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Over an algebraically closed field of characteristic different from two, a degree-two map from a smooth genus one curve to the projective line has a deck involution. After choosing an origin, all its fiber divisors on an algebraic curve are linearly equivalent and have the same group sum $s$, by the Abel-Jacobi map of a genus-one curve. The involution is consequently $p\mapsto s-p$, including its fixed ramification points. Composing two such involutions gives a translation on an elliptic curve.

Let $L$ be any degree-zero line bundle on the genus-one smooth projective curve. The twist $M=L\otimes \mathcal{O}(p_0)$ has degree one. The Riemann-Roch theorem givesThe second line bundle has degree $2g-2-1=-1$, so it has no nonzero section: the zero divisor of such a section would be effective of negative degree. Hence $h^0(M)=1$. A nonzero section has an effective zero divisor of degree one, which is a single point $p$. It is a $k$-rational point even over a general field, since a degree-one effective divisor has residue degree one. Thus $M\cong \mathcal{O}(p)$ and $L\cong \mathcal{O}(p-p_0)=\alpha (p)$.

This proves surjectivity; part (a) gives injectivity. Hence $\alpha$ is a bijection, as in the Abel-Jacobi map of a genus-one curve. DefineTensor product of line bundles is associative and commutative, so this is an abelian group law on $X(k)$. Its identity is $p_0$, since $\alpha (p_0)={\mathcal{O}}_X$. Equivalently, $p\oplus q$ is the unique point $r$ with $\mathcal{O}(r-p_0)\cong \mathcal{O}(p+q-2p_0)$.

The printed construction is not well defined: the next tangent must pass through $x_1$, rather than $x_0$. If $x_0\ne x_1$ and ${\ell }_1\ne {\ell }_0$, a second line through $x_0$ cannot also pass through $x_1$, because the unique line through both points is ${\ell }_0$. Here is a concrete counterexample satisfying all the conic hypotheses. In the affine chart takewith ${\ell }_0:x=1$, $x_0=(1,3\sqrt{3}/2)$ and $x_1=(1,-3\sqrt{3}/2)$. The second tangent through $x_0$ is $-23x+12\sqrt{3}y=31$. It does not contain $x_1$: its left side there is $-77$. The conics meet transversely at the four complex points with $x^2=32/5$, $y^2=-27/5$. Thus this is a defect in the original PDF, not just in its conversion.

For the corrected construction, let ${\iota }_{\ell }$ exchange the two points of $C_2$ on a fixed tangent line, and let ${\iota }_x$ exchange the two tangents to $C_1$ through a fixed point of $C_2$. Both projections from $E$ are degree-two morphisms to a smooth plane conic: for the line projection this follows from intersecting a line with $C_2$, which has no line component. Since $E$ is smooth and the ground field has characteristic zero, their quadratic function-field extensions define regular involutions on the whole curve. At a ramification point “the second” point is the same point, counted with multiplicity. Each switch is an involution of a degree-two map from a genus one curve. Hence the corrected step is the everywhere-defined automorphism $F={\iota }_x\circ {\iota }_{\ell }$.

Choose an origin $O$ on the genus one curve. The Abel-Jacobi map of a genus-one curve identifies $E$ with ${\mathrm{Pic}}^0(E)$ by $p\mapsto {\mathcal{O}}_E(p-O)$. Fibers of each degree-two projection are linearly equivalent Weil divisors, since they are pullbacks of points of ${\mathbb{P}}^1$. Thus their group sums are constant: for suitable $a,b\in E$,This also holds at the ramification points, where $2p=a$ or $2p=b$. Therefore the corrected step is a translation on an elliptic curve. If $F^n(p_0)=p_0$ for one point, then $n(b-a)=0$. It follows that $F^n(p)=p$ for every $p\in E$. The corrected construction has the Poncelet porism: one periodic orbit implies all orbits are periodic, with the same least period. The literal printed construction fails before this conclusion; the proof establishes the intended, explicitly corrected assertion.

Let $C$ be the projective cubic of a Weierstrass equation of an elliptic curve, allowing its elliptic-curve discriminant to vanish, and let $O=[0:1:0]$. Use only the smooth locus of a variety $C_{\mathrm{sm}}(K)$: the singular point, if present, is excluded. For $P,Q$, intersect their chord with $C$, using the tangent if $P=Q$ and counting intersection multiplicity. If the third intersection is $R$, define $P+Q=-R$, wherein general Weierstrass equation of an elliptic curve coordinates. The line through $R$ and $O$ gives this reflection. A vertical chord gives $P+(-P)=O$, and the tangent at $O$ meets $C$ three times at $O$, so $O$ is the identity. The construction is symmetric in $P,Q$. It stays in the nonsingular locus: a line through a singular point has intersection multiplicity at least two there, and therefore cannot also contain two smooth intersections counted with multiplicity.

For the nonsingular case, prove associativity by transporting a known abelian group law. The Abel-Jacobi map of a genus-one curveis bijective over an algebraic closure. Indeed, the Riemann-Roch theorem in genus one says that every divisor class of degree one has a unique effective representative consisting of one point: existence follows from $\ell (D)=1$, and uniqueness follows because two distinct representatives would produce a degree-one map to the projective line, impossible for a genus one curve. Subtracting $O$ gives the claimed bijection.

Any line section represents the same divisor class as $3O$, including tangencies. Thus $P+Q+R\sim 3O$ as divisors on an algebraic curve, while the vertical line gives $R+(-R)+O\sim 3O$. HenceAddition in the Picard group is associative, soThe chord-and-tangent group law is defined over $K$, so the group operation restricts to the $K$-rational points.

For completeness, a singular Weierstrass equation of an elliptic curve produces the smooth-locus group of a singular Weierstrass cubic, not an elliptic curve. Over an algebraic closure, its normalization of an algebraic curve is the projective line; deleting the two preimages of a nodal crossing gives the multiplicative algebraic group, while deleting the single preimage of a cusp gives the additive group. For example, on $y^2=x^3$, the coordinate $u=x/y$, with $u(O)=0$, makes the smooth-locus law addition. On $y^2=x^2(x+1)$ in characteristic different from two, put $t=y/x$ and $z=(t+1)/(t-1)$, with $z(O)=1$; the chord relation gives $z(P)z(Q)z(R)=1$, so the group law is multiplication of $z$. A nonsplit node gives the corresponding form of the multiplicative algebraic group over $K$. These descriptions also establish the singular-case group laws.

DefineIf $D$ is a divisor class of degree zero, Riemann--Roch gives $\ell (D+Q)=1$, because $K_E\sim 0$ and the divisor $-D-Q$ has negative degree. A nonzero section therefore yieldsfor some point $P$, proving that $\alpha$ is surjective. If $\alpha (P)=\alpha (P^{\prime })$, then $P-P^{\prime }$ is a principal divisor. For $P\ne P^{\prime }$ its defining function would have one simple pole and give a degree-one map $E\to {\mathbb{P}}^1$, impossible for a genus-one curve. Thus $P=P^{\prime }$. The map and its inverse are regular, so this proves the Abel-Jacobi map of a genus-one curve is an isomorphism.

Transport the addition of the divisor class group through $\alpha$: define $P⊞R$ byThen $Q$ is the identity, and this is the chord-and-tangent group law on the plane cubic.

For the displayed equation, inversion is $(x,y)\mapsto (x,-y)$. Thus $P⊞P=Q$ exactly when $P=-P$. Besides the point at infinity $Q$, this requires $y=0$. Therefore the complete set of two-torsion points is