series, 4 (Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, Pisa, 2007), 73–91] proved that, given two complex elliptic curves $E_1$ and $E_2$ along with even degree-$2$ maps $\pi _j\colon E_j\to \mathbb {P}^1$ having different branch loci, the intersection of the image of the torsion points of $E_1$ and $E_2$ under their respective $\pi _j$ is finite. They conjectured (also in works with Fu) that the cardinality of this intersection is uniformly bounded independently of the elliptic curves. The recent proof of the uniform Manin–Mumford conjecture implies a full solution of the Bogomolov–Fu–Tschinkel conjecture. In this paper, we prove a generalisation of the Bogomolov–Fu–Tschinkel conjecture whereby, instead of even degree-$2$ maps, one can use any rational functions of bounded degree on the elliptic curves as long as they have different branch loci. Our approach combines Nevanlinna theory with the uniform Manin–Mumford conjecture. With similar techniques, we also prove a result on lower bounds for ranks of elliptic curves over number fields.

The Ceresa cycle is an algebraic cycle attached to a smooth algebraic curve with a marked point, which is trivial when the curve is hyperelliptic with a marked Weierstrass point. The image of the Ceresa cycle under a certain cycle class map provides a class in étale cohomology called the Ceresa class. Describing the Ceresa class explicitly for nonhyperelliptic curves is in general not easy. We present a ‘combinatorialization’ of this problem, explaining how to define a Ceresa class for a tropical algebraic curve and also for a topological surface endowed with a multiset of commuting Dehn twists (where it is related to the Morita cocycle on the mapping class group). We explain how these are related to the Ceresa class of a smooth algebraic curve over $\mathbb {C}(\!(t)\!)$ and show that the Ceresa class in each of these settings is torsion.

We investigate sections of the arithmetic fundamental group $\pi _1(X)$ where X is either a smooth affinoid p-adic curve, or a formal germ of a p-adic curve, and prove that they can be lifted (unconditionally) to sections of cuspidally abelian Galois groups. As a consequence, if X admits a compactification Y, and the exact sequence of $\pi _1(X)$ splits, then $\text {index} (Y)=1$. We also exhibit a necessary and sufficient condition for a section of $\pi _1(X)$ to arise from a rational point of Y. One of the key ingredients in our investigation is the fact, we prove in this paper in case X is affinoid, that the Picard group of X is finite.

The problem of classifying elliptic curves over $\mathbb Q$ with a given discriminant has received much attention. The analogous problem for genus $2$ curves has only been tackled when the absolute discriminant is a power of $2$. In this article, we classify genus $2$ curves C defined over ${\mathbb Q}$ with at least two rational Weierstrass points and whose absolute discriminant is an odd prime. In fact, we show that such a curve C must be isomorphic to a specialization of one of finitely many $1$-parameter families of genus $2$ curves. In particular, we provide genus $2$ analogues to Neumann–Setzer families of elliptic curves over the rationals.

We investigate the equation $D=x^4-y^4$ in field extensions. As an application, for a prime number p, we find solutions to $p=x^4-y^4$ if $p\equiv 11$ (mod 16) and $p^3=x^4-y^4$ if $p\equiv 3$ (mod 16) in all cubic extensions of $\mathbb{Q}(i)$.

Hyperelliptic mapping class groups are defined either as the centralizers of hyperelliptic involutions inside mapping class groups of oriented surfaces of finite type or as the inverse images of these centralizers by the natural epimorphisms between mapping class groups of surfaces with marked points. We study these groups in a systematic way. An application of this theory is a counterexample to the genus $2$ case of a conjecture by Putman and Wieland on virtual linear representations of mapping class groups. In the last section, we study profinite completions of hyperelliptic mapping class groups: we extend the congruence subgroup property to the general class of hyperelliptic mapping class groups introduced above and then determine the centralizers of multitwists and of open subgroups in their profinite completions.

In this paper, we determine the number of general points through which a Brill–Noether curve of fixed degree and genus in any projective space can be passed.

Let $\mathfrak{A}$ be a finite abelian group. In this paper, we classify harmonic $\mathfrak{A}$-covers of a tropical curve $\Gamma$ (which allow dilation along edges and at vertices) in terms of the cohomology group of a suitably defined sheaf on $\Gamma$. We give a realisability criterion for harmonic $\mathfrak{A}$-covers by patching local monodromy data in an extended homology group on $\Gamma$. As an explicit example, we work out the case $\mathfrak{A}=\mathbb{Z}/p\mathbb{Z}$ and explain how realisability for such covers is related to the nowhere-zero flow problem from graph theory.

We prove that the nonvarying strata of abelian and quadratic differentials in low genus have trivial tautological rings and are affine varieties. We also prove that strata of k-differentials of infinite area are affine varieties for all k. Vanishing of homology in degree higher than the complex dimension follows as a consequence for these affine strata. Moreover we prove that the stratification of the Hodge bundle for abelian and quadratic differentials of finite area is extremal in the sense that merging two zeros in each stratum leads to an extremal effective divisor in the boundary. A common feature throughout these results is a relation of divisor classes in strata of differentials as well as its incarnation in Teichmüller dynamics.

For $\theta $ a small generic universal stability condition of degree $0$ and A a vector of integers adding up to $-k(2g-2+n)$, the spaces $\overline {\mathcal {M}}_{g,A}^\theta $ constructed in [AP21, HMP+22] are observed to lie inside the space $\textbf {Div}$ of [MW20], and their pullback under $\textbf {Rub} \to \textbf {Div}$ of loc. cit. to be smooth. This provides smooth and modular modifications $\widetilde {\mathcal {M}}_{g,A}^\theta $ of $\overline {\mathcal {M}}_{g,n}$ on which the logarithmic double ramification cycle can be calculated by several methods.

For a given genus $g \geq 1$, we give lower bounds for the maximal number of rational points on a smooth projective absolutely irreducible curve of genus g over $\mathbb{F}_q$. As a consequence of Katz–Sarnak theory, we first get for any given $g>0$, any $\varepsilon>0$ and all q large enough, the existence of a curve of genus g over $\mathbb{F}_q$ with at least $1+q+ (2g-\varepsilon) \sqrt{q}$ rational points. Then using sums of powers of traces of Frobenius of hyperelliptic curves, we get a lower bound of the form $1+q+1.71 \sqrt{q}$ valid for $g \geq 3$ and odd $q \geq 11$. Finally, explicit constructions of towers of curves improve this result: We show that the bound $1+q+4 \sqrt{q} -32$ is valid for all $g\ge 2$ and for all q.

We consider the moduli space of genus 4 curves endowed with a $g^1_3$ (which maps with degree 2 onto the moduli space of genus 4 curves). We prove that it defines a degree $\frac {1}{2}(3^{10}-1)$ cover of the nine-dimensional Deligne–Mostow ball quotient such that the natural divisors that live on that moduli space become totally geodesic (their normalizations are eight-dimensional ball quotients). This isomorphism differs from the one considered by S. Kondō, and its construction is perhaps more elementary, as it does not involve K3 surfaces and their Torelli theorem: the Deligne–Mostow ball quotient parametrizes certain cyclic covers of degree 6 of a projective line and we show how a level structure on such a cover produces a degree 3 cover of that line with the same discriminant, yielding a genus 4 curve endowed with a $g^1_3$.