For a number field , the Mordell-Weil theorem says that is a finitely generated abelian group.
The saturation of a subgroup of the Mordell-Weil group consists of all points with a positive multiple in . Saturation includes the full torsion subgroup. For a full-rank containing that torsion, it equals , but the index of may exceed one. Checking that forces for every prime divisor of a certified index bound proves that is already the whole group. A canonical height pairing proves independence of found points; saturation answers the separate question of whether a full-rank subgroup is the full group.
For an elliptic curve over a number field , the Mordell-Weil theorem writes as a finite torsion subgroup plus a free abelian group of finite rank of an abelian group . This integer is the rank of the elliptic curve over . It can increase under field extension. A two-isogeny descent supplies rank bounds from rational square-class images; the canonical height pairing can certify independence of rational points.
For an elliptic curve over a number field and an integer , the quotient is finite. Combining this finite quotient with a height descent proves finite generation of .
The Kummer map of an elliptic curve embeds into . Outside a finite set containing the primes over and the primes of bad reduction, the resulting classes are unramified. Class-group and unit finiteness implies that only finitely many such classes exist, so is finite.
The exact sequence of Galois modules
induces the Kummer map of an elliptic curve from into .
At a prime of good reduction of an elliptic curve with residue characteristic not dividing , multiplication by extends to a finite étale map of the smooth proper elliptic group scheme over the valuation ring. A local rational point extends to a section by properness. Its division fibre is therefore a finite étale torsor, so the Kummer map of an elliptic curve gives an unramified cohomology class. This bounds ramification in the Weak Mordell-Weil theorem.
A direct proof describes the coordinates, not only the cohomology class. Reduce by properness and choose a point with over a finite extension of the residue field. Over the corresponding unramified extension of the complete local field, lift by the Hensel lemma. The error is in the kernel of reduction of an elliptic curve; prime-to-residue-characteristic multiplication on a formal group corrects it uniquely. There is no -torsion in that kernel, even after a ramified field extension, so every division point with that reduction equals this unramified lift. Consequently all division points of an elliptic curve above have unramified coordinate fields. The torsion case is discussed in J. S. Milne's Elliptic Curves, Chapter V, Proposition 8.1.
The -Selmer group consists of the classes in whose restriction at every place lies in the image of the local Kummer map of an elliptic curve. It is finite and contains .
For an elliptic curve over a number field , global and local Kummer maps of an elliptic curve give . Indeed a Selmer class maps to a locally trivial torsor; conversely any locally trivial torsor killed by has a global Kummer-sequence lift whose local restrictions lie in the local Kummer images. For a prime , the Mordell-Weil theorem therefore gives . Thus a Selmer computation supplies a rigorous upper rank bound, while independent rational points supply a lower bound; the gap need not represent undiscovered rational points.
For a split CM prime , use in the Galois cohomology definition of the Selmer group of an elliptic curve, with local conditions given by its Kummer maps. The decomposition of the CM -power torsion splits the full -primary Selmer group into the two prime-primary pieces. Class-field descriptions must retain the CM-character twist and distinguish relaxed local conditions from the actual Selmer conditions.
The Tate–Shafarevich group consists of the principal homogeneous spaces for over that have a point over every completion of . Its -torsion is the quotient of the -Selmer group by .
Let an abelian group carry a nonnegative quadratic height with finite bounded subsets. If is finite for some , repeatedly choosing representatives modulo reduces the height by a fixed factor until a bounded set is reached. The representatives and that finite bounded set generate .
For a fixed rational point on an elliptic curve over a number field, the addition formula gives . The duplication map has degree four, so . Combining them gives the displayed contraction. A finite set of representatives modulo twice the point group makes the constants uniform. Points above a fixed height threshold descend by a definite amount; Northcott theorem makes the terminal bounded-height set finite. This converts the Weak Mordell-Weil theorem into the full finite-generation theorem.
For an elliptic curve over a number field, its nonnegative canonical height of an elliptic curve has finite bounded subsets by the Northcott theorem and its bounded difference from half the naive logarithmic height. By the Weak Mordell-Weil theorem, choose representatives modulo and put . If , the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality for the height pairing gives . Iterating brings every point into the finite set of height at most . This set and the generate , proving the Mordell-Weil theorem without assuming finite generation when constructing the height.
The map is a connecting homomorphism from the multiplication exact sequence. Its image is constrained by the local conditions defining the Selmer group of an elliptic curve.
The multiplication-by- sequence gives an injective connecting map
Local conditions restrict its image to the finite -Selmer group.
For an isogeny of elliptic curves over a number field , this finite subgroup of consists of Galois cohomology classes whose restriction at every place comes from . It fits into
where the last group is the kernel of the induced map on Tate–Shafarevich groups. Thus local computations bound the rational-point quotient without necessarily determining it. For multiplication by , this recovers the Selmer group of an elliptic curve.
Coverings surviving all local solubility tests need not have rational points. The quotient of an isogeny Selmer group by the rational-point image is a kernel in the Tate–Shafarevich group. A nonzero class therefore passes every local test but contributes no rational point to a search. This explains why two-isogeny descent can leave a gap between a certified upper bound and found lower bound for the rank of an elliptic curve. Higher descents address finer obstructions; see Tom Fisher's paper on higher descents with rational two-torsion.
Let with monic and separable, and let . Over containing , the map for , completed by and , is a group homomorphism to the square-class group of a field. A nonvertical chord has the product of its three values a square; a chord through instead has the product of the other two values equal to . These identities include tangencies.
When an elliptic curve has full rational 2-torsion, its Kummer map embeds into a product of square-class groups. Valuation and local-solubility conditions reduce the image to finitely many classes and thereby bound the rank of the Mordell-Weil group.
When , the Kummer pairing sends and to . Its elliptic analogue sends and to for .
Suppose an elliptic curve has all four geometric 2-torsion points rational. For choose with . The function takes values in and is a group homomorphism from the absolute Galois group to : its usual cocycle law becomes additivity because the action on is trivial. Replacing by another half, or by with , leaves it unchanged. Adding chosen halves proves additivity in . Its kernel in is zero, since precisely when the chosen half is rational. This constructs the injective map directly, without assuming any theorem of two-descent on an elliptic curve or finite generation of the Mordell-Weil group.
Let with distinct algebraic integers in a number field . For a rational point , its halving field is unramified outside the finite set of primes dividing . At , the elliptic-curve discriminant is a unit, so there is good reduction. A half of the reduction of is defined over a finite extension of the residue field. Pass to the corresponding unramified extension of the completion and lift this half using the Hensel lemma. The doubling error lies in the formal kernel of a minimal Weierstrass equation. Since two is a unit, prime-to-residue-characteristic multiplication on a formal group corrects this error uniquely. Every half differs by rational 2-torsion, so all halves are unramified at . The halving cocycle with rational two-torsion has image of order at most four, making the halving field a Galois extension of degree at most four. The bounded-degree extensions with restricted ramification are finite in number; there are only finitely many homomorphisms from their finite Galois groups to . Thus is finite, without assuming any form of the Mordell-Weil theorem.
For distinct integral roots with , the finite set in unramified halving fields for a split cubic contains only primes at most . A quadratic Galois character unramified away from primes is represented by a signed square-free integer supported on those primes, giving at most characters. The halving cocycle with rational two-torsion has two independent coordinates in , so the quotient has at most elements. Since and there are at most primes at most , this gives . The bound is deliberately crude but depends only on the root size.
For a finite Galois extension , the kernel of
injects into the finite group . Likewise, the kernel of injects into and is finite.
For a number field and a finite set of finite primes,
The S-unramified power class group of a number field is finite. For , the fractional ideal of away from is an th power . Sending to gives an exact sequence
The S-unit group is finitely generated, and the localized ideal class group is a quotient of the finite ordinary ideal class group. Both end groups are finite. This is the arithmetic finiteness needed in the Kummer-theoretic proof of the weak Mordell-Weil theorem.
Here descent is an arithmetic calculation with square classes and an isogeny of elliptic curves, rather than the gluing of objects along a covering.
For and its two-isogenous curve , square-class maps on and determine the Mordell-Weil rank.
For this elliptic curve, the two-isogeny formula gives the partner . The prime-support bound in two-isogeny descent and positivity of nonzero rational restrict the first square class image to . The identity and the rational points realize these classes. The partner image is contained in , and the negative unit obstruction for the fourteen-coefficient isogeny cover excludes . The two-isogeny rank formula therefore gives .
The two-torsion square-class homomorphism on has candidate classes by the prime-support bound in two-isogeny descent. The identity, and realize , so multiplicativity gives all four. The two-isogeny formula companion has only positive candidate classes ; realizes and realizes . Thus both images have order four, and the two-isogeny rank formula gives . The rank of an elliptic curve is therefore two, without any unresolved covering class.
For , prime-support bounds allow image classes . The rational points and realize and , and the two-torsion square-class homomorphism is multiplicative, so all four occur. Its companion has only positive candidate classes , both realized by the identity and . The two-isogeny rank formula gives , so the rank is one. The point has infinite order: its double is , contradicting the integrality of torsion coordinates in the Nagell–Lutz theorem if it were torsion.
For , the two-torsion square-class homomorphism has image : prime-support bounds allow only , and every nonzero affine is positive. Its two-isogeny formula companion has possible image classes , all realized by its rational two-torsion. The two-isogeny rank formula gives , so the rank is zero.
The two-isogeny formula gives the partner . The two-torsion square-class homomorphism image for is : prime support leaves only , the modulo-sixteen obstruction for the negative unit descent class excludes , and the subgroup property excludes . For , forces nonnegative , so the image is contained in . The two-torsion point realizes and the rational point realizes , giving all four classes. The two-isogeny rank formula yields , hence rank one. The dual isogeny sends to ; this statement does not assert that the resulting point is a generator of the full free part.
This elliptic curve has torsion subgroup and the infinite-order point . Good-reduction point counts at three and eleven are four and sixteen, which bound the torsion order by four using reduction of torsion points on an elliptic curve. Doubling gives ; after the shift to , its nonintegral coordinate proves nontorsion by the Nagell–Lutz theorem. The two-isogeny formula gives the partner . The first two-torsion square-class homomorphism has image , while the second has image by the signed divisor-two obstruction for an isogeny covering. The two-isogeny rank formula therefore gives , so the rank is one. The argument does not determine the index of the subgroup generated by .
Suppose the ring of integers of a number field is a principal ideal domain, are integral, and is a unit. On every nonzero -coordinate has even valuation at every finite prime: positive valuation gives , and negative valuation gives . Thus the two-torsion square-class homomorphism takes values among unit square classes. For the Gaussian integers, their unit group modulo squares has two elements, represented by . This can reduce a two-isogeny descent to a very small calculation even though the field contains no ordering.
For the two-isogeny formula over a number field, the two-torsion square-class homomorphisms have kernels and . Consequently
Indeed , and the surjection from to has kernel . Combined with the Mordell-Weil theorem, the index is , where is the rank of an abelian group. This formula prevents an erroneous extra factor of two in an isogeny descent.
For , set and . The isogeny of elliptic curves with kernel is . Its dual is . The maps extend over their exceptional affine points and satisfy .
For integral with , every square class in the image of the two-isogeny descent map on has a signed square-free representative supported on primes dividing . At a prime not dividing , a positive valuation of must be even from the curve equation; a negative valuation is even because the cubic leading term determines . Thus its image has at most elements. Apply this also to the two-isogenous curve and use the square-class index formula for two-isogeny descent to obtain , where counts distinct prime divisors of the nonzero absolute value.
For and over , define the square-class homomorphisms by , , , and similarly with . Their kernels are the images of the dual degree-two isogenies of elliptic curves. If is the rank of an abelian group of , then . To check the factor four, put . The index of in is . If is a square, and ; otherwise and . In either case .
For a square class dividing , the associated quartic covering is
It has a nontrivial rational point exactly when occurs in the square-class image attached to .
This quartic covering in a two-isogeny descent has no solution with coprime integers not both zero. If precisely one is odd, the right side is modulo four. If both are odd, their fourth powers are one modulo sixteen and modulo sixteen, so the right side is twelve modulo sixteen. Neither residue is a square. Coprimality excludes the remaining parity case. Consequently the negative unit square class is absent from the two-torsion square-class homomorphism for .
For with and , the square class in a two-isogeny descent would require coprime integers and an integer with . If is odd and even, the right side is modulo ; if is even and odd, it is ; if both are odd, it is . None is a square modulo . Therefore does not occur in the two-torsion square-class homomorphism image.
For , the two-isogeny descent classes and have no rational covering points. Their primitive integral quartics are respectively and , with .
For the first equation, reduction modulo forces and , since is not a square modulo and a nonzero fourth power is . Put . Dividing by gives , again a nonsquare modulo because . For the second equation, a primitive pair has nonzero modulo : it is or . The right side has five-adic valuation exactly , impossible for a square. Since lies on , its square-class image is exactly . Combined with the rank bound for a prime congruent-number elliptic curve computation, the two-isogeny rank formula yields rank exactly for .
This quartic has no primitive integral solution. If , reduction modulo five makes , impossible. If , coprimality gives and ; dividing by twenty-five then gives , again impossible. It excludes the square class two in two-isogeny descent on . The point supplies class five, so the subgroup property excludes class ten as well.
The two-isogeny descent quartics associated with square classes and on have no rational points. A rational solution can be scaled to integral with coprime integers . If is odd, reduction modulo sixteen gives or for the positive class, and or for the negative class; none is a quadratic residue. If is even, then is odd and the right side is , with the same sign on the two signed terms. The bracket is odd, so its 2-adic valuation is exactly five, impossible for a nonzero square. These two parity cases exhaust primitive solutions.
If , this quartic covering in a two-isogeny descent has no primitive integral solution. Opposite parities of give . If both are odd, their fourth powers are one modulo sixteen and , giving . Neither residue is a square. This excludes the class on .
For the curve with , the classes and in two-isogeny descent lead to and . A primitive solution forces and . The resulting congruences make a square modulo , a contradiction. Thus these coverings have no rational points.
A proposed square class in a two-isogeny descent can be excluded by testing its quartic modulo . For with , both variables odd give residue ; odd-even gives or ; even-odd gives or . None is a square modulo , excluding class and, by the subgroup property of the descent image, its entire coset.
For a degree-three isogeny whose kernel becomes under the Weil pairing, the Kummer connecting map embeds the quotient by the isogeny into . Valuations outside the primes of bad reduction restrict its image to an S-unramified power class group.

Articles by others on the same topic (1)