Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 August 2018
Given a non-isotrivial elliptic curve over an arithmetic surface, one obtains a lisse $\ell$-adic sheaf of rank two over the surface. This lisse sheaf has a number of straightforward properties: cyclotomic determinant, finite ramification, rational traces of Frobenius elements, and somewhere not potentially good reduction. We prove that any lisse sheaf of rank two possessing these properties comes from an elliptic curve.
AS was supported by NSF grants DMS-1303082 and DMS-1453893 and a Sloan Fellowship.