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# Curves of every genus with many points, II: Asymptotically good families

## 1. Introduction

Let $`q`$ be a power of a prime $`p`$ and let $`𝔽_q`$ be the field with $`q`$ elements. We will study the function

$$N_q(g):=\mathrm{max}\{\mathrm{\#}C(𝔽_q):C\text{ is a curve of genus }g\text{ over }𝔽_q\},$$

where by a curve over a field $`k`$ we mean a smooth, projective, geometrically irreducible $`1`$-dimensional variety over $`k`$. In particular, we will be interested in upper and lower bounds on the asymptotic quantities

$$A^+(q):=\underset{g\mathrm{}}{lim\; sup}N_q(g)/g\text{ and }A^{}(q):=\underset{g\mathrm{}}{lim\; inf}N_q(g)/g.$$

The quantity that we call $`A^+(q)`$ is denoted $`A(q)`$ in most current literature.

We begin by reviewing the known bounds on $`A^+(q)`$. The upper bound $`A^+(q)2\sqrt{q}`$ follows from the well-known inequality

$$N_q(g)(2\sqrt{q})g+(q+1),$$

which was proved by Weil  in the 1940s. Serre writes  that for a long time Weil’s inequality was considered “essentiellement ((optimale)).” The situation changed in 1981, when Manin  (following Goppa) and Ihara  found bounds on $`N_q(g)`$ that are significantly better than the Weil bound when $`g`$ is large compared to $`q`$. Ihara’s idea was refined by Drinfel’d and Vlăduţ  to prove that, for fixed $`q`$, we have

(1)
$$N_q(g)(\sqrt{q}1+o(1))g\text{as }g\mathrm{}\text{,}$$

which shows that $`A^+(q)\sqrt{q}1`$.

The problem of finding lower bounds for $`A^+(q)`$ leads to the problem of producing curves over $`𝔽_q`$ with many points. Serre  used class field towers to construct infinite sequences of such curves; in this way, he showed that $`A^+(q)>0`$ for all $`q`$. In fact he proved that $`A^+(q)>c\mathrm{log}q`$ for some $`c>0`$ not depending on $`q`$, and his proof gave better bounds for nonprime $`q`$. Ihara  used supersingular points on Shimura curves to show that if $`q`$ is a square we have $`A^+(q)\sqrt{q}1`$; together with the Drinfel’d-Vlăduţ bound (1), this proves that $`A^+(q)=\sqrt{q}1`$ for every square $`q`$. Several other authors proved further results along similar lines. (For a survey, see the introduction to .) But qualitatively the situation today is similar to that in 1983:

* There is no nonsquare $`q`$ for which one knows whether or not $`A^+(q)=\sqrt{q}1`$.
* For square $`q`$, every known sequence $`\{C_i\}`$ of curves over $`𝔽_q`$ whose genera $`g_i`$ tend to infinity and for which $`\mathrm{\#}C_i(𝔽_q)/g_i\sqrt{q}1`$ has the property that $`C_i`$ is modular (of elliptic, Shimura, or Drinfel’d types) for all sufficiently large $`i`$ (see ).

In this paper we consider the problem of finding lower bounds for $`A^{}(q)`$. To show that $`A^{}(q)`$ is greater than some constant $`c`$, one must show that for every sufficiently large $`g`$ there is a curve of genus $`g`$ over $`𝔽_q`$ with more than $`cg`$ points. Unfortunately, the class field tower and modular curve constructions mentioned above miss infinitely many genera , so they do not lead immediately to lower bounds for $`A^{}(q)`$. In fact, before now there was no $`q`$ for which it was known whether $`A^{}(q)>0`$; furthermore, even the much weaker assertion $`lim_g\mathrm{}N_q(g)=\mathrm{}`$ was proved only recently .

The main result of this paper gives an affirmative answer to a 1983 question of Serre :

###### Theorem 1.1.

For every $`q`$, we have $`A^{}(q)>0`$.

We also discuss quantitative refinements of this result. For instance, at the end of Section 3.2 we show that there is a constant $`d>0`$ such that $`N_q(g)(d\mathrm{log}q)g`$. In particular, we find that $`A^{}(q)d\mathrm{log}q`$ for all $`q`$. This can be strengthened for square $`q`$:

###### Theorem 1.2.

We have

$$A^{}(q)\{\begin{array}{cc}\frac{\sqrt{q}1}{2+(\mathrm{log}2/\mathrm{log}q)}\hfill & \text{if }q\text{ is an even square}\text{;}\hfill \\ & \\ \frac{\sqrt{q}1}{2+(\mathrm{log}4/\mathrm{log}q)}\hfill & \text{if }q\text{ is an odd square.}\hfill \end{array}$$

For odd square $`q<417`$, Corollary 6.2 in Section 6 gives an improved lower bound.

Theorem 1.1 shows that for every sufficiently large integer $`g`$ there exist curves of genus $`g`$ with many points. Theorem 1.3 below shows that we can simultaneously force the rational points of the Jacobian to contain certain groups. Suppose $`C`$ is a curve over a field $`k`$ and $`n>1`$ is an integer. We define the $`n`$-rank $`r_n(C)`$ of $`C`$ to be the largest integer $`r`$ such that the group $`(/n)^r`$ can be embedded in the group of $`k`$-rational points of the Jacobian of $`C`$.

###### Theorem 1.3.

There exists a constant $`c>0`$ such that for all integers $`n>1`$ and prime powers $`q`$ the following statement holds: For all sufficiently large integers $`g`$, there is a genus-$`g`$ curve $`C`$ over $`𝔽_q`$ with $`r_n(C)>(c/n)g`$ and $`\mathrm{\#}C(𝔽_q)>(c/n)g`$.

Our proofs of these results involve covers of curves. A cover of a curve $`C`$ over a field $`k`$ is another curve $`B`$ over $`k`$ together with a nonconstant separable map $`BC`$ over $`k`$. Our strategy for proving Theorems 1.1 and 1.2 is to begin with some sequence of curves with many points that achieve “enough” genera, and then to fill in the missing genera via degree-2 covers. More specifically, we start with a sequence of curves over $`𝔽_q`$ that have many points and whose genera grow at most exponentially. Then we show that for every curve $`C`$ in this sequence, and for every integer $`h`$ greater than some constant multiple of the genus of $`C`$, there exists a degree-2 cover $`BC`$ over $`𝔽_q`$ such that $`B`$ has genus $`h`$. Either $`B`$ or its quadratic twist $`B^{}`$ will have at least as many $`𝔽_q`$-rational points as $`C`$, because $`\mathrm{\#}B(𝔽_q)+\mathrm{\#}B^{}(𝔽_q)=2\mathrm{\#}C(𝔽_q)`$. To produce the sequence of curves we use class field towers and Shimura curves (see Section 3). To produce the degree-$`2`$ covers, we use the following result of independent interest:

###### Proposition 1.4.

Let $`C`$ be a curve of genus $`g`$ over a finite field $`k`$. For every integer $`h4g`$, there exists a genus-$`h`$ curve $`B`$ over $`k`$ that admits a degree-$`2`$ covering map $`BC`$ defined over $`k`$.

In the next section we prove Proposition 1.4, as well as a generalization of the proposition to curves over arbitrary fields. We prove Theorem 1.1 and a weak version of Theorem 1.2 in Sections 3.2 and 3.3, respectively. In Section 4 we prove Theorem 1.3 and in Section 5 we prove the full version of Theorem 1.2. We end in Section 6 by discussing limitations on the results obtainable by our methods. Our proof of Theorem 1.1 relies on Serre’s proof  that $`A^+(q)>0`$ for all $`q`$; since Serre’s proof has not been published, we include a version of it as an appendix.

## 2. Degree-2 covers

In this section we prove Proposition 1.4 and give an analogous result for curves over infinite fields.

### 2.1. Finite fields

Suppose $`C`$ is a curve over $`𝔽_q`$. Let $`g(C)`$ denote the genus of $`C`$, and let $`𝔽_q(C)`$ denote the function field of $`C`$. For every positive integer $`d`$, let $`n_d(C)`$ denote the number of places of $`C`$ of degree $`d`$. We begin with a lemma that gives a lower bound on $`n_d(C)`$ for large enough $`d`$.

###### Lemma 2.1.

Let $`C`$ be a curve over $`𝔽_q`$ of genus $`g`$.

1. For every $`d>0`$ we have $`n_d(C)>(q^d(6g+3)q^{d/2})/d`$.
2. If $`g>1`$ and $`d>2g`$ we have $`n_d(C)>0`$.
3. If $`q`$ is odd and $`d>2g`$ then $`n_d(C)2^{2g}`$, with equality if and only if $`q=d=3`$, $`g=1`$, and $`\mathrm{\#}C(𝔽_3)=6`$.
4. Assume $`g900`$. If $`j`$ is a positive integer and $`d\mathrm{log}_q(j\mathrm{log}j+1)+\sqrt{g}`$, then $`n_d(C)>j`$.

###### Proof.

(i) Clearly $`\mathrm{\#}C(𝔽_{q^d})=_{md}mn_m(C)`$, so by Möbius inversion we find that

(2)
$$dn_d(C)=\underset{md}{}\mu (d/m)\mathrm{\#}C(𝔽_{q^m}).$$

Combining the Weil lower bound on $`\mathrm{\#}C(𝔽_{q^d})`$ with the Weil upper bounds on the various $`\mathrm{\#}C(𝔽_{q^m})`$, we find that

$$dn_d(C)q^d+12gq^{d/2}\underset{\stackrel{md}{1m<d}}{}\left(q^m+1+2gq^{m/2}\right).$$

Using the fact that $`q+q^2+\mathrm{}+q^{d/2}<2q^{d/2}`$, we see that

$$\underset{\stackrel{md}{1m<d}}{}\left(q^m+1+2gq^{m/2}\right)<\underset{1md/2}{}\left((2g+1)q^m+1\right)<(4g+2)q^{d/2}+d/2.$$

Thus $`dn_d(C)>q^d(6g+2)q^{d/2}d/2`$, and (i) follows.

(ii) Suppose $`g2`$ and $`d2g+1`$. If $`q>2`$ then $`q^{d/2}q^{g+1/2}>6g+3`$, so by (i) we have $`n_d(C)>0`$. Suppose $`q=2`$. If $`g5`$ or if $`dg+6`$ then once again we have $`2^{d/2}>6g+3`$, and (i) shows that $`n_d(C)>0`$. We are left to consider six triples $`(q,d,g)`$. For each one, we can show that $`n_d(C)>0`$ by combining equation (2) with the refined Weil bound $`|\mathrm{\#}C(𝔽_q)q1|g2\sqrt{q}`$ (see \[20, Théorème 1\]) and the trivial bound $`\mathrm{\#}C(𝔽_q)0`$.

(iii) We assume $`g1`$, since (iii) is well-known when $`g=0`$ (it amounts to the existence of irreducible polynomials over $`𝔽_q`$ of arbitrary positive degree). If $`q5`$ then (iii) follows from (i), so assume $`q=3`$. In this case (iii) again follows from (i) except when $`(g,d)`$ is one of $`(1,3),(1,4),(2,5)`$. When $`(g,d)`$ is either $`(1,4)`$ or $`(2,5)`$ then (iii) follows from (2) and the Weil bounds. When $`(g,d)=(1,3)`$, the statement can be proved by considering the possible zeta functions of elliptic curves over $`𝔽_3`$.

(iv) Define $`f(x)=2^{\sqrt{x}/2}/2(6x+3)`$. A short computation shows that $`f(900)`$ is positive and that $`f(x)`$ is increasing for $`x900`$. We conclude that $`(6g+3)2^{\sqrt{g}/2}/2q^{d/2}/2`$; applying (i), we find that $`n_d(C)q^d/2d`$.

Note that $`d30`$ and that $`q^d/2d`$ is an increasing function of $`d`$ for $`d`$ in this range. When $`j=1`$, this shows that $`q^d/2d2^{30}/60>j`$. When $`j2`$, we find that

$$\frac{q^d}{2d}\frac{(j\mathrm{log}j+1)q^{30}}{2\mathrm{log}_q(j\mathrm{log}j+1)+60}\frac{2^{30}j\mathrm{log}j}{4\mathrm{log}_2j+60}\frac{2^{30}j\mathrm{log}j}{64\mathrm{log}_2j}>j.$$

In both cases, $`n_d(C)>j`$, as desired. ∎

###### Proof of Proposition 1.4.

The assertion is clear when $`g=0`$, so we assume $`g1`$.

First suppose $`q`$ is even. If $`\mathrm{\#}C(𝔽_q)>0`$ then let $`R`$ be a rational point of $`C`$. Set $`m=2h4g+1`$; by Riemann-Roch, there exists a function $`f`$ in $`𝔽_q(C)`$ having polar divisor $`mR`$. Let $`BC`$ be the cover of $`C`$ obtained by adjoining a root of $`X^2+X+f`$ to $`𝔽_q(C)`$. This cover has degree two; its different is $`(m+1)R^{}`$, where $`R^{}`$ is the point of $`B`$ lying over $`R`$. By Hurwitz, the genus of $`B`$ is $`h`$, and we are done. We are left with the case where $`\mathrm{\#}C(𝔽_q)=0`$. Since every genus-$`1`$ curve over a finite field has a rational point, we must have $`g2`$. Then Lemma 2.1(ii) guarantees the existence of a place $`P`$ of degree $`d:=h2g+1`$. By Riemann-Roch, there exists $`f𝔽_q(C)`$ with polar divisor $`P`$. If we form $`B`$ as before, the different of the cover $`BC`$ is $`2P^{}`$, where $`P^{}`$ is the place of $`B`$ lying above $`P`$. Again the genus of $`B`$ is $`h`$, and we are done.

Now suppose $`q`$ is odd. Let $`J(𝔽_q)`$ be the group of degree-zero divisor classes on $`C`$ (or equivalently, the group of $`𝔽_q`$-rational points on the Jacobian of $`C`$). Let $`d=h2g+1`$, and let $`T_d`$ denote the set of places on $`C`$ of degree $`d`$. Consider the map $`T_dJ(𝔽_q)/2J(𝔽_q)`$ defined by $`P[PP_0]`$, where $`P_0`$ is any fixed degree-$`d`$ divisor on $`C`$. Suppose that $`\mathrm{\#}T_d>\mathrm{\#}(J(𝔽_q)/2J(𝔽_q))`$. Then there are distinct places $`P,P^{}T_d`$ with the same image in $`J(𝔽_q)/2J(𝔽_q)`$, so there is a function $`f`$ on $`C`$ having divisor $`PP^{}+2D`$ for some divisor $`D`$. Adjoining $`\sqrt{f}`$ to the function field of $`C`$ produces a degree-2 cover $`BC`$ over $`𝔽_q`$, with the genus of $`B`$ equal to $`2g+d1=h`$. Thus we need only show that $`\mathrm{\#}T_d>\mathrm{\#}(J(𝔽_q)/2J(𝔽_q))`$. But $`\mathrm{\#}(J(𝔽_q)/2J(𝔽_q))`$ is equal to the number of $`2`$-torsion points in $`J(𝔽_q)`$, and this is at most $`2^{2g}`$. Lemma 2.1(iii) supplies the needed inequality so long as we are not in the exceptional case where $`q=d=3`$, $`g=1`$, and $`\mathrm{\#}C(𝔽_q)=6`$. But in that case $`\mathrm{\#}J(𝔽_q)=6`$, so $`\mathrm{\#}(J(𝔽_q)/2J(𝔽_q))=2`$ and the result follows. ∎

###### Remark.

The argument given above for even $`q`$ can be modified to show that every curve over a finite field of characteristic $`3`$ has Artin-Schreier covers of every sufficiently large genus. However, the analogous statement in characteristic $`p>3`$ is not true; the degree of the different of an Artin-Schreier cover $`BC`$ is divisible by $`p1`$, so for any such cover we have $`g(B)g(C)`$ mod $`(p1)/2`$.

### 2.2. Arbitrary fields

Although we will not need it for our main results, we now discuss a generalization of Proposition 1.4 to arbitrary fields. The index of a curve $`C`$ is the positive integer $`I`$ such that the image of the degree map $`\mathrm{Div}(C)`$ equals $`I`$; equivalently, $`I`$ is the greatest common divisor of the degrees of all places of $`C`$. A classical result of F. K. Schmidt asserts that curves over finite fields have index 1 (this follows from Lemma 2.1(ii); see \[25, Cor. V.1.11\] for a more elementary proof). Over some infinite fields, higher indices are possible; for instance, a conic over $``$ with no rational points has index $`2`$.

###### Proposition 2.2.

Let $`C`$ be a curve of genus $`g`$ over a field $`k`$ and let $`I`$ be its index. If $`BC`$ is a degree-$`2`$ cover of $`C`$ of genus $`h`$, then $`h1(modI)`$. Conversely, if $`h`$ is an integer satisfying $`h4g`$ and $`h1(modI)`$, then there exists a degree-$`2`$ cover $`BC`$ of genus $`h`$.

###### Proof.

The index divides $`2g2`$, because $`2g2`$ is the degree of the canonical divisor. If the characteristic of $`k`$ is not $`2`$, then $`k(B)k(C)(\sqrt{f})`$ for some $`fk(C)^{}`$, and the total degree of the set of points where $`f`$ has odd valuation must be a multiple of $`2I`$, since the divisor of $`f`$ has degree zero; now the Hurwitz formula implies $`h1(modI)`$. If $`k`$ has characteristic $`2`$, we have $`k(B)k(C)(z)`$, where $`z`$ satisfies $`z^2+z=f`$ for some $`fk(C)`$. A local calculation shows that each point of $`B`$ occurs with even multiplicity in the different, so the degree of the different is divisible by $`2I`$, and Hurwitz again implies $`h1(modI)`$.

Now we prove the converse assertion. Proposition 1.4 handles the case where $`k`$ is finite, so we assume $`k`$ is infinite. Let $`d=h2g+1`$. Then $`d22g0(modI)`$, so we can choose a divisor $`D`$ on $`C`$ of degree $`d`$. Since $`d2g+1`$, the divisor $`D`$ is very ample, and therefore determines an embedding $`C^{dg}`$ whose image has degree $`d`$. The composition of this embedding with a generically chosen linear projection to $`^1`$ is a degree-$`d`$ map $`f:C^1`$. The linear projection may be chosen so as not to kill a chosen tangent vector at some point of $`C`$, so we may assume the map $`f`$ induces a separable extension of function fields. By composing $`f`$ with an automorphism of $`^1`$, we may further assume that $`0`$ and $`\mathrm{}`$ are not branch points of $`f`$. Now let $`B`$ be the cover obtained by adjoining to $`k(C)`$ a root $`y`$ of $`y^2+y=f`$ or $`y^2=f`$, according as the characteristic of $`k`$ equals $`2`$ or not. The different of $`BC`$ has degree $`2d`$ in each case, so by Hurwitz we have $`g(B)=2g1+d=h`$. ∎

## 3. Asymptotic lower bounds

In this section we prove Theorem 1.1 and a weakened version of Theorem 1.2. (The full version of Theorem 1.2 will be proved in Section 5.2.) As we noted in the introduction, Serre used class field towers to exhibit a positive lower bound on $`A^+(q)`$ for every $`q`$, and Ihara used Shimura curves to produce a better lower bound for square $`q`$. We will briefly recall these constructions, and include some necessary complements. Our theorems will follow from these constructions and Proposition 1.4.

### 3.1. Preliminaries

We begin by relating Proposition 1.4 to rational points.

###### Proposition 3.1.

Let $`C`$ be a curve over $`𝔽_q`$ of genus $`g`$. For every integer $`h4g`$, we have $`N_q(h)\mathrm{\#}C(𝔽_q)`$.

###### Proof.

By Proposition 1.4, there is a genus-$`h`$ curve $`B`$ over $`𝔽_q`$ that admits a degree-2 covering map $`BC`$ over $`𝔽_q`$. The result follows, since either $`B`$ or its quadratic twist over $`C`$ has at least as many $`𝔽_q`$-rational points as does $`C`$. ∎

###### Corollary 3.2.

If $`h4g`$ then $`N_q(h)N_q(g)`$.∎

Now we give a general technique for producing lower bounds for $`A^{}(q)`$. We will call a sequence $`𝒞=\{C_0,C_1,\mathrm{}\}`$ of curves over $`𝔽_q`$ ascensive if $`lim_i\mathrm{}g(C_i)=\mathrm{}`$. If $`𝒞`$ is an ascensive sequence of curves, define

$$\gamma (𝒞):=\underset{i\mathrm{}}{lim\; inf}\frac{\mathrm{\#}C_i(𝔽_q)}{g(C_{i+1})}.$$

Note that we divide the number of points of each curve in the sequence by the genus of the next curve. It is not hard to show that $`0\gamma (𝒞)A^+(q)`$.

###### Proposition 3.3.

If $`𝒞=\{C_0,C_1,\mathrm{}\}`$ is an ascensive sequence of curves over $`𝔽_q`$, then $`A^{}(q)\gamma (𝒞)/4.`$

###### Proof.

For any $`h4g(C_0)`$, let $`i`$ be the largest integer for which $`h4g(C_i)`$. Proposition 3.1 implies that $`N_q(h)\mathrm{\#}C_i(𝔽_q)`$; thus,

$$\frac{N_q(h)}{h}\frac{\mathrm{\#}C_i(𝔽_q)}{4g(C_{i+1})},$$

and the desired result follows. ∎

### 3.2. Class field towers

In this section we prove Theorem 1.1 using Proposition 3.3. To do this, we must produce sequences $`𝒞`$ with $`\gamma (𝒞)>0`$. We accomplish this using class field towers.

Let $`F`$ be the function field of a curve over $`𝔽_q`$. Let $`S`$ be a nonempty set of rational places of $`F`$, and let $`\mathrm{}`$ be a prime number. Let $`\overline{F}`$ be an algebraic closure of $`F`$. Then the $`(S,\mathrm{})`$-class field tower of $`F`$ is the sequence $`=\{F_0,F_1,\mathrm{}\}`$ of function fields over $`𝔽_q`$ defined inductively as follows. We start with $`F_0=F`$. Then for every integer $`i0`$ we let $`F_{i+1}`$ be the maximal unramified abelian extension of $`F_i`$ in $`\overline{F}`$, of degree a power of $`\mathrm{}`$, in which every place in $`S`$ splits completely into rational places. The tower is called infinite if each extension $`F_{i+1}/F_i`$ is nontrivial.

The following result demonstrates the utility of curves whose function fields have infinite $`(S,\mathrm{})`$-class field towers.

###### Lemma 3.4.

Let $`C`$ be a curve over $`𝔽_q`$ of genus $`g(C)>1`$, let $`S`$ be a nonempty set of rational places of $`𝔽_q(C)`$, and let $`\mathrm{}`$ be a prime. Suppose the $`(S,\mathrm{})`$-class field tower of $`𝔽_q(C)`$ is infinite. Then there exists an ascensive sequence $`𝒞`$ of curves over $`𝔽_q`$ such that

$$\gamma (𝒞)\frac{\mathrm{\#}S}{g(C)1}\frac{1}{\mathrm{}}.$$

###### Proof.

Let $`=\{F_0,F_1,\mathrm{}\}`$ be the $`(S,\mathrm{})`$-class field tower of $`𝔽_q(C)`$. Since each extension $`F_{i+1}/F_i`$ is Galois of $`\mathrm{}`$-power degree, there is a refinement of the tower of fields

$$F_0F_1F_2\mathrm{}$$

to a tower of degree-$`\mathrm{}`$ field extensions

$$F_0=\widehat{F}_0\widehat{F}_1\widehat{F}_2\mathrm{}$$

such that each $`F_i`$ occurs as some $`\widehat{F}_j`$. Clearly $`\widehat{F}_n`$ is an unramified extension of $`F_0`$ in which every place in $`S`$ splits completely. Thus, the genus of $`\widehat{F}_n`$ is $`1+\mathrm{}^n(g(C)1)`$, and the number of rational places of $`\widehat{F}_n`$ is at least $`\mathrm{}^n\mathrm{\#}S`$. Let $`C_n`$ be a curve over $`𝔽_q`$ such that $`𝔽_q(C_n)\widehat{F}_n`$ and let $`𝒞=\{C_0,C_1,\mathrm{}\}`$. Then we have

$$\frac{\mathrm{\#}C_n(𝔽_q)}{g(C_{n+1})}\frac{\mathrm{}^n\mathrm{\#}S}{1+\mathrm{}^{n+1}(g(C)1)},$$

so that $`𝒞`$ is an ascensive sequence satisfying the conclusion of the lemma. ∎

Theorem 1.1 follows from Lemma 3.4 and Proposition 3.3. Indeed, for every fixed $`q`$, Serre has constructed a curve $`C`$ over $`𝔽_q`$ of genus $`g>1`$ and a nonempty set $`S`$ of rational places of $`𝔽_q(C)`$, such that the $`(S,2)`$-class field tower of $`C`$ is infinite. (The appendix contains a version of Serre’s construction.)

###### Remark.

In fact, Serre’s construction yields $`C`$ and $`S`$ with $`\mathrm{\#}S>c_1(\mathrm{log}q)^2`$ and $`g(C)<c_2\mathrm{log}q`$, for some positive constants $`c_1`$ and $`c_2`$. Let $`d=\mathrm{min}(c_1/(8c_2),1/(2c_2))`$. By considering hyperelliptic curves when $`g4c_2\mathrm{log}q`$, and degree-$`2`$ covers of the curves from Serre’s tower when $`g>4c_2\mathrm{log}q`$, we conclude that $`N_q(g)>(d\mathrm{log}q)g`$ for all $`q`$ and $`g`$. This justifies the claim we made in the introduction, just before the statement of Theorem 1.2.

For some nonprime $`q`$, Serre’s proof yields better bounds (as does the method of Zink  based on degenerate Shimura surfaces). If $`q`$ is a square, one gets even better results by using Shimura curves (among other methods — see ), as we explain in the following section.

### 3.3. Classical modular curves and Shimura curves

In this section we will prove the following weakened version of Theorem 1.2:

###### Theorem 3.5.

For every square $`q`$, we have $`A^{}(q)(\sqrt{q}1)/4`$.

###### Proof.

We first sketch a proof in the special case $`q=p^2`$ using the classical modular curves $`X_0(\mathrm{})`$. If $`q=p^2`$, let $`𝒞=\{X_0(\mathrm{}_1),X_0(\mathrm{}_2),X_0(\mathrm{}_3),\mathrm{}\}`$, where $`\mathrm{}_1<\mathrm{}_2<\mathrm{}`$ are the primes distinct from $`p`$. Then, writing $`g_i=g(X_0(\mathrm{}_i))`$ and $`N_i=\mathrm{\#}X_0(\mathrm{}_i)(𝔽_q)`$, we have

$$N_i(p1)(\mathrm{}_i+1)/12\text{ and }g_i=\{\begin{array}{cc}(\mathrm{}_i13)/12\hfill & \text{if }\mathrm{}_i1\text{ (mod 12)}\hfill \\ (\mathrm{}_i+1)/12\hfill & \text{otherwise,}\hfill \end{array}$$

where the formula for $`g_i`$ is classical, and the bound on $`N_i`$ holds because all supersingular points on $`X_0(\mathrm{}_i)`$ are defined over $`𝔽_{p^2}`$ and their number is at least $`(p1)(\mathrm{}_i+1)/12`$. We compute

$$\gamma (𝒞)=\underset{i\mathrm{}}{lim\; inf}\frac{N_i}{g_{i+1}}\underset{i\mathrm{}}{lim\; inf}\frac{(p1)(\mathrm{}_i+1)}{\mathrm{}_{i+1}+1}=p1.$$

(In fact, using the Drinfel’d-Vlăduţ bound one can show that $`\gamma (𝒞)=p1`$.) Now Proposition 3.3 implies that $`A^{}(p^2)(p1)/4`$. This proves Theorem 3.5 for the case $`q=p^2`$.

A different proof for the case $`q=p^2`$ can be given using the Igusa-Ihara field of modular functions of level $`n`$ over $`𝔽_{p^2}`$, where $`n`$ ranges over the positive integers coprime to $`p`$. (This field is the function field of a twist of $`X(n)`$ defined over $`𝔽_{p^2}`$ such that all its supersingular points are defined over $`𝔽_{p^2}`$: an open subset of this twist parameterizes elliptic curves $`E`$ with a pairing-respecting isomorphism from $`E[n]`$ to the Galois module $`(/n)^2`$ on which the $`p^2`$-Frobenius automorphism acts as multiplication by $`p`$.) The relevant facts about these fields were announced in  and proved in \[9, pp. 166–170\] (see also ).

For more general square fields, we use Shimura curves. Suppose $`q=p^{2m}`$ where $`p`$ is prime and $`m1`$. Let $`F`$ be a totally real number field that has a prime $`𝔭`$ whose norm is $`p^m`$. Let $`F_𝔭`$ be the completion of $`F`$ at $`𝔭`$ and let $`𝔬`$ denote the ring of integers of $`F`$. Let $`B`$ be a quaternion algebra over $`F`$ whose ramification locus contains all but one of the infinite places of $`F`$ and does not contain $`𝔭`$; standard results of class field theory show that there are infinitely many such $`B`$. As is explained in Ihara’s survey article , associated to the data $`(F,𝔭,B)`$ there is a family of Shimura curves with many points over $`𝔽_q`$ — see , , and  for further details. We will show that this family contains enough curves for us to find a subfamily $`𝒞`$, indexed by the positive integers, for which $`\gamma (𝒞)=\sqrt{q}1`$.

Let $`N_{B/F}`$ denote the reduced norm map of the quaternion algebra $`B`$ and let $`𝔒`$ be an arbitrary $`𝔬`$-order in $`B`$. Let $`𝔬[𝔭^1]`$ denote the ring obtained by adjoining to $`𝔬`$ all of the elements of the fractional ideal $`𝔭^1`$, and let $`𝔒[𝔭^1]=𝔒_𝔬𝔬[𝔭^1]`$. We define the quaternionic arithmetic group

$$\mathrm{\Gamma }:=\{\alpha 𝔒[𝔭^1]:N_{B/F}(\alpha )=1\}/\{\pm 1\},$$

which can be embedded in $`\mathrm{PSL}_2()\times \mathrm{PSL}_2(F_𝔭)`$ as a discrete subgroup. The group $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ contains a torsion-free subgroup $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_0`$ of finite index. Associated to $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_0`$ there is a curve $`X_0`$ over $`𝔽_q`$ and a set $`S_0`$ of $`𝔽_q`$-places of $`X_0`$ such that $`\mathrm{\#}S_0(\sqrt{q}1)(g_01)`$, where $`g_0`$ is the genus of $`X_0`$. To every finite-index congruence subgroup $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_1\mathrm{\Gamma }_0`$ there is an associated unramified cover $`X_1X_0`$ of degree $`(\mathrm{\Gamma }_0:\mathrm{\Gamma }_1)`$, defined over $`𝔽_q`$, such that all the places of $`S_0`$ split completely. Consequently, to obtain a family of $`𝔽_q`$-curves $`𝒞`$ with $`\gamma (𝒞)=\sqrt{q}1`$ it suffices to show that $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_0`$ has a sequence of finite-index congruence subgroups such that the index $`d_i`$ of the $`i\mathrm{th}`$ subgroup tends to infinity and such that $`lim_i\mathrm{}d_{i+1}/d_i=1`$. We will construct such a sequence.

Let $`p_1<p_2<\mathrm{}`$ be the sequence of primes that lie below degree-$`1`$ primes $`𝔭_i`$ of $`F`$. Chebotarev’s density theorem shows that the sequence $`\{p_i\}`$ is infinite and has positive density in the sequence of prime numbers; in particular, the sequence $`(p_{i+1}+1)/(p_i+1)`$ approaches $`1`$ as $`i`$ approaches infinity. Throwing away finitely many primes, we may suppose, for each $`i`$, that $`p_ip`$ and that $`𝔒_𝔬(𝔬/𝔭_i)`$ is a central simple algebra. By Wedderburn’s theorem, we may choose an isomorphism $`𝔒[𝔭^1]_𝔬(𝔬/𝔭_i)M_2(𝔽_{p_i})`$. Let $`U(p_i)\mathrm{PSL}_2(𝔽_{p_i})`$ denote the subgroup of upper-triangular matrices and define $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_0(𝔭_i)`$ to be the intersection of $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_0`$ with the subgroup

$$\{\alpha 𝔒[𝔭^1]:N_{B/F}(\alpha )=1\text{ and }\overline{\alpha }U(p_i)\}/\{\pm 1\}$$

of $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$, where $`\overline{\alpha }`$ denotes the image of $`\alpha `$ in $`M_2(𝔽_{p_i})`$ under the chosen isomorphism.

We claim that the index $`d_i:=[\mathrm{\Gamma }_0:\mathrm{\Gamma }_0(𝔭_i)]`$ is equal to $`p_i+1`$ when $`i`$ is sufficiently large. To see this, note that for each $`i`$ the map $`\alpha \overline{\alpha }`$ is a homomorphism $`\tau _i:\mathrm{\Gamma }\mathrm{PSL}_2(𝔽_{p_i})`$. A strong approximation theorem \[23, (5.12)\] applies in this case, and as a consequence $`\tau _i`$ is surjective for every $`i`$. When $`p_i>3`$ the group $`\mathrm{PSL}_2(𝔽_{p_i})`$ is simple with order divisible by $`p_i`$ and hence has no subgroups of index less than $`p_i`$. Thus, for $`i`$ sufficiently large, the restriction of $`\tau _i`$ to $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_0`$ is surjective as well. It follows that the index $`d_i`$ is equal to $`p_i+1`$, as claimed.

The sequence $`d_{i+1}/d_i`$ approaches $`1`$. As we noted above, this is enough to prove Theorem 3.5 for the field $`𝔽_q`$. ∎

## 4. Curves with many points and large $`n`$-rank

In our proof of Theorem 1.1 we started with an ascensive sequence of curves with many points and used double covers to produce curves of every sufficiently large genus with many points. In this section we will use the same basic method to prove Theorem 1.3: We will start with an ascensive sequence of curves with many points and large $`n`$-rank, and use double covers to produce curves with the same properties in every sufficiently large genus.

Let us begin by introducing some notation. Suppose $`𝒞=\{C_0,C_1,\mathrm{}\}`$ is an ascensive sequence of curves over $`𝔽_q`$. We define $`\rho _n(𝒞)`$ (for every integer $`n>1`$) and $`\beta (𝒞)`$ by

$$\rho _n(𝒞):=\underset{i\mathrm{}}{lim\; inf}\frac{r_n(C_i)}{g(C_{i+1})}\text{ and }\beta (𝒞):=\underset{i\mathrm{}}{lim\; inf}\frac{g(C_i)}{g(C_{i+1})}.$$

Note that in each expression we are dividing an invariant of one curve in the sequence by the genus of the next.

We will prove two lemmas. The first shows how we can obtain ascensive sequences having positive values of $`\rho _n`$.

###### Lemma 4.1.

Suppose $`𝒞`$ is an ascensive sequence over $`𝔽_q`$. Then for every integer $`n>1`$ there is an ascensive sequence $`𝒞_n`$ over $`𝔽_q`$ such that

$$\gamma (𝒞_n)\frac{\mathrm{min}(\gamma (𝒞),\beta (𝒞))}{7n}\text{ and }\rho _n(𝒞_n)\frac{\mathrm{min}(\gamma (𝒞),\beta (𝒞))}{7n}.$$

The second lemma shows how we can get curves with many points and large $`n`$-rank from the sequences produced by Lemma 4.1.

###### Lemma 4.2.

Suppose $`𝒞`$ is an ascensive sequence over $`𝔽_q`$. Then for every $`\epsilon >0`$ the following statement holds: For every sufficiently large $`h`$ there is a curve $`B`$ of genus $`h`$ such that

$$\mathrm{\#}B(𝔽_q)>(1\epsilon )\gamma (𝒞)h/4\text{ and }r_n(B)>(1\epsilon )\rho _n(𝒞)h/4.$$

Our refined versions of Theorem 1.1 show that there is a constant $`c`$ such that for every $`q`$ there are ascensive sequences $`𝒞`$ over $`𝔽_q`$ with $`\beta (𝒞)=1`$ and $`\gamma (𝒞)>c`$. To prove Theorem 1.3 we need merely apply Lemma 4.1 to such a $`𝒞`$ and then apply Lemma 4.2 to the resulting sequences $`𝒞_n`$.

###### Proof of Lemma 4.1.

We may assume that $`𝒞=\{C_0,C_1,\mathrm{}\}`$ is an ascensive sequence over $`𝔽_q`$ with $`\gamma (𝒞)>0`$ and $`\beta (𝒞)>0`$. By eliminating a finite number of terms from $`𝒞`$, if necessary, we may assume that $`g(C_i)>1`$ and $`\mathrm{\#}C_i(𝔽_q)>0`$ for all $`i`$. Now suppose we are given a positive integer $`n`$. Our goal is to define a sequence $`𝒞_n=\{B_0,B_1,\mathrm{}\}`$ satisfying the conclusions of the lemma. For every $`i`$, we define $`B_i`$ as follows.

Let $`g=g(C_i)`$, let $`d=\mathrm{min}(\mathrm{\#}C_i(𝔽_q),g)`$, and let $`S`$ be a subset of $`C_i(𝔽_q)`$ with $`\mathrm{\#}S=d`$. Let $`Q`$ be a place of $`C_i`$ of degree $`2g+1`$; such a place exists by Lemma 2.1(ii). The Riemann-Roch theorem, applied to the divisor $`Q`$, shows that there is a function $`f_Q𝔽_q(C_i)`$ whose polar divisor is $`Q`$. For every $`PS`$, Riemann-Roch applied to $`Q`$ and $`P+Q`$ shows that there is a function $`f_P𝔽_q(C_i)`$ with simple poles at $`P`$ and $`Q`$ and no other poles. Let

$$f:=\underset{PS}{}f_P,$$

and if $`f`$ has no pole at $`Q`$ then replace $`f`$ with $`f+f_Q`$. Then $`f`$ is a function of degree $`d+2g+1`$ with a simple pole at every $`PS`$.

Write $`n=p^er`$ where $`p`$ is the characteristic of $`𝔽_q`$ and $`(r,q)=1`$. Let $`B^{}`$ be the curve obtained by adjoining a root of $`y^r=f`$ to $`𝔽_q(C_i)`$. If $`e=0`$, let $`B_i=B^{}`$; otherwise let $`B_i`$ be the curve obtained by adjoining a root of $`z^{p^e}z=f`$ to $`𝔽_q(B^{})`$. We note several facts about the curve $`B_i`$: First, if we apply the Hurwitz formula to the covers $`B^{}C_i`$ and $`B_iB^{}`$ (the formulas from \[25, Cor. III.7.4\] and \[25, Prop. III.7.10(e)\] are helpful here) and apply some easy estimates that depend on the fact that $`dg`$, we find that $`g(B_i)<7ng`$. Second, the cover $`B_iC_i`$ is totally ramified at every point in $`S`$, so $`\mathrm{\#}B_i(𝔽_q)d`$. Third, we have $`r_n(B_i)d2`$, as the following argument shows.

Let $`\pi `$ be the natural map from $`B^{}`$ to $`C_i`$. Let $`G`$ denote the group of degree-zero divisors of $`B^{}`$ supported on $`S^{}:=\pi ^1(S)`$, and let $`G_0`$ be the subgroup of $`G`$ consisting of those degree-zero divisors $`D`$ with $`\mathrm{ord}_PD\mathrm{ord}_P^{}D(modr)`$ for every $`P,P^{}S^{}`$. Note that $`G`$ is a free abelian group of rank $`d1`$, that $`G_0rG`$, and that $`G_0/rG`$ is naturally isomorphic to a subgroup of $`/r`$.

We claim that the kernel of the natural map

$$G(\mathrm{Jac}B^{})(𝔽_q)/\pi ^{}((\mathrm{Jac}C_i)(𝔽_q))$$

contains $`rG`$ and is contained in $`G_0`$. Clearly $`rG`$ is in the kernel, since if $`DG`$ we have $`rD=\pi ^{}\pi _{}D`$. On the other hand, suppose that $`DG`$ is in the kernel. Then $`D=(h)+\pi ^{}E`$ for some $`h𝔽_q(B^{})`$ and divisor $`E`$ on $`C_i`$. The function $`h`$ is preserved up to scalar multiple by the action of $`\mathrm{Gal}(B^{}/C_i)`$ (by which we mean the Galois group of the covering of curves over $`\overline{𝔽}_q`$), and writing $`h`$ in terms of the basis $`1,y,\mathrm{},y^{r1}`$ shows that $`hy^j𝔽_q(C_i)^{}`$ for some $`j`$. It follows that the multiplicities of the points of $`S^{}`$ in $`D`$ are all congruent to each other modulo $`r`$, so $`D`$ is contained in $`G_0`$. This proves the claim.

It follows from the previous paragraph that the image of $`G`$ in the quotient group

$$(\mathrm{Jac}B^{})(𝔽_q)/\pi ^{}((\mathrm{Jac}C_i)(𝔽_q))$$

contains $`(/r)^{d2}`$. Group theory then shows that $`(\mathrm{Jac}B^{})(𝔽_q)`$ also contains $`(/r)^{d2}`$. But since the natural map $`B_iB^{}`$ has degree coprime to $`r`$, the kernel of the natural map $`\mathrm{Jac}B^{}\mathrm{Jac}B_i`$ has order coprime to $`r`$, so $`(\mathrm{Jac}B_i)(𝔽_q)`$ also contains a copy of $`(/r)^{d2}`$.

The same proof shows that $`(\mathrm{Jac}B_i)(𝔽_q)`$ contains $`(/p^e)^{d2}`$. (The only difference in the argument is that now when the action of $`\mathrm{Gal}(B_i/B^{})`$ on the analogous $`h`$ is by scalar multiples, the scalars must be $`p^e`$-th roots of $`1`$, hence equal to $`1`$, so $`h`$ comes from $`𝔽_q(B^{})`$.) Combining this with the previous paragraph and applying the Chinese Remainder Theorem, we find $`r_n(B_i)d2`$, as we had noted above.

Combining the several facts we have noted about the curve $`B_i`$, we find that for every $`i0`$ we have

$$\frac{\mathrm{\#}B_i(𝔽_q)}{g(B_{i+1})}>\frac{\mathrm{min}(\mathrm{\#}C_i(𝔽_q),g(C_i))}{7ng(C_{i+1})}\text{ and }\frac{r_n(B_i)}{g(B_{i+1})}>\frac{2+\mathrm{min}(\mathrm{\#}C_i(𝔽_q),g(C_i))}{7ng(C_{i+1})}.$$

It follows that

$$\gamma (𝒞_n)\frac{\mathrm{min}(\gamma (𝒞),\beta (𝒞))}{7n}\text{ and }\rho _n(𝒞_n)\frac{\mathrm{min}(\gamma (𝒞),\beta (𝒞))}{7n}.$$

The proof of the second lemma is almost identical to the proof of Proposition 3.3.

###### Proof of Lemma 4.2.

Suppose we are given an ascensive sequence $`𝒞=\{C_0,C_1,\mathrm{}\}`$ and an $`\epsilon >0`$ as in the statement of the lemma. We may certainly assume that $`\epsilon <1`$. Then there is an integer $`j`$ such that for all $`i>j`$ we have

$$\mathrm{\#}C_i(𝔽_q)(1\epsilon )\gamma (𝒞)g(C_{i+1})\text{ and }r_n(C_i)(1\epsilon )\rho _n(𝒞)g(C_{i+1}).$$

Now suppose we are given an integer $`h4g(C_{j+1})`$. Let $`i`$ be the largest integer such that $`h4g(C_i)`$. Proposition 1.4 shows that there is a curve $`B`$ of genus $`h`$ that is a double cover of $`C_i`$. By replacing $`B`$ with its quadratic twist over $`C_i`$, if necessary, we may assume that $`\mathrm{\#}B(𝔽_q)\mathrm{\#}C_i(𝔽_q)`$. Also, the Hurwitz formula shows that the double cover $`BC_i`$ must be totally ramified at some point, so class field theory for curves shows that the natural map $`(\mathrm{Jac}B)(𝔽_q)(\mathrm{Jac}C_i)(𝔽_q)`$ is surjective. It follows that $`r_n(B)r_n(C_i)`$. Since we also have $`h<4g(C_{i+1})`$, we find that

$$\mathrm{\#}B(𝔽_q)\mathrm{\#}C_i(𝔽_q)(1\epsilon )\gamma (𝒞)g(C_{i+1})>(1\epsilon )\gamma (𝒞)h/4.$$

Similarly, we have

$$r_n(B)r_n(C_i)(1\epsilon )\rho _n(𝒞)g(C_{i+1})>(1\epsilon )\rho _n(𝒞)h/4,$$

as we were to show. ∎

###### Remark.

The reader who objects to the intrusion of class field theory into the proof of Lemma 4.2 can remove it at the expense of slightly weakening the lemma. Consider the double cover $`\pi :BC_i`$ introduced at the end of the proof. We have $`\pi _{}\pi ^{}=2`$ on $`\mathrm{Jac}C_i`$, so $`r_n(B)r_{2n}(C_i)`$. Thus, without class field theory, we can show that for every sufficiently large $`h`$ there is a curve $`B`$ of genus $`h`$ such that $`\mathrm{\#}B(𝔽_q)>(1\epsilon )\gamma (𝒞)h/4`$ and $`r_n(B)>(1\epsilon )\rho _{2n}(𝒞)h/4`$.

Theorem 1.3 has the following consequence for class field towers:

###### Proposition 4.3.

Fix a prime power $`q`$ and a prime $`\mathrm{}`$. For $`g0`$, there exists a genus-$`g`$ curve $`C`$ over $`𝔽_q`$ with $`PC(𝔽_q)`$ such that the $`(\{P\},\mathrm{})`$-class field tower of $`𝔽_q(C)`$ is infinite.

###### Proof.

Suppose $`g`$ is at least $`5\mathrm{}/c`$, where $`c`$ is the constant that appears in Theorem 1.3. Then Theorem 1.3 shows that there is a genus-$`g`$ curve $`C`$ over $`𝔽_q`$ whose $`n`$-rank is greater than $`5`$ and that has at least $`5`$ rational points. Pick $`PC(𝔽_q)`$ and embed $`C`$ in its Jacobian $`J`$ using $`P`$ as the base point. Let $`F\mathrm{End}J`$ be the $`q`$-power Frobenius endomorphism and let $`D`$ be the inverse image of $`C`$ under $`(1F):JJ`$. Class field theory for curves shows that $`D`$ is an irreducible curve and that $`DC`$ is a unramified Galois covering with Galois group $`J(𝔽_q)`$, and clearly $`P`$ splits completely in this covering. By Galois theory, there exists a subcovering $`EC`$ with Galois group $`(/\mathrm{})^r`$, where $`r=r_n(C)>5`$. The function field analogue of the Golod-Shafarevich criterion (the lemma in our appendix, with $`S=\{P\}`$) implies that the $`(\{P\},\mathrm{})`$-class field tower of $`𝔽_q(C)`$ is infinite. ∎

## 5. Quantitative refinements

Our arguments in Section 3 required asymptotic results about special sequences of curves, but the tool we applied to these results — Proposition 1.4 — makes no use of any special properties these curves might have. Indeed, the proposition makes reference only to the genera of the curves it mentions. In this section we will show that we can produce better bounds on $`A^{}(q)`$ by replacing Proposition 1.4 with sharper asymptotic results. At the end of this section we prove Theorem 1.2.

### 5.1. Bounding data

Let $`𝒞=\{C_0,C_1,\mathrm{}\}`$ be an ascensive sequence of curves over $`𝔽_q`$ and let $`H`$ and $`M`$ be real numbers. We will say that the pair $`(H,M)`$ is bounding data for $`𝒞`$ (over $`𝔽_q`$) if for every $`\epsilon >0`$ there is an $`L_\epsilon `$ such that following statement holds:

* If $`i>L_\epsilon `$ and $`h`$ is an integer with $`h>(H+\epsilon )g(C_i)`$, then there exists a genus-$`h`$ curve $`B`$ over $`𝔽_q`$ such that $`\mathrm{\#}B(𝔽_q)(M\epsilon )\mathrm{\#}C_i(𝔽_q)`$.

Bounding data for a sequence $`𝒞`$ can be used to give a lower bound on $`A^{}(𝒞)`$, as the following proposition shows.

###### Proposition 5.1.

If $`(H,M)`$ is bounding data for an ascensive sequence $`𝒞`$ over $`𝔽_q`$, then $`A^{}(q)\gamma (𝒞)M/H.`$

###### Proof.

This is a generalization of Proposition 3.3, and the proof is essentially identical to the proof of that result. Indeed, Proposition 3.3 amounts to the observation that $`(4,1)`$ is bounding data for every ascensive $`𝒞`$, which follows from Proposition 1.4. ∎

### 5.2. Improved bounds on $`A^{}(q)`$ for square $`q`$

In this section we will prove Theorem 1.2 by showing that every ascensive sequence over $`𝔽_q`$ has bounding data of the form $`(H,1)`$ for an appropriate value of $`H`$. To show that $`(H,1)`$ is bounding data for $`𝒞`$, we must show that for every $`\epsilon >0`$, for every sufficiently large $`i`$, if $`h>(H+\epsilon )g(C_i)`$ then there is a genus-$`h`$ curve $`B`$ with $`\mathrm{\#}B(𝔽_q)(1\epsilon )\mathrm{\#}C_i(𝔽_q)`$. In this section we will restrict ourselves to the case where $`B`$ is a degree-$`2`$ cover of $`C_i`$. This restriction entails that $`h2g(C_i)1`$, so this line of argument cannot possibly work for values of $`H`$ less than $`2`$.

If $`𝒞=\{C_0,C_1,\mathrm{}\}`$ is an ascensive sequence over $`𝔽_q`$, define

$$R_2(𝒞):=\underset{i\mathrm{}}{lim\; sup}\frac{r_2(C_i)}{g(C_i)},$$

where, as before, $`r_2(C_i)`$ denotes the $`2`$-rank of $`(\mathrm{Jac}C_i)(𝔽_q)`$. (Note that we are dividing the $`2`$-rank of each curve in the sequence by its own genus, and not the genus of the next curve!) Also define

$$H_𝒞:=2+R_2(𝒞)\frac{\mathrm{log}2}{\mathrm{log}q}.$$

###### Proposition 5.2.

If $`𝒞`$ is an ascensive sequence over $`𝔽_q`$ then $`(H_𝒞,1)`$ is bounding data for $`𝒞`$.

###### Proof.

Our proof depends on the parity of $`q`$. First suppose that $`q`$ is odd. Let $`C`$ be a genus-$`g`$ curve over $`𝔽_q`$. Let $`J`$ be the Jacobian of $`C`$. Let $`j=\mathrm{\#}(J(𝔽_q)/2J(𝔽_q))`$. Lemma 2.1(iv) shows that if $`g900`$ and $`d\mathrm{log}_q(j\mathrm{log}j+1)+\sqrt{g}`$, then $`n_d(C)>j`$. Since $`\mathrm{log}j\mathrm{log}(2^{2g})=O(g)`$, the condition on $`d`$ can be rewritten as

$$d\mathrm{log}_qj+o(g)=r_2(C)\frac{\mathrm{log}2}{\mathrm{log}q}+o(g)$$

as $`g\mathrm{}`$. Proposition 5.2 (for odd $`q`$) follows by applying the argument in the final paragraph of the proof of Proposition 1.4.

Now suppose $`q`$ is even. Fix a curve $`C/𝔽_q`$ of genus $`g`$ and let $`d`$ be an arbitrary integer with $`dd(C)`$, where

$$d(C):=\mathrm{max}(r_2(C)\frac{\mathrm{log}2}{\mathrm{log}q},\frac{2\mathrm{log}(6g+3)}{\mathrm{log}q}).$$

We see from Lemma 2.1(i) that $`C`$ has a place of degree $`d`$, and it follows from Lemma 5.3 (below) that there exists a degree-$`2`$ cover $`BC`$ with $`g(B)=2g+d1`$. As $`C`$ ranges through the curves in $`𝒞`$, we have

$$lim\; sup\frac{d(C)}{g(C)}=R_2(𝒞)\frac{\mathrm{log}2}{\mathrm{log}q}.$$

###### Lemma 5.3.

Let $`q`$ be a power of $`2`$, and let $`C`$ be a curve over $`𝔽_q`$. Suppose $`C`$ has a place of degree $`d`$, where $`q^dJ[2](𝔽_q)`$. Then there exists a degree-$`2`$ cover $`BC`$ such that $`g(B)=2g(C)+d1.`$

###### Proof.

Let $`𝔭`$ be a place of degree $`d`$ on $`C`$ and let $`P`$ be a geometric point of $`C`$ lying in $`𝔭`$, so that $`𝔭`$ consists of the $`d`$ conjugates of $`P`$. Let $`u`$ be a uniformizing parameter at $`P`$. For every integer $`m0`$ let $`S_m`$ be the additive group of functions in $`𝔽_q(C)`$ that have no poles outside $`𝔭`$ and whose polar expansions at $`P`$ are of the form

$$c_mu^{2^m}+c_{m1}u^{2^{m1}}+\mathrm{}+c_1u^2+c_0u^1,$$

where the $`c_i`$ are elements of $`\overline{𝔽}_q`$ and where $`c_m`$ is not necessarily nonzero. A standard Riemann-Roch argument shows that $`S_m`$ contains nonconstant functions when $`m0`$, and in fact it is not hard to see that $`\mathrm{\#}S_m=q^d\mathrm{\#}S_{m1}`$ for $`m0`$. For $`m>0`$ let $`T_mS_m`$ be the subgroup

$$T_m:=\{g^2+g+c:gS_{m1},c𝔽_q\}.$$

Then $`\mathrm{\#}T_m=\mathrm{\#}S_{m1}`$, so for $`m0`$ we have $`\mathrm{\#}(S_m/T_m)=q^d`$.

Artin-Schreier theory shows the following:

1. If $`fS_mT_m`$ then the degree-$`2`$ cover of $`C`$ obtained by adjoining a root of $`y^2yf`$ to $`𝔽_q(C)`$ is geometrically irreducible and is ramified at most at $`𝔭`$.
2. If $`f,gS_mT_m`$ then the degree-$`2`$ covers obtained as in (1) from $`f`$ and $`g`$ are geometrically isomorphic (as curves equipped with their maps to $`C`$) if and only if $`fgT_m`$.

Thus, from the set $`S_m`$ we obtain $`1+\mathrm{\#}(S_m/T_m)`$ geometrically nonisomorphic irreducible degree-$`2`$ covers of $`C`$. By taking $`m`$ large enough, we find that there are at least $`q^d1`$ such covers. But the number of geometrically distinct unramified degree-$`2`$ covers of $`C`$ is equal to $`\mathrm{\#}J[2](𝔽_q)1`$, so there must be a ramified degree-$`2`$ cover $`BC`$ over $`𝔽_q`$ coming from $`S_m`$, and it must be ramified exactly at $`𝔭`$. The Hurwitz formula then shows that $`g(B)=2g(C)+d1`$. ∎

###### Proof of Theorem 1.2.

We showed in Section 3.3 that for every square $`q`$ there exists an ascensive sequence $`𝒞`$ of curves over $`𝔽_q`$ with $`\gamma (𝒞)=\sqrt{q}1`$. In light of Propositions 5.1 and 5.2, to prove Theorem 1.2 it will be enough for us to show that

$$R_2(𝒞)\{\begin{array}{cc}1\hfill & \text{when }q\text{ is even;}\hfill \\ 2\hfill & \text{when }q\text{ is odd.}\hfill \end{array}$$

But these inequalities follow from the fact that for every curve $`C`$ over $`𝔽_q`$ we have

$$r_2(C)\{\begin{array}{cc}g(C)\hfill & \text{when }q\text{ is even;}\hfill \\ 2g(C)\hfill & \text{when }q\text{ is odd.}\hfill \end{array}$$

## 6. Variants of our argument

Section 3 gave a lower bound on $`A^{}(q)`$ in terms of the value of $`\gamma (𝒞)`$ of an ascensive sequence. Section 5.1 gave an improved bound taking into account also the size of $`q`$, but the full power of Proposition 5.2 was not used, because we used only the trivial upper bound on $`R_2(𝒞)`$. It would be extremely interesting to obtain better bounds on $`R_2(𝒞)`$ when $`𝒞`$ is one of the sequences of modular curves or Shimura curves used in Section 3.3. Ideally, one would like to show that $`R_2(𝒞)=0`$ for such an ascensive sequence, so that $`(2,1)`$ would be bounding data for $`𝒞`$. Theorem 1.3 shows, however, that $`R_2(𝒞)`$ can be positive, even for sequences of curves with many points. Thus, proving that $`R_2(𝒞)=0`$ for a sequence of Shimura curves would require using special properties of the curves.

It is possible to improve the $`4g`$ in Proposition 1.4 if we require only that the proposition apply to curves of sufficiently large genus. Indeed, the proof of Proposition 5.2 shows that we can replace the $`4g`$ with $`(2+(\mathrm{log}2/\mathrm{log}q))g`$ if $`q`$ is even and with $`(2+(\mathrm{log}4/\mathrm{log}q))g`$ if $`q`$ is odd. But the following argument limits the possible further improvements we might hope to obtain: Given $`m`$ and $`q`$, there exists a curve $`C`$ over $`𝔽_q`$ such that every place has degree at least $`m`$. (For instance, nonsingular plane curves with this property exist .) It then follows from Proposition 1.4 that such $`C`$ exist in every sufficiently large genus. An argument similar to that proving Proposition 2.2 shows that such $`C`$ do not admit degree-2 covers of any genus $`h<2g+2m1`$ except possibly for unramified degree-$`2`$ covers of genus $`h=2g1`$. In particular, we cannot improve the $`4g`$ in Proposition 1.4 to $`2g+s`$ for any fixed constant $`s`$, even if we ask only that the proposition hold for $`g0`$. We do not know whether there always exists a cover of genus $`2g+o(g)`$.

It is conceivable that $`A^{}(q)=\sqrt{q}1`$. In order to prove this using our methods, we would need an ascensive sequence $`𝒞`$ with $`\gamma (𝒞)=\sqrt{q}1`$ for which we could provide bounding data $`(H,M)`$ with $`H/M=1`$. But the smallest ratio $`H/M`$ that we can possibly attain using degree-$`2`$ covers $`BC`$ is $`2`$, unless we can make $`M>1`$ by forcing more than half of the points in $`C(𝔽_q)`$ to split. For $`q<207`$, it is in fact possible to show in this way that every ascensive sequence over $`𝔽_q`$ has bounding data $`(H,M)`$ with $`H/M<2`$; plugging this into Proposition 5.1 improves the lower bounds on $`A^{}(q)`$. We give the argument below, beginning with the following variant of Proposition 1.4.

###### Proposition 6.1.

Let $`q`$ be an odd prime power and let $`m=(\mathrm{log}2/\mathrm{log}q)(\sqrt{q}+1)`$. Fix a positive real $`\epsilon `$. Then for all $`g0`$, if $`C/𝔽_q`$ is a curve of genus $`g`$, and if $`h`$ is an integer with $`h(2+m+\epsilon )g`$, then there exists a genus-$`h`$ curve $`B/𝔽_q`$ that admits a degree-$`2`$ covering map $`BC`$ in which every rational place of $`C`$ splits.

###### Proof.

Let $`d=h2g+1>(m+\epsilon )g`$. Thus $`d>1`$ when $`g0`$. As in the proof of Proposition 1.4, let $`T_d`$ denote the set of places on $`C`$ of degree $`d`$. By Lemma 2.1(i), we have $`\mathrm{\#}T_dq^d/(2d)`$ when $`g0`$. Thus $`g0`$ implies $`\mathrm{\#}T_dq^{(m+\epsilon /2)g}`$. Consider the map $`T_dJ(𝔽_q)/2J(𝔽_q)`$ defined by $`P[PP_0]`$, where $`P_0`$ is any fixed degree-$`d`$ divisor on $`C`$. Since $`\mathrm{\#}J(𝔽_q)/2J(𝔽_q)2^{2g}`$, there exists $`xJ(𝔽_q)/2J(𝔽_q)`$ having at least $`q^{(m+\epsilon /2)g}/2^{2g}`$ preimages in $`T_d`$. Fix one of these preimages $`P_1`$. Then for each preimage $`P`$ of $`x`$, fix $`f_P𝔽_q(C)`$ having divisor $`PP_1+2D`$ for some $`D`$.

Let $`K=𝔽_q(C)`$. For each $`QC(𝔽_q)`$, let $`K_Q`$ be the completion of $`K`$ at $`Q`$, and let $`𝒪_QK_Q`$ be the valuation ring. Since $`d>1`$, $`f_P`$ has even valuation at each $`QC(𝔽_q)`$. Hence the $`f_P`$ map into the group

$$S:=\underset{QC(𝔽_q)}{}\frac{𝒪_Q^{}K_Q^2}{K_Q^2}$$

of order $`2^{\mathrm{\#}C(𝔽_q)}`$. The Drinfel’d-Vlăduţ bound gives $`\mathrm{\#}C(𝔽_q)<(\sqrt{q}1+\epsilon /2)g`$ for $`g0`$, but then the definition of $`m`$ implies

$$\frac{q^{(m+\epsilon /2)g}}{2^{2g}}>2^{(\sqrt{q}1+\epsilon /2)g}>\mathrm{\#}S,$$

so there exist distinct $`P,P^{}T_d`$ in the preimage of $`x`$ such that $`f_P`$ and $`f_P^{}`$ have the same image in $`S`$. Let $`e=f_P/f_P^{}`$.

Let $`B`$ be the curve with $`𝔽_q(B)𝔽_q(C)(\sqrt{e})`$. The divisor of $`e`$ has the form $`PP^{}+2D`$ with $`P,P^{}T_d`$, so Hurwitz shows that $`B`$ has genus $`h`$. By construction, $`eK_Q^2`$ for all $`QC(𝔽_q)`$, so every rational point of $`C`$ splits in the degree-$`2`$ cover $`BC`$. ∎

###### Corollary 6.2.

Let $`q`$ be an odd prime power and let $`m=(\mathrm{log}2/\mathrm{log}q)(\sqrt{q}+1)`$. Let $`𝒞`$ be an ascensive sequence over $`𝔽_q`$. Then $`A^{}(q)\gamma (𝒞)/(1+m/2)`$.

###### Proof.

Proposition 6.1 shows that $`𝒞`$ has bounding data $`(2+m,2)`$. Now apply Proposition 5.1. ∎

We have $`1+m/2<2`$ for all odd prime powers $`q<207`$, and $`1+m/2<2+\mathrm{log}4/\mathrm{log}q`$ (the trivial upper bound on $`H_𝒞`$) for all odd prime powers $`q<417`$. We showed in Section 3.3 that, for every square $`q`$, there are ascensive sequences $`𝒞`$ over $`𝔽_q`$ with $`\gamma (𝒞)=\sqrt{q}1`$. Thus, for odd square $`q`$ we have $`A^{}(q)(\sqrt{q}1)/(1+m/2)`$, which improves the bound in Theorem 1.2 if $`q<417`$. For example, if $`q=9`$ then $`1+m/2<1.631`$, and the ascensive sequence $`\{X_0(\mathrm{})\}`$ over $`𝔽_9`$ gives $`A^{}(9)>A^+(9)/1.631=(\sqrt{9}1)/1.631>1.226`$.

## Appendix: class field towers

In this appendix we present a version of Serre’s proof that $`A^+(q)>0`$ for all $`q`$. Previously Serre’s proof has appeared only in the unpublished lecture notes . The version below uses an idea from  at one step to simplify the argument.

As in Section 3.2, it suffices to show that for every $`q`$ there is a curve $`C`$ over $`𝔽_q`$ of genus $`g>1`$ such that for some nonempty set $`S`$ of rational places on $`𝔽_q(C)`$, the $`(S,2)`$-class field tower of $`𝔽_q(C)`$ is infinite. To do this, we use a function field analogue of the Golod-Shafarevich criterion:

###### Lemma.

Let $`C`$ be a curve over $`𝔽_q`$, let $`\mathrm{}`$ be a prime number, and let $`S`$ be a nonempty set of rational places of $`𝔽_q(C)`$. Suppose there is an unramified Galois extension $`F/𝔽_q(C)`$, with Galois group $`(/\mathrm{})^r`$, such that every place in $`S`$ splits completely into $`𝔽_q`$-rational places of $`F`$. If $`r2`$ and

$$\frac{(r2)^2}{4}\{\begin{array}{cc}1+\mathrm{\#}S\hfill & \text{if }\mathrm{}(q1)\text{;}\hfill \\ \mathrm{\#}S\hfill & \text{otherwise,}\hfill \end{array}$$

then the $`(S,\mathrm{})`$-class field tower of $`𝔽_q(C)`$ is infinite.

###### Proof.

See . ∎

###### Theorem (Serre).

We have $`A^+(q)>0`$ for all prime powers $`q`$. In fact, there exists $`c>0`$ such that $`A^+(q)>c\mathrm{log}q`$ for all $`q`$.

###### Proof.

First suppose $`q`$ is odd. Let $`f=f_1f_2\mathrm{}f_6`$, where $`f_1,f_2,\mathrm{},f_6`$ are distinct monic irreducible polynomials in $`𝔽_q[x]`$ having even degrees. Then $`𝔽_q(x,\sqrt{f_1},\mathrm{},\sqrt{f_6})`$ is an unramified Galois extension of $`𝔽_q(x,\sqrt{f})`$, with Galois group $`(/2)^5`$, in which both places of $`𝔽_q(x,\sqrt{f})`$ which contain $`1/x`$ are completely split. It follows that $`A^+(q)>0`$.

For odd $`q`$ it remains only to prove the second statement for $`q0`$. Let $`\alpha _1,\mathrm{},\alpha _{r+1}`$ be distinct elements of $`𝔽_q`$, and let $`f(x)=(x\alpha _1)\mathrm{}(x\alpha _{r+1})`$. Suppose $`r`$ is even. Then $`F:=𝔽_q(\sqrt{x\alpha _1},\mathrm{},\sqrt{x\alpha _{r+1}})`$ is an unramified Galois extension of $`𝔽_q(x,\sqrt{f})`$, with Galois group $`(/2)^r`$. By Hurwitz, $`𝔽_q(x,\sqrt{f})`$ has genus $`g:=r/2`$ and $`F`$ has genus $`1+2^r(r/21)`$. By the Weil lower bound, the number of rational places $`N`$ on $`F`$ satisfies

$$Nq+12\sqrt{q}2^r(r/21).$$

Exactly $`N/2^r`$ rational places of $`𝔽_q(x,\sqrt{f})`$ split completely in $`F`$. Choose $`r`$ as the even integer nearest $`(\mathrm{log}_2q)/3`$. For $`q0`$, we have $`r4`$ and $`N/2^r(r2)^2/410`$, so it is possible to choose a subset $`S`$ of these rational places with $`\mathrm{\#}S=(r2)^2/41`$. By the lemma, the $`(S,2)`$-class field tower is infinite, so a proof similar to that of Lemma 3.4 shows that

$$A^+(q)\frac{\mathrm{\#}S}{g1}=\frac{r}{2}+O(1)=c^{}\mathrm{log}q+O(1)$$

as $`q\mathrm{}`$, for some $`c^{}>0`$.

The case of even $`q`$ can be treated in a completely analogous manner, using Artin-Schreier covers. ∎

The proof of the theorem shows that there exists $`c>0`$ such that for every $`q`$, there exists a curve $`C`$ over $`𝔽_q`$ with $`g(C)>1`$ and a set $`S`$ of rational places on $`𝔽_q(C)`$ such that $`\mathrm{\#}S>(c\mathrm{log}q)(g(C)1)`$ and such that the $`(S,2)`$-class field tower of $`𝔽_q(C)`$ is infinite. As in Section 3.2, it follows that for every $`q`$ we have $`A^{}(q)(c/4)\mathrm{log}q`$. We do not know whether this bound can be improved significantly when $`q`$ is prime.