Complex multiplication and Brauer groups of K3 surfaces

Abstract

We study K3 surfaces with complex multiplication following the classical work of Shimura on CM abelian varieties. After we translate the problem in terms of the arithmetic of the CM field and its idèles, we proceed to study some abelian extensions that arise naturally in this context. We then make use of our computations to determine the fields of moduli of K3 surfaces with CM and to classify their Brauer groups. More specifically, we provide an algorithm that given a number field K and a CM number field E, returns a finite list of groups which contains Br(X‾)GK for any K3 surface X/K that has CM by the ring of integers of E. We run our algorithm when E is a quadratic imaginary field (a condition that translates into X having maximal Picard rank) generalizing similar computations already appearing in the literature.