We study a kernel function of the twisted symmetric square $L$-function of elliptic modular forms. As an application, several exact special values of the $L$-function are computed.

Let $F/\mathbf{Q}$ be a totally real field and $K/F$ a complex multiplication (CM) quadratic extension. Let $f$ be a cuspidal Hilbert modular new form over $F$ . Let ${\it\lambda}$ be a Hecke character over $K$ such that the Rankin–Selberg convolution $f$ with the ${\it\theta}$ -series associated with ${\it\lambda}$ is self-dual with root number 1. We consider the nonvanishing of the family of central-critical Rankin–Selberg $L$ -values $L(\frac{1}{2},f\otimes {\it\lambda}{\it\chi})$ , as ${\it\chi}$ varies over the class group characters of $K$ . Our approach is geometric, relying on the Zariski density of CM points in self-products of a Hilbert modular Shimura variety. We show that the number of class group characters ${\it\chi}$ such that $L(\frac{1}{2},f\otimes {\it\lambda}{\it\chi})\neq 0$ increases with the absolute value of the discriminant of $K$ . We crucially rely on the André–Oort conjecture for arbitrary self-product of the Hilbert modular Shimura variety. In view of the recent results of Tsimerman, Yuan–Zhang and Andreatta–Goren–Howard–Pera, the results are now unconditional. We also consider a quaternionic version. Our approach is geometric, relying on the general theory of Shimura varieties and the geometric definition of nearly holomorphic modular forms. In particular, the approach avoids any use of a subconvex bound for the Rankin–Selberg $L$ -values. The Waldspurger formula plays an underlying role.

We compute the $p$-adic $L$-functions of evil Eisenstein series, showing that they factor as products of two Kubota–Leopoldt $p$-adic $L$-functions times a logarithmic term. This proves in particular a conjecture of Glenn Stevens.

We prove a mean-value result for derivatives of L-functions at the center of the critical strip for a family of forms obtained by twisting a fixed form by quadratic characters with modulus which can be represented as sum of two squares. Such a family of forms is related to elliptic fibrations given by the equation q(t)y2=f(x) where q(t)=t2+1 and f(x) is a cubic polynomial. The aim of the paper is to establish a prototype result for such quadratic families. Though our method can be generalized to prove similar results for any positive definite quadratic form in place of sum of two squares, we refrain from doing so to keep the presentation as clear as possible.

Using a p-adic analogue of the convolution method of Rankin–Selberg and Shimura, we construct the two-variable p-adic L-function of a Hida family of Hilbert modular eigenforms of parallel weight. It is shown that the conditions of Greenberg–Stevens [R. Greenberg and G. Stevens, p-adic L-functions and p-adic periods of modular forms, Invent. Math. 111 (1993), 407–447] are satisfied, from which we deduce special cases of the Mazur–Tate–Teitelbaum conjecture in the Hilbert modular setting.

Let $f$ be a newform of weight $2k-2$ and level 1. In this paper we provide evidence for the Bloch–Kato conjecture for modular forms. We demonstrate an implication that under suitable hypotheses if $\varpi \mid L_{\rm alg}(k,f)$ then $p \mid \# H_{f}(\mathbb{Q},W_{f}(1-k))$ where $p$ is a suitably chosen prime and $\varpi$ a uniformizer of a finite extension $K/\mathbb{Q}_{p}$. We demonstrate this by establishing a congruence between the Saito–Kurokawa lift $F_{f}$ of $f$ and a cuspidal Siegel eigenform $G$ that is not a Saito–Kurokawa lift. We then examine what this congruence says in terms of Galois representations to produce a non-trivial $p$-torsion element in $H_{f}^1(\mathbb{Q},W_{f}(1-k))$.