## Algebra & Number Theory

### Averages of the number of points on elliptic curves

#### Abstract

If $E$ is an elliptic curve defined over $ℚ$ and $p$ is a prime of good reduction for $E$, let $E(Fp)$ denote the set of points on the reduced curve modulo $p$. Define an arithmetic function $ME(N)$ by setting $ME(N):=#{p:#E(Fp)=N}$. Recently, David and the third author studied the average of $ME(N)$ over certain “boxes” of elliptic curves $E$. Assuming a plausible conjecture about primes in short intervals, they showed the following: for each $N$, the average of $ME(N)$ over a box with sufficiently large sides is $∼K∗(N)∕logN$ for an explicitly given function $K∗(N)$.

The function $K∗(N)$ is somewhat peculiar: defined as a product over the primes dividing $N$, it resembles a multiplicative function at first glance. But further inspection reveals that it is not, and so one cannot directly investigate its properties by the usual tools of multiplicative number theory. In this paper, we overcome these difficulties and prove a number of statistical results about $K∗(N)$. For example, we determine the mean value of $K∗(N)$ over all $N$, odd $N$ and prime $N$, and we show that $K∗(N)$ has a distribution function. We also explain how our results relate to existing theorems and conjectures on the multiplicative properties of $#E(Fp)$, such as Koblitz’s conjecture.

#### Article information

Source
Algebra Number Theory, Volume 8, Number 4 (2014), 813-836.

Dates
Revised: 14 December 2013
Accepted: 15 February 2014
First available in Project Euclid: 20 December 2017

https://projecteuclid.org/euclid.ant/1513730195

Digital Object Identifier
doi:10.2140/ant.2014.8.813

Mathematical Reviews number (MathSciNet)
MR3248986

Zentralblatt MATH identifier
1316.11046

#### Citation

Martin, Greg; Pollack, Paul; Smith, Ethan. Averages of the number of points on elliptic curves. Algebra Number Theory 8 (2014), no. 4, 813--836. doi:10.2140/ant.2014.8.813. https://projecteuclid.org/euclid.ant/1513730195

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