The theory of elliptic curves is distinguished by its long history and by the diversity of the methods that have been used in its study. This book treats the arithmetic approach in its modern formulation, through the use of basic algebraic number theory and algebraic geometry. Following a brief discussion of the necessary algebro-geometric results, the book proceeds with an exposition of the geometry and the formal group of elliptic curves, elliptic curves over finite fields, the complex numbers, local fields, and global fields. Final chapters deal with integral and rational points, including Siegels theorem and explicit computations for the curve Y = X + DX, while three appendices conclude the whole: Elliptic Curves in Characteristics 2 and 3, Group Cohomology, and an overview of more advanced topics.

In the introduction to the first volume of The Arithmetic of Elliptic Curves (Springer-Verlag, 1986), I observed that "the theory of elliptic curves is rich, varied, and amazingly vast," and as a consequence, "many important topics had to be omitted." I included a brief introduction to ten additional topics as an appendix to the first volume, with the tacit understanding that eventually there might be a second volume containing the details. You are now holding that second volume. it turned out that even those ten topics would not fit Unfortunately, into a single book, so I was forced to make some choices. The following material is covered in this book: I. Elliptic and modular functions for the full modular group. II. Elliptic curves with complex multiplication. III. Elliptic surfaces and specialization theorems. IV. Neron models, Kodaira-Neron classification of special fibers, Tate's algorithm, and Ogg's conductor-discriminant formula. V. Tate's theory of q-curves over p-adic fields. VI. Neron's theory of canonical local height functions.

The theory of elliptic curves involves a blend of algebra, geometry, analysis, and number theory. This book stresses this interplay as it develops the basic theory, providing an opportunity for readers to appreciate the unity of modern mathematics. The book’s accessibility, the informal writing style, and a wealth of exercises make it an ideal introduction for those interested in learning about Diophantine equations and arithmetic geometry.

This volume contains the expanded versions of the lectures given by the authors at the C.I.M.E. instructional conference held in Cetraro, Italy, from July 12 to 19, 1997. The papers collected here are broad surveys of the current research in the arithmetic of elliptic curves, and also contain several new results which cannot be found elsewhere in the literature. Owing to clarity and elegance of exposition, and to the background material explicitly included in the text or quoted in the references, the volume is well suited to research students as well as to senior mathematicians.

The book divides naturally into several parts according to the level of the material, the background required of the reader, and the style of presentation with respect to details of proofs. For example, the first part, to Chapter 6, is undergraduate in level, the second part requires a background in Galois theory and the third some complex analysis, while the last parts, from Chapter 12 on, are mostly at graduate level. A general outline ofmuch ofthe material can be found in Tate's colloquium lectures reproduced as an article in Inven tiones [1974]. The first part grew out of Tate's 1961 Haverford Philips Lectures as an attempt to write something for publication c10sely related to the original Tate notes which were more or less taken from the tape recording of the lectures themselves. This inc1udes parts of the Introduction and the first six chapters The aim ofthis part is to prove, by elementary methods, the Mordell theorem on the finite generation of the rational points on elliptic curves defined over the rational numbers. In 1970 Tate teturned to Haverford to give again, in revised form, the originallectures of 1961 and to extend the material so that it would be suitable for publication. This led to a broader plan forthe book.

An introductory 1997 account in the style of the original discoverers, treating the fundamental themes even-handedly.