Parity of ranks of abelian surfaces

Abstract: Let $K$ be a number field and $A/K$ an abelian surface. By the Mordell-Weil theorem, the group of $K$-rational points on $A$ is finitely generated and as for elliptic curves, its rank is predicted by the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture. A basic consequence of this conjecture is the parity conjecture: the sign of the functional equation of the L-series determines the parity of the rank of $A/K$.

Assuming finiteness of the Shafarevich-Tate group, we prove the parity conjecture for principally polarized abelian surfaces under suitable local constraints. Using a similar approach we show that for two elliptic curves $E_1$ and $E_2$ over $K$ with isomorphic $2$-torsion, the parity conjecture is true for $E_1$ if and only if it is true for $E_2$. In both cases, we prove analogous unconditional results for Selmer groups.

Mathematics

Audience: researchers in the topic

Greek Algebra & Number Theory Seminar