Number Theory Seminar

Given a plane curve $C$ defined over $\mathbb{Q}$, when the genus of the curve is greater than one, Faltings' theorem tells us that the set of rational points on the curve is finite. It is then natural to consider higher degree points, that is, points on this curve defined over fields of degree $d$ over $\mathbb{Q}$. We ask for which natural numbers $d$ are there points on the curve in a field of degree $d$. For positive proportions of certain families of curves, we give results about which degrees of points do not occur. This talk is based on joint work with Andrew Granville.