diff --git a/blueprint/src/chapter/QuaternionAlgebraProject.tex b/blueprint/src/chapter/QuaternionAlgebraProject.tex index ecc471cb..98576652 100644 --- a/blueprint/src/chapter/QuaternionAlgebraProject.tex +++ b/blueprint/src/chapter/QuaternionAlgebraProject.tex @@ -8,28 +8,44 @@ \section{Introduction and goal} finite-dimensional. We need this to control the Hecke algebras which we'll define later on using these spaces. -Let's start with the definition of these spaces. We fix a totally real field $F$ -(that is, a number field $F$ such that the image of every ring homomorphism $F\to\bbC$ -is a subset of $\R$). We fix a quaternion algebra $D$ over $F$. This means -the following: $D$ is an $F$-algebra of dimension 4, the centre of $D$ is $F$, -and $D$ has no nontrivial two-sided ideals. Examples of quaternion algebras -would be 2 by 2 matrices $M_2(F)$ over $F$, or the $F$ version of Hamilton's quaternions, -namely $F\oplus Fi\oplus Fj\oplus Fk$ with the usual laws $i^2=j^2=k^2=-1$ and -$ij=-ji=k$. +Let's start with the definition of these spaces. + +Let $K$ be a field. A \emph{central simple $K$-algebra} is a $K$-algebra~$D$ with +centre $K$ such that $D$ has no nontrivial two-sided ideals. A \emph{quaternion algebra} +over $K$ is a central simple $K$-algebra of dimension~4. + +Matrix algebras $M_n(K)$ are examples of central simple $K$-algebras, so +$2\times 2$ matrices $M_2(K)$ are an example of a quaternion algebra over $K$. +If $K=\bbC$ then $M_2(\bbC)$ is the only example, up to isomorphism, but there are +two examples over the reals, the other being Hamilton's quaternions +$\bbH:=\R\oplus\R i\oplus\R j\oplus\R k$ with the usual rules $i^2=j^2=k^2=-1$, +$ij=-ji=k$ etc. For a general field $K$ one can make an analogue of Hamilton's +quaternions $K\oplus Ki\oplus Kj\oplus Kk$ with these same rules to describe the +multiplication, and if the characteristic of~$K$ isn't 2 then this is a quaternion algebra +(which may or may not be isomorphic to $M_2(K)$). If $K$ is a number field then there are +infinitely many isomorphism classes of quaternion algebras over $K$. + +A fundamental fact about central simple algebras is that if $D/K$ +is a central simple $K$-algebra and $L/K$ is an extension of fields, then $D\otimes_KL$ +is a central simple $L$-algebra. In particular if $D$ is a quaternion algebra over $K$ +then $D\otimes_KL$ is a quaternion algebra over $L$. Some Imperial students have established +this fact in ongoing project work. + +We now fix a totally real field $F$ (that is, a number field $F$ such that the image of every ring +homomorphism $F\to\bbC$ is a subset of $\R$). We fix a quaternion algebra $D$ over $F$. We +furthermore assume that $D$ is \emph{totally definite}, that is, that for all field embeddings +$\tau:F\to\R$ we have $D\otimes_{F,\tau}\R\cong\bbH$. The high-falutin' explanation of what is about to happen is that $D^\times$ -can be regarded as a reductive algebraic group over $F$, and we are going to define spaces +can be regarded as a reductive algebraic group over $F$, and in the special case where +we are going to define spaces of automorphic forms for this algebraic group. In general such a definition would involve some analysis (for example modular forms are automorphic forms for the algebraic group $\GL_2$ over $\Q$, and the definition of a modular form involves holomorphic functions, which are solutions to the Cauchy--Riemann equations). -However let us now make the assumption that $D$ is -\emph{totally definite}, which means that for every field map $\tau:F\to\R$, -the base extension $D\otimes_{F,\tau}\R$ along $\tau$ (which is a quaternion algebra -over the reals) is isomorphic to Hamilton's quaternions -$\R\oplus \R i\oplus\R j\oplus\R k$ rather than the other quaternion algebra -over the reals, namely $M_2(\R)$. Under this assumption the associated symmetric space -is 0-dimensional, meaning that no differential equations are involved in the definition +However under the assumption that $F$ is totally real and $D/F$ is totally definite, +the associated symmetric space is 0-dimensional, meaning that no differential equations are +involved in the definition of an automorphic form in this setting. As a consequence, the definition we're about to give makes sense not just over the complex numbers but over any commutative ring $R$, which will be crucial for us as we will need to think about, for example, mod~$p$ automorphic forms in this