Calabi-Yau Manifolds Seminar - Thursday Oct. 1, 2026
Date
Thursday October 1, 20269:00 am - 10:30 pm
Location
Jeffrey Hall, Room 222Calabi-Yau Manifolds Seminar
Speaker: Kamryn Spinelli (Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø's University)
Title: Counting points with invariant theory: elliptic curves
Abstract: Consider a family of elliptic curves E parametrized by a base X. When E is in Legendre form, X is 1-dimensional and the point count \# E(\mathbb{F}_p) is given by a simple formula involving Legendre symbols of the parameter of X. Extending this formula to families of elliptic curves over a higher-dimensional base X is more complicated, yet highly relevant to the study of hypergeometric motives. In this talk, we will collect some thoughts on a new method for lifting the Legendre family point count to the full family of elliptic curves branched over four points in \mathbb{P}^1, using invariant theory over finite fields. This is joint work in progress with Noriko Yui.