Characteristic polynomials of automorphisms of hyperelliptic curves

Robert M. Guralnick, Everett W. Howe

Published 2008-04-03Version 1

Let alpha be an automorphism of a hyperelliptic curve C of genus g, and let alpha' be the automorphism of P^1 induced by alpha. Let n be the order of alpha and let n' be the order of alpha'. We show that the triple (g,n,n') completely determines the characteristic polynomial of the automorphism alpha^* of the Jacobian of C, unless n is even, n=n', and (2g+2)/n is even, in which case there are two possibilities. We give explicit formulas for the characteristic polynomial in all cases.