To an algebraic curve C over the complex numbers one can associate a non-negative integer g, the genus, as a measure of its complexity. One can also associate to C, via complex analysis, a g×g... Show moreTo an algebraic curve C over the complex numbers one can associate a non-negative integer g, the genus, as a measure of its complexity. One can also associate to C, via complex analysis, a g×g symmetric matrix Ω called period matrix (or equivalently, its analytic Jacobian). Because of the natural relation between C and Ω, one can obtain information of one by studying the other. In this thesis we consider the inverse problem."Given a matrix Ω, is it the period matrix associated to any curve? If so, give a model of such a curve."We focus on two families of superelliptic curves, i.e., curves of the form y^k = (x -\alpha_1)....(x - \alpha_l): Picard curves, with (k,l) = (3,4) and genus 3, and CPQ curves, with (k,l) = (5,5) and genus 6.In particular, we characterize the period matrices of said families and provide an algorithm to obtain the curve from the period matrix.We also present one application: constructing curves whose Jacobians have complex multiplication. In particular, we determine a complete list of CM-fields whose maximal order occur as the endomorphism ring over the complex numbers of the Jacobian of a CPQ curve defined over the rationals. Show less
This thesis deals with properties of Jacobians of genus two curves that cover elliptic curves. If E is an elliptic curve and C is a curve of genus two that covers it n-to-1 so that the covering... Show moreThis thesis deals with properties of Jacobians of genus two curves that cover elliptic curves. If E is an elliptic curve and C is a curve of genus two that covers it n-to-1 so that the covering does not factor through an isogeny, then C also covers another elliptic curve n-to-1 in such a way and the Jacobian of C is isogenous to the product of the two elliptic curves. The Jacobian is said to be (n,n)-split and the elliptic curves are said to be glued along their n-torsion. The first chapter deals with the geometric aspects of this setup. We describe two approaches to constructing (n,n)-split Jacobians and we investigate which curves can appear in the setup. The second chapter deals with the arithmetic aspects, focusing on height functions and the Lang-Silverman conjecture in particular. We show that this conjecture holds for families of (n,n)-split Jacobians if and only if it holds for the corresponding families of elliptic curves that can be glued along their n-torsion. Show less
