We compute the conjugacy classes and character table of a Borel subgroup of the Ree groups 2F4(22n+1) for all n ≥ 1 and prove that these Borel subgroups are M-groups. We determine the degrees of the irreducible characters of the Sylow-2-subgroups of 2F4(22n+1) and show that the Isaacs–Malle–Navarro version of the McKay conjecture holds for 2F4(22n+1) in characteristic 2. For most of the calculations we use CHEVIE.

We show that for an elliptic divisibility sequence on a twist of the Fermat cubic, u3 + v3 = m, with m cube-free, all the terms beyond the first have a primitive divisor.

A p-regular element in a finite group is an element of order not divisible by the prime number p. We show that for every prime p and every finite simple group S, a fair proportion of elements of S is p-regular. In particular, we show that the proportion of p-regular elements in a finite classical simple group (not necessarily of characteristic p) is greater than 1/(2n), where n – 1 is the dimension of the projective space on which S acts naturally. Furthermore, in an exceptional group of Lie type this proportion is greater than 1/15. For the alternating group An, this proportion is at least 26/(27√n), and for sporadic simple groups, at least 2/29.

We also show that for an arbitrary field F, if the simple group S is a quotient of a finite subgroup of GLn(F) then for any prime p, the proportion of p-regular elements in S is at least min{1/31, 1/(2n)}.

Along the way we obtain estimates for the proportion of elements of certain primitive prime divisor orders in exceptional groups, complementing work by Niemeyer and Praeger (1998).Our result shows that in finite simple groups, p-regular elements can be found efficiently by random sampling. This is a key ingredient to recent polynomial-time Monte Carlo algorithms for matrix groups.

Finally we complement our lower bound results with the following upper bound: for all n ≥ 2 there exist infinitely many prime powers q such that the proportion of elements of odd order in PSL(n,q) is less than 3/√n.

The chamber graph of the maximal 2-local geometry for M24, the Mathieu group of degree 24, is analysed extensively. In addition to determining the discs around a fixed chamber of the chamber graph, the geodesic closure of an opposite pair of chambers is investigated.

We construct explicit examples of E8 lattices occurring in arithmetic for which the natural Galois action is equal to the full group of automorphisms of the lattice, i.e., the Weyl group of E8. In particular, we give explicit elliptic curves over Q(t) whose Mordell-Weil lattices are isomorphic to E8 and have maximal Galois action.

Our main objects of study are del Pezzo surfaces of degree 1 over number fields. The geometric Picard group, considered as a lattice via the negative of the intersection pairing, contains a sublattice isomorphic to E8. We construct examples of such surfaces for which the action of Galois on the geometric Picard group is maximal.

Let G be finite group and K a number field or a p-adic field with ring of integers OK. In the first part of the manuscript we present an algorithm that computes the relative algebraic K-group K0(OK[G], K) as an abstract abelian group. We also give algorithms to solve the discrete logarithm problems in K0(OK[G], K) and in the locally free class group cl(OK[G]). All algorithms have been implemented in Magma for the case K = Q.

In the second part of the manuscript we prove formulae for the torsion subgroup of K0(Z[G], Q) for large classes of dihedral and quaternion groups.

We consider proper 5-colourings of the kagome lattice. Proper q-colourings correspond to configurations in the zero-temperature q-state anti-ferromagnetic Potts model. Salas and Sokal have given a computer assisted proof of strong spatial mixing on the kagome lattice for q ≥ 6 under any temperature, including zero temperature. It is believed that there is strong spatial mixing for q ≥ 4. Here we give a computer assisted proof of strong spatial mixing for q = 5 and zero temperature. It is commonly known that strong spatial mixing implies that there is a unique infinite-volume Gibbs measure and that the Glauber dynamics is rapidly mixing. We give a proof of rapid mixing of the Glauber dynamics on any finite subset of the vertices of the kagome lattice, provided that the boundary is free (not coloured). The Glauber dynamics is not necessarily irreducible if the boundary is chosen arbitrarily for q = 5 colours. The Glauber dynamics can be used to uniformly sample proper 5-colourings. Thus, a consequence of rapidly mixing Glauber dynamics is that there is fully polynomial randomised approximation scheme for counting the number of proper 5-colourings.

We develop a formalism for studying the discrete logarithm problem for the multiplicative group and for elliptic curves over finite fields by lifting the respective group to an algebraic number field and using global duality. One of our main tools is the signature of a Dirichlet character (in the multiplicative group case) or principal homogeneous space (in the elliptic curve case), which is a measure of its ramification at certain places. We then develop signature calculus, which generalizes and refines the index calculus method. Finally, using some heuristics, we show the random polynomial time equivalence for these two cases between the problem of computing signatures and the discrete logarithm problem. This relates the discrete logarithm problem to some very well-known problems in algebraic number theory and arithmetic geometry.

Let G be a subgroup of PSL(2, R) which is commensurable with PSL(2, Z). We say that G is a congruence subgroup of PSL(2, R) if G contains a principal congruence subgroup /overline Γ(N) for some N. An algorithm is given for determining whether two congruence subgroups are conjugate in PSL(2, R). This algorithm is used to determine the PSL(2, R) conjugacy classes of congruence subgroups of genus-zero and genus-one. The results are given in a table.

If (Q, A) is a marked polygon with one interior point, then a general polynomial f belonging to K[x,y] with support A defines an elliptic curve Cf on the toric surface XA. If K has a non-archimedean valuation into R we can tropicalize Cf to get a tropical curve Trop(Cf). If in the Newton subdivision induced by f is a triangulation and the interior point occurs as the vertex of a triangle, then Trop(Cf) will be a graph of genus one and we show that the lattice length of the cycle of that graph is the negative of the valuation of the j-invariant of Cf.

We describe an algorithm to count the number of rational points of an hyperelliptic curve defined over a finite field of odd characteristic which is based upon the computation of the action of the Frobenius morphism on a basis of the Monsky-Washnitzer cohomology with compact support. This algorithm follows the vein of a systematic exploration of potential applications of cohomology theories to point counting.

Our algorithm decomposes in two steps. A first step which consists of the computation of a basis of the cohomology and then a second step to obtain a representation of the Frobenius morphism. We achieve a Õ(g4n3) time complexity and O(g3n3) memory complexity where g is the genus of the curve and n is the absolute degree of its base field. We give a detailed complexity analysis of the algorithm as well as a proof of correctness.

Modular polynomials are an important tool in many algorithms involving elliptic curves. In this article we investigate their generalization to the genus 2 case following pioneering work by Gaudry and Dupont. We prove various properties of these genus 2 modular polynomials and give an improved way to explicitly compute them.