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A smooth projective curve $C\subset A$ generates $A$ by its point differences if and only if it meets every prime Weil divisor. If a prime Weil divisor avoids $C$, its restriction to $C$ has degree zero; constancy of line bundle degree in a family shows that every translate either contains $C$ or misses it. This forces invariance under $C-C$ and puts the generated subgroup inside the line bundle translation stabilizer. If this subgroup were all of $A$, the divisor would be algebraically trivial, contradicting its positive intersection with an ample line bundle. Conversely a proper closed generated subgroup admits a disjoint divisor by the pole divisor avoiding a fiber construction, after translating the fiber to contain $C$.

For a normal variety with affine coordinate ring $A$ and a Weil divisor $D$, the fractional ideal of functions whose principal Weil divisor is at least $D$ isFor an effective prime divisor this is its height-one prime ideal. If the divisor is Cartier locally, this ideal is locally principal. A nonprincipal height-one prime ideal in a normal local ring can therefore detect a non-Cartier divisor.

With $D=\sum a_i{F}_i$ and $\sum q_i{a}_i=1$, the dual toric lattice is $M=\{m\in {\mathbb{Z}}^{n+1}:\sum q_i{m}_i=0\}$. A torus character ${\chi }^m$ is a section of $rD$ exactly when $b_i=m_i+r{a}_i\ge 0$. The vector $b$ has weighted degree $\sum q_i{b}_i=r$, and the correspondence ${\chi }^m\mapsto X^b$ is bijective on bases in every degree and respects multiplication. This gives the displayed graded-ring isomorphism, even when $D$ is a non-Cartier Weil divisor.

Two Weil divisors are linearly equivalent when their difference is a principal Weil divisor. This is the equivalence relation defining the divisor class group, and applies to normal varieties of any dimension, not just curves.

A linear system of divisors is a projective family of effective Weil divisors linearly equivalent to a fixed divisor. A complete linear system of a divisor contains every effective representative of that class; a projective subspace gives a subsystem. For a Cartier divisor, the family is obtained from global sections of its associated line bundle. The algebraic curve case recovers the usual moving family of effective divisors.

For a line bundle $L$ on an abelian variety $A$, this closed subgroup consists of $a$ such that $T_a^{\ast }L\cong L$. It is a stabilizer of a Picard group class, which need not be the same as the stabilizer of an individual Weil divisor representing that class.

Let $v_i$ be the primitive lattice generator of the ray ${\tau }_i$. In the toric divisor class sequence, the first map sends a torus character exponent $m\in M$ to its principal divisor on a toric variety:The second map sends an invariant Weil divisor to its class modulo principal divisors. Completeness makes the rays span $N_{\mathbb{R}}$, so the first map is injective. These are the maps in the given sequence; its exactness need not be reproved.

For $D={\sum }_i{r}_i{F}_i$, letThe torus characters ${\chi }^m$ with $m\in P_D\cap M$ form a basis of $\mathcal{L}(D)=\{f\in \mathbb{C}(X):\mathrm{div}(f)+D\ge 0\}\cup \{0\}$. This works for Weil divisors, not only for Cartier divisors. It is the character basis associated to the lattice polytope of a toric divisor.

For a Cartier divisor, the toric ampleness criterion is as follows. Each maximal cone $\sigma$ has local Cartier data $m_{\sigma }\in M$ satisfying $⟨m_{\sigma },v_i⟩=-r_i$ on its rays. The divisor is ample exactly whenEquivalently the support function is strictly concave, with these linear pieces. For a Q-Cartier Weil divisor use rational $m_{\sigma }$ and clear their denominators; the criterion means that a positive multiple is ample Cartier. An arbitrary Weil divisor need not be Q-Cartier, so this qualification cannot be omitted.

Take positive weights $q=(q_0,\dots ,q_n)$, reduced so their common greatest common divisor is one. A toric definition of weighted projective space usesIf the weights are well-formed, meaning $\gcd (q_0,\dots ,\widehat{q_i},\dots ,q_n)=1$ for every $i$, the $v_i$ are primitive: the quotient $N/\mathbb{Z}{v}_i$ has torsion of order that omitted-weight greatest common divisor. The lattice $N$ itself is free because $q$ is primitive. The positive relation ${\sum }_i{q}_i{v}_i=0$ implies that proper subsets generate pointed cones and that they meet along common faces. Completeness can be seen directly: represent a vector by real coordinates $a_i$ and subtract ${\min }_i(a_i/q_i)$ times $q$. The resulting coordinates are nonnegative and at least one is zero, placing the vector in one of the displayed cones. Their common-face property follows from this unique normalization of each class modulo $\mathbb{R}q$. This gives the fan of the well-formed weighted projective space.

The dual lattice isIts map in the divisor sequence is simply inclusion in ${\mathbb{Z}}^{n+1}$, so the homomorphism $a\mapsto q\cdot a$ identifies the cokernel with $\mathbb{Z}$. It is onto by coprimality of all the weights. ThusChoose integers $a_i$ by the Bezout identity ${\sum }_i{q}_i{a}_i=1$. Then $D={\sum }_i{a}_i{F}_i$ explicitly represents the positive generator $H$.

To verify ampleness in the Weil/Q-Cartier sense, put $\ell =\mathrm{lcm}(q_0,\dots ,q_n)$. On the maximal cone omitting ray $j$, defineThis is integral and has $q\cdot m_j=\ell -\ell =0$. Its pairings with the included rays are $-\ell a_i$, while on the omitted ray they equal $-\ell a_j+\ell /q_j>-\ell a_j$. Consequently $\ell D$ is Cartier and ample by the numerical criterion. This is an explicit class-group generator of a well-formed weighted projective space.

The generator is generally ample Weil, not Cartier. If the source's word “ample” is interpreted as requiring a Cartier divisor, its generator request is false in general: on $\mathbb{P}(1,1,2)$, take $D=F_0$. On the chart omitting the weight-two ray, the Cartier equations force $m=(-1,0,1/2)$, which is not in the integral dual lattice. Twice this datum is integral, so the class-one divisor has Cartier index two and no Cartier divisor generates its class group. With the usual ample-Q-Cartier-Weil interpretation, the construction above proves exactly the requested result. This distinction also explains the use of the divisorial spaces $\mathcal{L}(rD)$ rather than assuming an invertible sheaf $\mathcal{O}(D)$.

Finally let an ample divisor represent the class-group generator. Its class is the positive generator; the negative generator cannot be ample because a positive Cartier multiple has negative degree on the curves where the positive generator has positive degree. After replacing by a linearly equivalent invariant divisor, write it as $D=\sum a_i{F}_i$ with $\sum q_i{a}_i=1$. A character basis element of $\mathcal{L}(rD)$ has exponent $m\in M$ with $m_i+r{a}_i\ge 0$. Set $b_i=m_i+r{a}_i$. Then $b\in {\mathbb{Z}}_{\ge 0}^{n+1}$ and $\sum q_i{b}_i=r$. Conversely every nonnegative exponent vector of weighted degree $r$ gives the unique $m=b-ra\in M$. Thereforeis a bijection of bases in each degree. Adding $m$ and $r$ under multiplication adds these nonnegative exponent vectors, so it preserves products and the unit. A different linearly equivalent representative changes the basis by the corresponding rational-function power and gives the same graded-ring isomorphism. Hence the divisorial section ring is the weighted polynomial ring:The character construction is defined over the ground field $k$, so this is an isomorphism of graded $k$-algebras. It proves the divisorial section ring of a well-formed weighted projective space assertion even when its ample generator is not Cartier.

The dense algebraic torus has coordinate ring $k[M]$, a Laurent polynomial ring and hence a unique factorization domain. Its divisor class group is therefore zero. Restrict an arbitrary Weil divisor $D$ to the algebraic torus and choose a rational function on an algebraic variety $f$ whose divisor there is $D{|}_T$. Then $D-\mathrm{div}(f)$ is supported on the algebraic torus boundary. The prime divisors in that boundary are precisely the $F_j$ corresponding to the toric rays, by the torus orbit-cone correspondence. ConsequentlySince the variety is smooth, every Weil divisor is Cartier. This gives invariant representatives for all divisor classes, without assuming that the original divisor was invariant.

Now use such a representative. The associated vector space isThe principal divisor on a toric variety formula gives $\mathrm{div}({\chi }^m)={\sum }_j⟨m,e_j⟩F_j$. Define the lattice polytope of a toric divisorFor a maximal toric cone $\sigma$, its basic toric ray vectors are a basis of $N$, so there is a unique integral $m_{\sigma }$ with $⟨m_{\sigma },e_j⟩=-a_j$ on its toric rays. The algebraic torus character ${\chi }^{m_{\sigma }}$ is a local frame for $\mathcal{O}(D)$ on $U_{\sigma }$. Every global section restricts on the algebraic torus to a finite Laurent polynomial ${\sum }_m{c}_m{\chi }^m$. Relative to this frame, regularity on $U_{\sigma }$ means ${\sum }_m{c}_m{\chi }^{m-m_{\sigma }}\in k[{\sigma }^{\vee }\cap M]$. Since distinct algebraic torus characters are independent, this holds exactly when each exponent with nonzero coefficient satisfies the inequalities for the toric rays of $\sigma$. Taking all charts provesCompleteness makes $P_D$ bounded when nonempty: a nonzero recession vector would be nonnegative on every toric ray of a complete toric fan, and therefore on all of $N_{\mathbb{R}}$, which is impossible. The displayed space is consequently finite-dimensional.

At the torus-fixed point $p_{\sigma }$ in the smooth chart $U_{\sigma }\cong {\mathbb{A}}^n$, a section ${\chi }^m$ has local monomial ${\chi }^{m-m_{\sigma }}$. Its value is nonzero exactly when this monomial is constant, namely when $m=m_{\sigma }$. Thus if the complete linear system of a divisor has no base point, some section is nonzero at $p_{\sigma }$, forcing $m_{\sigma }\in P_D$. Conversely, if $m_{\sigma }\in P_D$ for every maximal toric cone, its algebraic torus character is a global section whose local expression on $U_{\sigma }$ is one. It therefore vanishes nowhere on that whole chart, and these charts cover $X$. This proves the toric basepoint-free criterion:The analogous toric ampleness criterion, stated without proof, replaces the inequalities off $\sigma$ by strict ones:Equivalently, the normal fan of a polytope $P_D$ is exactly $\Sigma$.

For the final fan subdivision, take $n\ge 2$ so that $\tilde{e}$ is a new toric ray, as the construction requires. The vectors $e_1,\dots ,e_n$ are a lattice basis, so their sum is primitive. Replacing any one basis vector by this sum gives another basis. Thus the star subdivision gives a smooth toric blowup at a torus-fixed point $\pi :X_{{\Sigma }^{\prime }}\to X_{\Sigma }$, with algebraic exceptional divisor $E=\tilde{F}$. On the old chart, a local equation of $D$ is ${\chi }^{-m_{\sigma }}$, whose order on the new toric ray is $-⟨m_{\sigma },\tilde{e}⟩={\sum }_{i=1}^n{a}_i=a$. All old toric ray coefficients are unchanged. ThereforeWe prove ampleness of $D_c=c{D}^{\prime }-E$ directly by inequalities, giving the ample divisor after blowing up a torus-fixed point result.

Let $u_1,\dots ,u_n$ be the basis of $M$ dual to $e_1,\dots ,e_n$. On the new maximal toric cone ${\sigma }_i$, which omits $e_i$, the required local algebraic torus character isIndeed its pairings on $e_j$, $j\ne i$, are $-c{a}_j$, while its pairing on $\tilde{e}$ is $-ca+1$, exactly the negative of the new coefficient $ca-1$. Its inequality on the omitted old toric ray has strict gap one:For any toric ray $e_j$ outside the original toric cone, put ${\delta }_j=⟨m_{\sigma },e_j⟩+a_j$. The original ampleness gives positive integers ${\delta }_j$, and the new strict gaps arefor all sufficiently large $c$.

For any unchanged maximal toric cone $\eta \ne \sigma$, the local algebraic torus character is $c{m}_{\eta }$. All strict inequalities on old toric rays follow from those for $D$. Its inequality on the new toric ray has gapEach summand is nonnegative, and at least one is positive because $\eta \ne \sigma$ cannot contain all its toric rays. Hence ${ϵ}_{\eta }$ is a positive integer, making this gap positive for $c\ge 2$. There are only finitely many remaining inequalities. For example, any integer satisfyingworks, with the inner maximum omitted when its index set is empty. The toric ampleness criterion now givesThe new-ray assumption is essential to the printed construction. In dimension one, $\tilde{e}=e_1$ and the fan subdivision is unchanged, so the two purported distinct divisors coincide. If the displayed definition of $D^{\prime }$ is applied literally on ${\mathbb{P}}^1$ with coefficients $a_1=-2$, $a_2=3$, then $D$ has degree one but $D^{\prime }$ has degree $-1$, contradicting the conclusion. The argument above applies to the intended blowup in dimension at least two.

The Hessian criterion for flexes of a plane cubic applied to the defining polynomial givesConsequently the inflection points of a plane cubic on this curve are exactly its intersections with the three coordinate lines. Choose $r\in \overline{\mathbb{Q}}$ with $r^3=d$, and a primitive cube root of unity $\zeta$. The nine distinct flexes of a diagonal cubic areWith the chosen flex as identity, these points are precisely $E_d[3]$. A tangent cutting the Weil divisor $3P$ gives $3(P-O)=0$; conversely $3(P-O)=0$ makes the hyperplane Weil divisor equivalent to $3P$, which supplies a tangent with triple contact. This is the three-torsion points are flexes of a plane cubic correspondence.

On $Z=0$ only $O$ is rational, since the other cube roots of unity are not rational. On each other coordinate line a rational point exists exactly when $d$ is a rational cube, and then exactly one does. ThereforeIn particular the rational torsion subgroup cannot contain two independent points of order $3$.

One can also determine the whole rational torsion of a diagonal cubic. First it is killed by $6$. To see this, use the Weierstrass equation of an elliptic curve from (iii). At primes $\ell \equiv 2(\mathrm{mod}3)$ outside the finite set containing $2,3$ and the prime divisors of the numerator and denominator of $d$, the cube map permutes ${\mathbb{F}}_{\ell }$, sowhere the quadratic character is extended by $\chi (0)=0$, and the character sum vanishes after substituting $t=x^3-432d^2$. Reduction of torsion points on an elliptic curve injects the prime-to-$\ell$ part of rational torsion into this finite group. This injection follows because multiplication by an integer prime to $\ell$ is invertible on the formal group of an elliptic curve, and hence its reduction kernel has no such torsion.

For any prime $q>3$, choose a good $\ell \equiv 2(\mathrm{mod}3)$ with $\ell \equiv 1(\mathrm{mod}q)$; the Dirichlet theorem on primes in arithmetic progressions and the Chinese remainder theorem supply such primes outside the finite bad set. Then $q\nmid \ell +1$, excluding $q$-torsion. Similarly good $\ell \equiv 5(\mathrm{mod}12)$ exclude order $4$, and good $\ell \equiv 11(\mathrm{mod}18)$ exclude order $9$. Thus every rational torsion point has order dividing $6$.

The inversion formula in (i) shows that the only possible nonidentity rational point of order $2$ has $X=Y$ and $Z\ne 0$. It exists precisely when $(X/Z{)}^3=-d/2$, that is, when $d/2$ is a rational cube. There is at most one such point. This condition and $d$ being a cube cannot hold together, since $2$ is not a rational cube. Combining it with the three-torsion calculation gives the full answer:

We take $d\in {\mathbb{Q}}^{\times }$, as required for this rational elliptic curve. The tangent at $O=(1:-1:0)$ is $X+Y=0$. Its intersection with the curve has $d{Z}^3=0$, so it meets the curve three times at $O$: the identity is an inflection point of a plane cubic.

For $P,Q$, let their chord meet the diagonal cubic elliptic curve at the third point $R$, using the tangent if $P=Q$ and counting intersection multiplicities. Then join $R$ to $O$ and take the third intersection $S$. Define $P+Q=S$. Equivalently, three collinear intersection points satisfy $P+Q+R=O$.

Here inversion has the particularly simple formIndeed $P$, its displayed inverse, and $O$ lie on the same line, since swapping $X,Y$ preserves both the curve and $X+Y$. Thus addition is the chord or tangent operation followed by swapping the first two coordinates. The rule includes limiting cases involving $O$ and repeated intersections. Its associativity follows from the elliptic curve group law from Riemann-Roch: the identification $P\mapsto [P-O]$ with the degree-zero Picard group turns the line-intersection Weil divisor relation into addition of divisor classes. Since a line cuts a Weil divisor linearly equivalent to $3O$, that relation is exactly the chord rule just described.

An isogeny of elliptic curves $\varphi :E_1\to E_2$ over a field $K$ is a nonconstant morphism preserving the identity and addition. It is surjective and finite: its image is a closed connected subgroup, and a nonconstant morphism of smooth projective curves is finite. The degree of an isogeny is the degree of its induced extension of function fields. A separable isogeny has degree equal to the number of geometric kernel points; in general the degree is the length of the finite kernel scheme, incorporating inseparability. The degree of an isogeny multiplies under composition, and degree one means an isomorphism. In characteristic zero all elliptic isogenies are separable. In positive characteristic the Frobenius isogeny illustrates inseparability, while an elliptic isogeny of degree prime to the characteristic is separable.

The homomorphism group of elliptic curves includes the zero homomorphism, the constant identity map, and every nonzero member is an elliptic isogeny. The operations are pointwise addition and negation; for endomorphisms, composition also gives the endomorphism ring of an elliptic curve. We put $q(0)=0$ and $q(\varphi )=\mathrm{deg}\varphi$ otherwise. We now prove the positive definiteness of degree on elliptic-curve homomorphisms in full.

Let $E=E_2$, and choose a Weierstrass model. Its coordinate $x$ has a double pole at $O$, and the generic fibre of $x$ consists of $P$ and $-P$. On $E\times E$ the rational function $x(P)-x(Q)$ therefore has Weil divisorwhere $\Delta =\{P=Q\}$, ${\Delta }_{-}=\{P=-Q\}$, $V=\{O\}\times E$, and $H=E\times \{O\}$. The generic zeros on the two diagonals have multiplicity one, and the generic poles on $V,H$ have multiplicity two; their intersections have codimension two and add no Weil divisor components. This argument also uses the general Weierstrass involution in characteristic $2$, where $-P$ need not mean changing just the sign of $y$.

For the sum and difference maps $a(P,Q)=P+Q$ and $s(P,Q)=P-Q$, the divisors $a^{\ast }(O)$ and $s^{\ast }(O)$ are ${\Delta }_{-}$ and $\Delta$. Consequently, for the degree-one line bundle $L={\mathcal{O}}_E(O)$,Pull back along $P\mapsto (\varphi (P),\psi (P))$ and take degrees of line bundles on $E_1$. A nonconstant map pulls back $L$ to degree equal to its degree, while a constant map pulls it back to a trivial bundle of degree zero. We obtain the degree parallelogram lawUsing the line-bundle identity is important: it still restricts correctly when $\varphi =\psi$ or $\varphi =-\psi$, when restriction of the displayed rational function would be identically zero.

Since $q(-\varphi )=q(\varphi )$, applying the identity to $n\varphi$ and $\varphi$ gives the second-difference recursionStarting from $q(0)=0$ and $q(\varphi )$ yields $q(n\varphi )=n^{2}q(\varphi )$ for all integers $n$. DefineIt is symmetric and odd in each variable. Applying the parallelogram identity to the four terms in its first expression givesInterchanging $u,w$ and using oddness also gives $B(u+w,v)-B(u-w,v)=2B(w,v)$. Adding proves $B(u+w,v)=B(u,v)+B(w,v)$; symmetry proves additivity in the other variable. Thus $q$ is a quadratic form with associated rational bilinear form $B$.

Every nonzero homomorphism has positive degree, so $q(\varphi )>0$ for $\varphi \ne 0$. The scaling identity also shows that the homomorphism group is a torsion-free group. Hence $q$ extends to its rational vector space. On the span of any finitely many rationally independent homomorphisms, the matrix of $B$ is rational. Positivity on nonzero rational vectors implies nonnegativity on real vectors by density. If the real matrix had a nontrivial kernel, its rational linear equations would have a nonzero rational solution, contradicting positivity. Thus its real extension is a positive-definite quadratic form. This establishes the requested positivity as well as the quadratic identities.

An important companion to degree is the dual isogeny. Under $E\cong {\mathrm{Pic}}^0(E)$ via $P\mapsto [P-O]$, the pullback ${\varphi }^{\ast }:{\mathrm{Pic}}^0(E_2)\to {\mathrm{Pic}}^0(E_1)$ defines $\hat{\varphi }:E_2\to E_1$. Divisor pushforward corresponds to $\varphi$, and pushforward after pullback multiplies divisor classes by $n=\mathrm{deg}\varphi$. Therefore $\varphi \hat{\varphi }=[n]$. Composing shows that $\hat{\varphi }\varphi -[n]$ takes values in the finite kernel of $\varphi$; a morphism from a connected smooth curve into this finite scheme must be constant, and its identity value is zero. ThusThe last equality follows from $\mathrm{deg}[n]=n^2$, already proved by applying $q(m\varphi )=m^{2}q(\varphi )$ to the identity map. The dual isogeny is unique, since the difference of two choices composed with $\varphi$ would vanish and $\varphi$ is surjective. It follows that being isogenous is an equivalence relation: duality supplies symmetry, and composition supplies transitivity. For a finite subgroup of geometric points of order prime to the characteristic, the quotient curve and its quotient map give an elliptic isogeny with that kernel; in general one uses finite subgroup schemes. This is the geometric source of explicit descent maps, including the two-isogeny formula in Question 4.

Finally elliptic isogenies preserve the rational rank of an abelian group over a number field. Their dual compositions are multiplication by $n$, so after tensoring the rational point groups with $\mathbb{Q}$ the elliptic isogeny becomes invertible. For a single curve, its endomorphism algebra in characteristic zero is $\mathbb{Q}$ or an imaginary quadratic field, giving ordinary integer multiplication or complex multiplication. In positive characteristic a supersingular curve can instead have a quaternionic endomorphism algebra. The positive degree form controls the sizes of these homomorphisms, while duality makes their arithmetic and geometric properties accessible.

Use the dense standard affine charts. Their product iswhich is also a dense affine chart of ${\mathbb{P}}^{n+m}$. The identification of these charts gives a birational isomorphism between the two projective varieties.

To distinguish them, calculate their divisor class groups explicitly. Let $H\subset {\mathbb{P}}^r$ be a coordinate hyperplane. Its complement is ${\mathbb{A}}^r$, whose coordinate ring is a unique factorization domain. Any Weil divisor on ${\mathbb{P}}^r$ restricts on this chart to a principal Weil divisor; subtract that principal Weil divisor on ${\mathbb{P}}^r$, leaving a Weil divisor supported on $H$. Thus $[H]$ generates $\mathrm{Cl}({\mathbb{P}}^r)$. If $aH=\mathrm{div}(q)$, then $q$ has zero Weil divisor on ${\mathbb{A}}^r$. A reduced fraction in a unique factorization domain with zero orders at every prime Weil divisor must be a unit, so $q\in k^{\ast }$. It follows that $a=0$. We have proved

In the product, let $H_1$ and $H_2$ be coordinate hyperplanes in the factors and putThe complement of $D_1\cup D_2$ is ${\mathbb{A}}^{n+m}$, again with a unique factorization domain as its coordinate ring. The same restriction-and-subtraction argument says that $[D_1],[D_2]$ generate the divisor class group. Ifthen on that affine chart $q$ has neither zeros nor poles along any prime Weil divisor. Unique factorization makes $q$ a unit of $k[s_1,\dots ,s_n,t_1,\dots ,t_m]$, hence a constant. It follows that $a=b=0$. ThereforeBoth spaces are smooth varieties, so their divisor class groups also equal their Picard groups. An isomorphism preserves the divisor class group; ${\mathbb{Z}}^2$ and $\mathbb{Z}$ are not isomorphic. Thus the spaces are birational but not isomorphic. The assumptions $n,m>0$ ensure that both boundary prime Weil divisors actually occur.