Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2025 / iii / Paper 125 / 1 / b / Solution

The zeta function of an elliptic curve over a finite field is the formal power seriesThe proof of Hasse's theorem gives the characteristic equation ${\pi }^2-[a]\pi +[p]=0$. If $\alpha ,\beta$ are the roots of $X^2-aX+p$, then the elliptic-curve point count over a finite field isUsing $\exp ({\sum }_{r\ge 1}{u}^r{T}^r/r)=(1-uT{)}^{-1}$ therefore gives