Skip to main content
Log in

On the ubiquity of trivial torsion on elliptic curves

  • Published:
Archiv der Mathematik Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to give a down-to-earth proof of the well-known fact that a randomly chosen elliptic curve over the rationals is most likely to have trivial torsion.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Bennett M.A., Ingram P.: Torsion subgroups of elliptic curves in short Weierstrass form. Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 357, 3325–3337 (2005)

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  2. J. E. Cremona, Algorithms for modular elliptic curves, Cambridge University Press, 1992

  3. Doud D.: A procedure to calculate torsion of elliptic curves over \({\mathbb Q}\) . Manuscripta Math. 95, 463–469 (1998)

    MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  4. Duke W.: Elliptic curves with no exceptional primes. C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris Série I 325, 813–818 (1997)

    MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  5. Fröberg C.-E.: On the prime zeta function. BIT 8, 187–202 (1968)

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  6. García-Selfa I., Olalla M.A., Tornero J. M.: Computing the rational torsion of an elliptic curve using Tate normal form, J. Number Theory 96, 76–88 (2002)

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  7. I. García-Selfa and J. M. Tornero, A complete diophantine characterization of the rational torsion of an elliptic curve, arXiv: math.NT/0703578.

  8. García-Selfa I., Tornero J.M.: Thue equations and torsion groups of elliptic curves. J. Number Theory 129, 367–380 (2009)

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  9. García-Selfa I., González-Jiménez E., Tornero J.M.: Galois theory, discriminants and torsion subgroup of elliptic curves. J. Pure Appl. Algebra 214, 1340–1346 (2010)

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  10. Grant D.: A formula for the number of elliptic curves with exceptional primes. Compositio Math. 122, 151–164 (2000)

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  11. G. H. Hardy and E. M. Wright, An introduction to the Theory of Numbers (5th ed.), Oxford University Press, 1979.

  12. Husemoller D.: Elliptic Curves. Springer-Verlag, New York (1987)

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  13. Ingram P.: Diophantine analysis and torsion on elliptic curves. Proc. London Math. Soc. 94, 137–154 (2007)

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  14. Kubert D.S.: Universal bounds on the torsion of elliptic curves, Proc. London Math. Soc. 33, 193–237 (1976)

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  15. Lutz E.: Sur l’équation y 2 = x 3 + Ax + B dans les corps p-adiques. J. Reine Angew. Math. 177, 431–466 (1937)

    Google Scholar 

  16. Mazur B.: Modular curves and the Eisenstein ideal. Inst. Hautes Études Sci. Publ. Math. 47, 33–186 (1977)

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  17. Mazur B.: Rational isogenies of prime degree. Invent. Math. 44, 129–162 (1978)

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  18. T. Nagell, Solution de quelque problèmes dans la théorie arithmétique des cubiques planes du premier genre, Wid. Akad. Skrifter Oslo I, 1935, Nr. 1.

  19. Schmidt W.M.: Thue equations with few coefficients. Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 303, 241–255 (1987)

    MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  20. J.-P. Serre, Propriétés galoisiennes des points d’ordre fini des courbes elliptiques, Invent. Math. 15 (1972), 123–201 (=Collected Papers, III, 1–73).

  21. J. H. Silverman, The arithmetic of elliptic curves, Springer-Verlag, 1986.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to José M. Tornero.

Additional information

The first author was supported in part by grants MTM 2009-07291 (Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia, Spain) and CCG08-UAM/ESP-3906 (Universidad Autonóma de Madrid-Comunidad de Madrid, Spain). The second author was partially supported by grants FQM–218 and P08–FQM–03894 (Junta de Andalucía) and MTM 2007–66929 (Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia, Spain).

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

González-Jiménez, E., Tornero, J.M. On the ubiquity of trivial torsion on elliptic curves. Arch. Math. 95, 135–141 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00013-010-0145-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00013-010-0145-x

Mathematics Subject Classification (2000)

Keywords

Navigation