Rational Points on Elliptic Curves

Silverman & Tate

Table of Contents

1. Geometry & Arithmetic

2. Points of Finite Order
3. The Group of Rational Points
4. Cubic Curves over Finite Fields
5. Integer Points on Cubic Curves
6. Complex Multiplication
7. Appendix: Projective Geometry
Rational Points & Lines

I A rational point is a tuple (x, y ) with x, y ∈ Q.

I A rational line is a line that can be written as

ax + by + c = 0

with a, b, c ∈ Q.
I Two rational points have a rational line through them.
I Two rational lines intersect at a rational point.
I What about other types of geometric objects on the rationals?
Rational Conics & Inersections with Rational Lines

I A general rational conic takes the form

ax 2 + bxy + cy 2 + dx + ey + f = 0

for a, b, c, d, e, f ∈ Q.
I What about the intersection of a rational line with a rational
conic?
I The solutions will not in general be rational.
I Solving for the x-coordinate of the intersection gives a
quadratic equation for x.
I Conic & Line rational =⇒ x quadratic is rational.
I x-quadratic will have either both rational roots or conjugate
quadratic irrationalities.
Finding Rational Points Given One Such Point O

I Suppose we do have a rational point on a rational conic O

and rational line L.
I Taking a line from O to a point on L, both being rational,
forms a rational line L0 .
I L0 intersects the conic at a rational point.
I We can find all rational points on the conic this way.
I In fact, the rational conic points excluding O are in one-to-one
correspondence with the points on the rational line.
I To include O, we consider the projective space and associate
it with point at infinity on L.
Example: Rational Points on the Unit Circle
I On the unit circle, given by x 2 + y 2 = 1, we clearly have the
rational point O := (−1, 0).
I Let L be the y -axis, which is clearly a rational line.
I Let the point of intersection be given by (0, t).
I The line L0 is given by the equation y = t(1 + x).
I If (x, y ) is on the circle and L0 , then it satisfies both defining
equations, giving
1 − x 2 = y 2 = t 2 (1 + x)2 .
I This gives us the aforementioned x-quadratic, which we plug
back into our equation for L0 :
1 − t2 2t
x= , y= .
1 + t2 1 + t2
I Conversely, these equations give you rational points for
rational t.
I Note t → ∞ gives O.
Example: Rational Points on the Unit Hyperbola
I On the unit hyperbola, given by x 2 − y 2 = 1, we still have the
rational point O := (−1, 0).
I Again, let L be the y -axis and the point of intersection be
given by (0, t).
I The line L0 is still given by the equation y = t(1 + x).
I If (x, y ) is on the hyperbola and L0 , then it satisfies both
defining equations, giving
x 2 − 1 = y 2 = t 2 (1 + x)2 .
I This gives us the aforementioned x-quadratic, which we plug
back into our equation for L0 :
1 + t2 2t
x= 2
, y =− .
1−t 1 − t2
I Conversely, these equations give you rational points for
rational t.
I Note t → ∞ gives O.
Remarks Relating These Examples

I Note the similarities between rational points on the unit circle

and hyperbola.
I If we view these entities in C, then the unit hyperbola is
merely the unit circle where we “swapped” the origin and the
infinity on top the Reimann sphere and vice versa with
appropriate scaling.
I The transformation that accomplishes the above action takes
the rational solutions of one to the other.
I INVESTIGATE!
A Non-Unit Circle

I Let our conic be x 2 + y 2 = 3.

I If we have a rational solution x = X /Z and y = Y /Z where
(X , Z ) = 1 = (Y , Z ), then we may write X 2 + Y 2 = 3Z 2 .
I X and Y are not divisible by 3:
If 3|X , then 3 divides Y 2 = 3Z 2 − X 2 , making 3|Y . This
makes 9 divide X 2 + Y 2 = 3Z 2 , making 3|Z . But this shows
that X , Y , Z have a common factor of 3: a contradiction.
I X and Y must then satisfy X , Y ≡ ±1 (mod 3), making
X 2 ≡ Y 2 ≡ 1 (mod 3). But our equation gives
−1 ≡ X 2 + Y 2 = 3Z 2 ≡ 0 (mod 3): a contradiction.
I Hence, there are no rational points on this curve.
Determining Existence of Solutions to Conics

I Note that the question of the existence of rational points was

determined above by looking modulo 3.
I A theorem by Legendre states there exists an integer m such
that the integer equation aX 2 + bY 2 = cZ 2 has a non-trivial
integer solution if and only if it has a solution in (Z/mZ)× .
I m is rather simply fashoined from a, b, and c.
I Due to Hasse, we have the generalization below:
A homogeneous quadratic equation in several variables
has a non-trivial integer solution if and only if it is
solvable in all the completions of Q.
I This descirbes the rational solutions of conics. So, let’s move
onto cubics!
I We cannot project onto a line with one-to-one