My dissertation focuses on the existence of metrics of non-positive curvature for the simplicial complexes constructed recently by Tom Brady and Daan Krammer for the braid groups and other Artin groups of finite type. In particular, for each Artin group of finite type, there is a recently constructed finite simplicial Eilenberg-Mac Lane space known as its Brady-Krammer complex. The Brady-Krammer complexes are highly symmetric objects. Prior work on the relationship between the Brady-Krammer complexes and the theory of CAT(0)spaces has produced some positive results in low-dimensions. More specifically, the Brady-Krammer complexes of dimension at most 3 have been shown to support piecewise Euclidean metrics of non-positive curvature. Similarly, the 4dimensional Brady-Krammer complexes of type A4 and type B4 also support such metrics. In every instance, the metrics assigned respect all of the symmetries alluded to above. The main results of my dissertation show that this pattern does not extend to the Brady-Krammer complexes of type F4 and D4. These are the first negative results known about the curvature of these Brady-Krammer complexes. The proofs of my main theorems involve a combination of combinatorial results and computer calculations. These negative results are particularly striking since Ruth Charney, John Meier and Kim Whittlesey have shown that a particular complex closely related to each Brady-Krammer complex admits an asymmetric metric satisfying a weak version of non-positive curvature. Thus, one corollary of my results is that the weak asymmetric version of a CAT(0) metric (initially defined by Mladen Bestvina) is strictly weaker than the traditional version.

The main part of the thesis is applications of the Strong Artin conjecture to number theory. We have two applications. One is generating number fields with extreme class numbers. The other is generating extreme positive and negative values of Euler-Kronecker constants. For a given number field $K$ of degree $n$, let $\widehat{K}$ be the normal closure of $K$ with $Gal(\widehat{K}/\Bbb Q)=G.$ Let $Gal(\widehat{K}/K)=H$ for some subgroup $H$ of $G$. Then, $$ L(s,\rho,\widehat{K}/\Bbb Q)=\frac{\zeta_K(s)}{\zeta(s)} $$ where $Ind_H^G1_H = 1_G + \rho$. When $L(s,\rho)$ is an entire function and has a zero-free region $[\alpha,1] \times [-(\log N)^2, (\log N)^2]$ where $N$ is the conductor of $L(s,\rho)$, we can estimate $\log L(1,\rho)$ and $\frac{L'}{L}(1,\rho)$ as a sum over small primes: $$ \log L(1,\rho) = \sum_{p\leq(\log N)^{k}}\lambda(p)p^{-1} + O_{l,k,\alpha}(1)$$ $$ \frac{L'}{L}(1,\rho)=-\sum_{p\leq x} \frac{\lambda(p) \log{p}}{p} +O_{l,x,\alpha}(1). $$ where $0 < k < \frac{16}{1-\alpha}$ and $(\log N)^{\frac{16}{1-\alpha}} \leq x \leq N^{\frac{1}{4}}$. With these approximations, we can study extreme values of class numbers and Euler-Kronecker constants. Let $\frak{K}$ $(n,G,r_1,r_2)$ be the set of number fields of degree $n$ with signature $(r_1,r_2)$ whose normal closures are Galois $G$ extension over $\Bbb Q$. Let $f(x,t) \in \Bbb Z[t][x]$ be a parametric polynomial whose splitting field over $\Bbb Q (t)$ is a regular $G$ extension. By Cohen's theorem, most specialization $t\in \Bbb Z$ corresponds to a number field $K_t$ in $\frak{K}$ $(n,G,r_1,r_2)$ with signature $(r_1,r_2)$ and hence we have a family of Artin L-functions $L(s,\rho,t)$. By counting zeros of L-functions over this family, we can obtain L-functions with the zero-free region above. In Chapter 1, we collect the known cases for the Strong Artin conjecture and prove it for the cases of $G=A_4$ and $S_4$. We explain how to obtain the approximations of $\log (1,\rho)$ and $\frac{L'}{L}(1,\rho)$ as a sum over small primes in detail. We review the theorem of Kowalski-Michel on counting zeros of automorphic L-functions in a family. In Chapter 2, we exhibit many parametric polynomials giving rise to regular extensions. They contain the cases when $G=C_n,$ $3\leq n \leq 6$, $D_n$, $3\leq n \leq 5$, $A_4, A_5, S_4, S_5$ and $S_n$, $n \geq 2$. In Chapter 3, we construct number fields with extreme class numbers using the parametric polynomials in Chapter 2. In Chapter 4, We construct number fields with extreme Euler-Kronecker constants also using the parametric polynomials in Chapter 2. In Chapter 5, we state the refinement of Weil's theorem on rational points of algebraic curves and prove it. The second topic in the thesis is about simple zeros of Maass L-functions. We consider a Hecke Maass form $f$ for $SL(2,\Bbb Z)$. In Chapter 6, we show that if the L-function $L(s,f)$ has a non-trivial simple zero, it has infinitely many simple zeros. This result is an extension of the result of Conrey and Ghosh.

The main part of the thesis is applications of the Strong Artin conjecture to number theory. We have two applications. One is generating number fields with extreme class numbers. The other is generating extreme positive and negative values of Euler-Kronecker constants. For a given number field $K$ of degree $n$, let $\widehat{K}$ be the normal closure of $K$ with $Gal(\widehat{K}/\Bbb Q)=G.$ Let $Gal(\widehat{K}/K)=H$ for some subgroup $H$ of $G$. Then, $$ L(s,\rho,\widehat{K}/\Bbb Q)=\frac{\zeta_K(s)}{\zeta(s)} $$ where $Ind_H^G1_H = 1_G + \rho$. When $L(s,\rho)$ is an entire function and has a zero-free region $[\alpha,1] \times [-(\log N)^2, (\log N)^2]$ where $N$ is the conductor of $L(s,\rho)$, we can estimate $\log L(1,\rho)$ and $\frac{L'}{L}(1,\rho)$ as a sum over small primes: $$ \log L(1,\rho) = \sum_{p\leq(\log N)^{k}}\lambda(p)p^{-1} + O_{l,k,\alpha}(1)$$ $$ \frac{L'}{L}(1,\rho)=-\sum_{p\leq x} \frac{\lambda(p) \log{p}}{p} +O_{l,x,\alpha}(1). $$ where $0 < k < \frac{16}{1-\alpha}$ and $(\log N)^{\frac{16}{1-\alpha}} \leq x \leq N^{\frac{1}{4}}$. With these approximations, we can study extreme values of class numbers and Euler-Kronecker constants. Let $\frak{K}$ $(n,G,r_1,r_2)$ be the set of number fields of degree $n$ with signature $(r_1,r_2)$ whose normal closures are Galois $G$ extension over $\Bbb Q$. Let $f(x,t) \in \Bbb Z[t][x]$ be a parametric polynomial whose splitting field over $\Bbb Q (t)$ is a regular $G$ extension. By Cohen's theorem, most specialization $t\in \Bbb Z$ corresponds to a number field $K_t$ in $\frak{K}$ $(n,G,r_1,r_2)$ with signature $(r_1,r_2)$ and hence we have a family of Artin L-functions $L(s,\rho,t)$. By counting zeros of L-functions over this family, we can obtain L-functions with the zero-free region above. In Chapter 1, we collect the known cases for the Strong Artin conjecture and prove it for the cases of $G=A_4$ and $S_4$. We explain how to obtain the approximations of $\log (1,\rho)$ and $\frac{L'}{L}(1,\rho)$ as a sum over small primes in detail. We review the theorem of Kowalski-Michel on counting zeros of automorphic L-functions in a family. In Chapter 2, we exhibit many parametric polynomials giving rise to regular extensions. They contain the cases when $G=C_n,$ $3\leq n \leq 6$, $D_n$, $3\leq n \leq 5$, $A_4, A_5, S_4, S_5$ and $S_n$, $n \geq 2$. In Chapter 3, we construct number fields with extreme class numbers using the parametric polynomials in Chapter 2. In Chapter 4, We construct number fields with extreme Euler-Kronecker constants also using the parametric polynomials in Chapter 2. In Chapter 5, we state the refinement of Weil's theorem on rational points of algebraic curves and prove it. The second topic in the thesis is about simple zeros of Maass L-functions. We consider a Hecke Maass form $f$ for $SL(2,\Bbb Z)$. In Chapter 6, we show that if the L-function $L(s,f)$ has a non-trivial simple zero, it has infinitely many simple zeros. This result is an extension of the result of Conrey and Ghosh.

My dissertation focuses on the existence of metrics of non-positive curvature for the simplicial complexes constructed recently by Tom Brady and Daan Krammer for the braid groups and other Artin groups of &#64257;nite type. In particular, for each Artin group of &#64257;nite type, there is a recently constructed &#64257;nite simplicial Eilenberg-Mac Lane space known as its Brady-Krammer complex. The Brady-Krammer complexes are highly symmetric objects. Prior work on the relationship between the Brady-Krammer complexes and the theory of CAT(0)spaces has produced some positive results in low-dimensions. More speci&#64257;cally, the Brady-Krammer complexes of dimension at most 3 have been shown to support piecewise Euclidean metrics of non-positive curvature. Similarly, the 4dimensional Brady-Krammer complexes of type A4 and type B4 also support such metrics. In every instance, the metrics assigned respect all of the symmetries alluded to above. The main results of my dissertation show that this pattern does not extend to the Brady-Krammer complexes of type F4 and D4. These are the &#64257;rst negative results known about the curvature of these Brady-Krammer complexes. The proofs of my main theorems involve a combination of combinatorial results and computer calculations. These negative results are particularly striking since Ruth Charney, John Meier and Kim Whittlesey have shown that a particular complex closely related to each Brady-Krammer complex admits an asymmetric metric satisfying a weak version of non-positive curvature. Thus, one corollary of my results is that the weak asymmetric version of a CAT(0) metric (initially de&#64257;ned by Mladen Bestvina) is strictly weaker than the traditional version.

<p>This thesis surveys the issue of finding rational points on algebraic curves over finite fields. Since Goppa's construction of algebraic geometric codes, there has been great interest in finding curves with many rational points. Here we explain the main tools for finding rational points on a curve over a nite eld and provide the necessary background on ring and field theory. Four different articles are analyzed, the first of these articles gives a complete set of table showing the numbers of rational points for curves with genus up to 50. The other articles provide interesting constructions of covering curves: covers by the Hemitian curve, Kummer extensions and Artin-Schreier extensions. With these articles the great difficulty of finding explicit equations for curves with many rational points is overcome. With the method given by Arnaldo García in [6] we have been able to nd examples that can be used to define the lower bounds for the corresponding entries in the tables given in http: //wins.uva.nl/~geer, which to the time of writing this Thesis appear as "no information available". In fact, as the curves found are maximal, these entries no longer need a bound, they can be given by a unique entry, since the exact value of N_q(g) is now known.</p><p>At the end of the thesis an outline of the construction of Goppa codes is given and the NXL and XNL codes are presented.</p><p> </p>

This thesis surveys the issue of finding rational points on algebraic curves over finite fields. Since Goppa's construction of algebraic geometric codes, there has been great interest in finding curves with many rational points. Here we explain the main tools for finding rational points on a curve over a nite eld and provide the necessary background on ring and field theory. Four different articles are analyzed, the first of these articles gives a complete set of table showing the numbers of rational points for curves with genus up to 50. The other articles provide interesting constructions of covering curves: covers by the Hemitian curve, Kummer extensions and Artin-Schreier extensions. With these articles the great difficulty of finding explicit equations for curves with many rational points is overcome. With the method given by Arnaldo García in [6] we have been able to nd examples that can be used to define the lower bounds for the corresponding entries in the tables given in http: //wins.uva.nl/~geer, which to the time of writing this Thesis appear as "no information available". In fact, as the curves found are maximal, these entries no longer need a bound, they can be given by a unique entry, since the exact value of Nq(g) is now known. At the end of the thesis an outline of the construction of Goppa codes is given and the NXL and XNL codes are presented.

Cette thèse s'intéresse aux fonctions L, à leurs aspects explicites et à leurs applications Dans le premier chapitre, nous donnons une définition précise de ce que nous appelons une fonction L ainsi que leurs principales propriétés, notamment concernant les invariants appelés paramètres locaux. Ensuite, nous traitons le cas des fonctions L d'Artin. Pour celles-ci, nous avons créé un programme dans le logiciel PARI/GP donnant les coefficients et les invariants d'une fonction L d'Artin lorsque le corps de base est Q.Le deuxième chapitre explicite un théorème dû à Henryk Iwaniec et Emmanuel Kowalski permettant de différencier deux fonctions L générales en considérant leurs paramètres locaux pour tous les premiers jusqu'à une certaine borne théorique.Dans la suite, nous constaterons que distinguer la somme des paramètres locaux de fonctions L d'Artin revient à séparer les caractères associés par les automorphismes de Frobenius. Ce sera l'objet du troisième chapitre qui est à relier au théorème de Chebotarev. En appliquant notre résultat à des caractères conjugués du groupe alterné, on obtient une borne sur un nombre premier p donnant l'écriture de la factorisation modulo p d'un polynôme répondant à certains critères. Ce travail est à comparer avec un résultat de Joël Bellaïche (2013). Nous illustrons enfin numériquement nos résultats en étudiant l'évolution de la borne sur des polynômes de la forme X^n+uX+v avec n=5, 7 et 13. / This thesis focuses on L-functions, their explicit aspects and their applications.In the first chapter, we give a precise definition of L-functions and their main properties, especially about the invariants called local parameters. Then, we deal with Artin L-functions. For them, we have created a computer program in PARI/GP which gives the coefficients and the invariants for an Artin L-function above Q.In the second chapter, we make explicit a theorem of Henryk Iwaniec and Emmanuel Kowalski, which distinguishes between two L-functions by considering their local parameters for primes up to a theoretical bound.Actually, distinguishing between sums of local parameters of Artin L-functions is the same as separating the associated characters by the Frobenius automorphism. This is the subject of the third chapter, that can be related to Chebotarev Theorem. By applying the result to conjugate characters of the alternating group, we get a bound for a prime p giving the factorization modulo $p$ of a certain polynomial. This work has to be compared with a result from Joël Bellaïche (2013).Finally, we numerically illustrate our results by studying the evolution of the bound on polynomials X^n+uX+v, for n=5, 7 and 13.

La recherche d’annulateurs du groupe des classes d’idéaux d’une extension abélienne de Q est un sujet classique et remonte à des travaux de Kummer et Stickelberger. La conjecture de Brumer-Stark porte sur les extensions abéliennes de corps de nombres et prédit qu’un élément de l’anneau de groupe du groupe de Galois, appelé élément de Brumer-Stickelberger, est un annulateur du groupe des classes de l’extension. De plus, elle stipule que les générateurs des idéaux principaux obtenus possèdent des propriétés bien particulières. Cette thèse est dédiée à la généralisation de cette conjecture aux extensions de corps de nombres galoisiennes mais non abéliennes. Dans un premier temps, nous nous focalisons sur l’étude de l’analogue non abélien de l’élément de Brumer, nécessaire à l’établissement d’une conjecture non abélienne. La seconde partie est consacrée à l’énoncé de la conjecture de Brumer-Stark non abélienne et à ses reformulations, ainsi qu’aux propriétés qu’elle vérifie. Nous nous intéressons notamment aux propriétés de changement d’extension. Nous étudions ensuite le cas spécifique des extensions dont le groupe de Galois possède un sous-groupe abélien H distingué d’indice premier. Sous la validité de la conjecture de Brumer-Stark associée à certaines extensions abéliennes, nous en déduisons deux résultats suivant la parité du cardinal de H : dans le cas impair, nous démontrons la conjecture de Brumer-Stark non abélienne, et dans le cas pair, nous établissons un résultat d’abélianité permettant d’obtenir, sous des hypothèses supplémentaires, la conjecture non abélienne. Enfin nous effectuons des vérifications numériques de la conjecture non abélienne permettant de démontrer cette conjecture dans les exemples testés. / Finding annihilators of the ideal class group of an abelian extension of Q is a classical subject which goes back to work of Kummer and Stickelberger. The Brumer-Stark conjecture deals with abelian extensions of number fields and predicts that a group ring element, called the Brumer-Stickelberger element, annihilates the ideal class group of the extension under consideration. Moreover it specifies that the generators thus obtained have special properties. The aim of this work is to generalize this conjecture to non-abelian Galois extensions. We first focus on the study of a non-abelian analogue of the Brumer element, necessary to establish a non-abelian generalization of the conjecture. The second part is devoted to the statement of our non-abelian conjecture, and the properties it satisfies. We are particularly interested in extension change properties. We then study the specific case of extensions whose Galois group has an abelian normal subgroup H of prime index. If the Brumer-Stark conjecture associated to certain abelian subextensions holds, we prove two results according to the parity of the cardinal of H : in the odd case, we get the non-abelian Brumer-Stark conjecture, and in the even case, we establish an abelianity result implying under additional hypotheses the proof of the non-abelian conjecture. Thanks to PARI-GP, we finally do some numerical verifications of the nonabelian conjecture, proving its validity in the tested examples.

Submitted by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2016-05-19T11:32:36Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Jean Carlos A. Lelis - 2015.pdf: 735614 bytes, checksum: 4a7e9e89fe1b8a8d2fff12ead96e312d (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2016-05-19T11:34:08Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Jean Carlos A. Lelis - 2015.pdf: 735614 bytes, checksum: 4a7e9e89fe1b8a8d2fff12ead96e312d (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-05-19T11:34:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Jean Carlos A. Lelis - 2015.pdf: 735614 bytes, checksum: 4a7e9e89fe1b8a8d2fff12ead96e312d (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-11-10 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / In this work we present some methods used in the study of systems of additive forms on local fields, and a proof for a particular case of Artin’s Conjecture, which says that every systems with R additive forms of degrees k1; :::;kR has non trivial p-adic solution for any prime p, if the number s of variables is higher than k2 1 +k2 2 + +k2R, given by Wooley [12], where he shows that G(3;2) = 11. Keywords / Nesse trabalho, nós apresentamos alguns dos métodos usados no estudo de formas aditivas sobre corpos locais, e uma prova para um caso particular da Conjectura de Artin, que afirma que todo sistema de R formas aditivas de graus k1;k2; :::;kR possui solução p-ádica não trivial para todo p primo, se o número s de variáveis for maior que k2 1 +k2 2 + +k2R , dada por Wooley [12], onde ele mostra que G(3;2) = 11.

Cette thèse a pour objet l’étude des automorphismes des groupes d’Artin à angles droits. Etant donné un graphe simple fini G, le groupe d’Artin à angles droits GG associé à G est le groupe défini par la présentation dont les générateurs sont les sommets de G, et dont les relateurs sont les commutateurs [v,w], où {v,w} est une paire de sommets adjacents. Le premier chapitre est conçu comme une introduction générale à la théorie des groupes d’Artin à angles droits et de leurs automorphismes. Dans un deuxième chapitre, on démontre que tout sous-groupe sous-normal d’indice une puissance de p d’un groupe d’Artin à angles droits est résiduellement p-séparable. Comme application de ce résultat, on montre que tout groupe d’Artin à angles droits est résiduellement séparable dans la classe des groupes nilpotents sans torsion. Une autre application de ce résultat est que le groupe des automorphismes extérieurs d’un groupe d’Artin à angles droits est virtuellement résiduellement p-fini. On montre également que le groupe de Torelli d’un groupe d’Artin à angles droits est résiduellement nilpotent sans torsion, et, par suite, résiduellement p-fini et bi-ordonnable. Dans un troisième chapitre, on établit une présentation du sous-groupe Conj(GG) deAut(GG) formé des automorphismes qui envoient chaque générateur sur un conjugué de lui-même / The purpose of this thesis is to study the automorphisms of right-angled Artin groups. Given a finite simplicial graph G, the right-angled Artin group GG associated to G is the group defined by the presentation whose generators are the vertices of G, and whose relators are commuta-tors of pairs of adjacent vertices. The first chapter is intended as a general introduction to the theory of right-angled Artin groups and their automor-phisms. In a second chapter, we prove that every subnormal subgroup ofp-power index in a right-angled Artin group is conjugacy p-separable. As an application, we prove that every right-angled Artin group is conjugacy separable in the class of torsion-free nilpotent groups. As another applica-tion, we prove that the outer automorphism group of a right-angled Artin group is virtually residually p-finite. We also prove that the Torelli group ofa right-angled Artin group is residually torsion-free nilpotent, hence residu-ally p-finite and bi-orderable. In a third chapter, we give a presentation of the subgroup Conj(GG) of Aut(GG) consisting of the automorphisms thats end each generator to a conjugate of itself