The rank of Mazur’s Eisenstein ideal

Abstract

We use pseudodeformation theory to study Mazur’s Eisenstein ideal. Given prime numbers $N$ and $p>3$, we study the Eisenstein part of the $p$-adic Hecke algebra for ${\Gamma }_0\left(N\right)$. We compute the rank of this Hecke algebra (and, more generally, its Newton polygon) in terms of Massey products in Galois cohomology, thereby answering a question of Mazur and generalizing a result of Calegari and Emerton. We also give new proofs of Merel’s result on this rank and of Mazur’s results on the structure of the Hecke algebra.