Point counting on Igusa varieties for function fields

In this paper we prove an explicit version of a function field analogue of a classical result of Odoni about norms in number fields in the case of a cyclic Galois extensions. In the particular case of a quadratic extension, we recover the result of Bary-Soroker, Smilanski, and Wolf which deals with finding asymptotics for a function field version on sums of two squares, improved upon by Gorodetsky , and reproved by the author in his Ph.D thesis using the method of this paper. The main tool is a twisted Grothendieck Lefschetz trace formula, inspired by the work of Church, Farb and Ellenberg on representation stability and asymptotic for point counts on varieties. Using a combinatorial description of the cohomology we obtain a precise quantitative result which works in the $q^n\rightarrow \infty$ regime, and a new type of homological stability phenomena, which arises from the computation of certain inner products of representations.

We study the mean square of sums of the $k$th divisor function $d_k(n)$ over short intervals and arithmetic progressions for the rational function field over a finite field of $q$ elements. In the limit as $q\rightarrow\infty$ we establish a relationship with a matrix integral over the unitary group. Evaluating this integral enables us to compute the mean square of the sums of $d_k(n)$ in terms of a lattice point count. This lattice point count can in turn be calculated in terms of certain polynomials, which we analyse. Our results suggest general conjectures for the corresponding classical problems over the integers, which agree with the few cases where the answer is known.

An important problem in analytic and geometric combinatorics is estimating the number of lattice points in a compact convex set in a Euclidean space. Such estimates have numerous applications throughout mathematics. In this note, we exhibit applications of a particular estimate of this sort to several counting problems in number theory: counting integral points and units of bounded height over number fields, counting points of bounded height over positive definite quaternion algebras, and counting points of bounded height with a fixed support over global function fields. Our arguments use a collection of height comparison inequalities for heights over a number field and over a quaternion algebra. We also show how these inequalities can be used to obtain existence results for points of bounded height over a quaternion algebra, which constitute non-commutative analogues of variations of the classical Siegel’s lemma and Cassels’ theorem on small zeros of quadratic forms.

This book provides a lucid exposition of the connections between non-commutative geometry and the famous Riemann Hypothesis, focusing on the theory of one-dimensional varieties over a finite field. The reader will encounter many important aspects of the theory, such as Bombieri's proof of the Riemann Hypothesis for function fields, along with an explanation of the connections with Nevanlinna theory and non-commutative geometry. The connection with non-commutative geometry is given special attention, with a complete determination of the Weil terms in the explicit formula for the point counting function as a trace of a shift operator on the additive space, and a discussion of how to obtain the explicit formula from the action of the idele class group on the space of adele classes. The exposition is accessible at the graduate level and above, and provides a wealth of motivation for further research in this area.