Abel-Jacobi map of a genus-one curve Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Let be a genus one curve over an algebraically closed field and choose . The mapis an isomorphism. For a degree-zero divisor , Riemann--Roch gives a nonzero section of , so for some point . If with , a rational function with divisor would give a degree-one map to the projective line, contradicting that has genus one. The Abel--Jacobi map transports addition in the divisor class group to the elliptic-curve group law.
For a smooth genus one curve with origin , the map identifies geometric points with the degree-zero Picard group of a curve. Riemann-Roch theorem gives a unique effective representative for each divisor class of degree one: its Riemann-Roch space has dimension one. A line cuts a plane cubic in a divisor linearly equivalent to when is the Weierstrass flex. The two successive line intersections in the chord-and-tangent group law therefore give addition of the corresponding divisor classes. Associativity follows by injectivity of the identification and associativity of divisor-class addition, including tangent intersection multiplicities.
Evaluation criterion for a prescribed principal divisor Created 2026-10-25 Updated 2026-10-31
Let and be disjoint sums of distinct points on a smooth projective curve. A nonzero function with principal divisor exists exactly when : a nonzero member makes an effective divisor of degree zero, forcing equality. Evaluation on has kernel of a linear map .
If , a choice of basis turns the criterion into . This determinant is not identically zero. Starting with , repeatedly choose a point where some nonzero function in the current space does not vanish; evaluation then lowers the dimension of that space by one. After choices the joint kernel is zero. Thus a generic tuple of points gives an invertible evaluation matrix, and no function with divisor . On a genus one curve, Riemann-Roch theorem gives , so this obstruction applies for every .
If two smooth plane conics over meet at four distinct points, their tangent incidence curve is a smooth projective genus one curve. Projection to is a double cover branched at those four intersections. The tangent equation becomes a quadratic whose discriminant cuts out ; its four simple zeros make the cover smooth and connected. The Riemann-Hurwitz formula then gives genus one.
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 , by the Abel-Jacobi map of a genus-one curve. The involution is consequently , including its fixed ramification points. Composing two such involutions gives a translation on an elliptic curve.
Legendre form of an elliptic curve 2026-10-14
Over an algebraically closed field of characteristic different from two, a cubic Weierstrass model with distinct roots becomes this form by sending two roots to zero and one, then scaling by a square root of the resulting nonzero coefficient. The third root becomes . The point is a flex and the curve is a genus one curve.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2012 iii Paper 18 5 iii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
To analyze the genus one tangent incidence curve of two conics, choose projective coordinates in which has equation . Its points and tangent lines are parametrized by asFor , the incidence equation is a nonzero homogeneous quadratic in , so the projection is finite of degree two. Its discriminant vanishes exactly when , that is, at . There are four such points; Bézout theorem says their intersection multiplicities sum to four, so all four intersections are transverse.
Locally on , after choosing an affine tangent-parameter chart and completing the square, the incidence equation is , where is a local parameter and has a simple zero at each intersection. This is smooth, with ramification index two there; away from those points the roots are distinct and the cover is étale. The analogous chart covers a root at infinity. Thus is smooth everywhere, and the cover has exactly four ramification points. It is connected: the discriminant has odd valuation at each of its four zeros, so it cannot be a square in the function field of . The associated quadratic extension is therefore a field, not two separate sheets.
A smooth plane conic over is isomorphic to the projective line. Apply the Riemann-Hurwitz formula to this connected degree-two cover:Consequently , and is a smooth projective genus one curve.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2012 iii Paper 18 5 iv Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
The printed construction is not well defined: the next tangent must pass through , rather than . If and , a second line through cannot also pass through , because the unique line through both points is . Here is a concrete counterexample satisfying all the conic hypotheses. In the affine chart takewith , and . The second tangent through is . It does not contain : its left side there is . The conics meet transversely at the four complex points with , . Thus this is a defect in the original PDF, not just in its conversion.
For the corrected construction, let exchange the two points of on a fixed tangent line, and let exchange the two tangents to through a fixed point of . Both projections from are degree-two morphisms to a smooth plane conic: for the line projection this follows from intersecting a line with , which has no line component. Since 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 .
Choose an origin on the genus one curve. The Abel-Jacobi map of a genus-one curve identifies with by . Fibers of each degree-two projection are linearly equivalent Weil divisors, since they are pullbacks of points of . Thus their group sums are constant: for suitable ,This also holds at the ramification points, where or . Therefore the corrected step is a translation on an elliptic curve. If for one point, then . It follows that for every . 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.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 22 1 iii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Let be the projective cubic of a Weierstrass equation of an elliptic curve, allowing its elliptic-curve discriminant to vanish, and let . Use only the smooth locus of a variety : the singular point, if present, is excluded. For , intersect their chord with , using the tangent if and counting intersection multiplicity. If the third intersection is , define , wherein general Weierstrass equation of an elliptic curve coordinates. The line through and gives this reflection. A vertical chord gives , and the tangent at meets three times at , so is the identity. The construction is symmetric in . 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 , and uniqueness follows because two distinct representatives would produce a degree-one map to the projective line, impossible for a genus one curve. Subtracting gives the claimed bijection.
Any line section represents the same divisor class as , including tangencies. Thus as divisors on an algebraic curve, while the vertical line gives . HenceAddition in the Picard group is associative, soThe chord-and-tangent group law is defined over , so the group operation restricts to the -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 , the coordinate , with , makes the smooth-locus law addition. On in characteristic different from two, put and , with ; the chord relation gives , so the group law is multiplication of . A nonsplit node gives the corresponding form of the multiplicative algebraic group over . These descriptions also establish the singular-case group laws.
Weierstrass construction from Riemann-Roch in genus one Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Let be a genus one curve and choose . Since a canonical divisor is linearly equivalent to zero, Riemann--Roch gives for . Choose and . Their pole orders at are two and three. The seven functionsare linearly dependent because , and comparison of pole orders puts the relation in Weierstrass form. The complete linear system is very ample and realizes this relation as a smooth plane cubic. In characteristic other than two and three, completing the square and translating produce a Short Weierstrass form.