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We prove that the number of curves of a fixed genus g over finite fields is a polynomial function of the size of the field if and only if g is at most 8. Furthermore, we determine for each positive genus g the smallest n such that the moduli space of curves of genus g with n marked points does not have polynomial point count. A key ingredient in the proofs, which is also a new result of independent interest, is the computation of the thirteenth cohomology group of the moduli spaces of stable curves of genus g with n marked points, for all g and n., Comment: 61 pages

Given an arithmetic function $a: \mathbb{N} \rightarrow \mathbb{R}$, one can associate a naturally defined, doubly infinite family of Jensen polynomials. Recent work of Griffin, Ono, Rolen, and Zagier shows that for certain families of functions $a: \mathbb{N} \rightarrow \mathbb{R}$, the associated Jensen polynomials are eventually hyperbolic (i.e., eventually all of their roots are real). This work proves Chen, Jia, and Wang's conjecture that the partition Jensen polynomials are eventually hyperbolic as a special case. Here, we make this result explicit. Let $N(d)$ be the minimal number such that for all $n \geq N(d)$, the partition Jensen polynomial of degree $d$ and shift $n$ is hyperbolic. We prove that $N(3)=94$, $N(4)=206$, and $N(5)=381$, and in general, that $N(d) \leq (3d)^{24d} (50d)^{3d^{2}}$.

In a recent paper, Duncan, Griffin and Ono provide exact formulas for the coefficients of McKay-Thompson series and use them to find asymptotic expressions for the distribution of irreducible representations in the moonshine module $V^\natural = \bigoplus_n V_n^\natural$. Their results show that as $n$ tends to infinity, $V_n^\natural$ is dominated by direct sums of copies of the regular representation. That is, if we view $V_n^\natural$ as a module over the group ring $\mathbb{Z}[\mathbb{M}]$, the free-part dominates. A natural problem, posed at the end of the aforementioned paper, is to characterize the distribution of irreducible representations in the non-free part. Here, we study asymptotic formulas for the coefficients of McKay-Thompson series to answer this question. We arrive at an ordering of the series by the magnitude of their coefficients, which corresponds to various contributions to the distribution. In particular, we show how the asymptotic distribution of the non-free part is dictated by the column for conjugacy class 2A in the monster's character table. We find analogous results for the other monster modules $V^{(-m)}$ and $W^\natural$ studied by Duncan, Griffin, and Ono.

The partition function $p(n)$, which counts the number of partitions of a positive integer $n$, is widely studied. Here, we study partition functions $p_S(n)$ that count partitions of $n$ into distinct parts satisfying certain congruence conditions. A shifted partition identity is an identity of the form $p_{S_1}(n-H) = p_{S_2}(n)$ for all $n$ in some arithmetic progression. Several identities of this type have been discovered, including two infinite families found by Alladi. In this paper, we use the theory of modular functions to determine the necessary and sufficient conditions for such an identity to exist. In addition, for two specific cases, we extend Alladi's theorem to other arithmetic progressions.

In a recent paper, Rose proves that certain generalized sum-of-divisor functions are quasi-modular forms for some congruence subgroup and conjectures that these forms are quasi-modular for $\Gamma_1(n)$. Here, we prove this conjecture.

In [4] and [5], Folsom presents a family of modular units as higher-level analogues of the Rogers-Ramanujan $q$-continued fraction. These units are constructed from analytic solutions to the higher-order $q$-recurrence equations of Selberg. Here, we consider another family of modular units, which are quotients of Hall-Littlewood $q$-series that appear in the generalized Rogers-Ramanujan type identities of [6]. In analogy with the results of Folsom, we provide a formula for the rank of the subgroup these units generate and show that their specializations at the cusp $0$ generate a subgroup of the cyclotomic unit group of the same rank. In addition, we prove that their singular values generate the same class fields as those of Folsom's units.

In a recent paper, Griffin, Ono and Warnaar present a framework for Rogers-Ramanujan type identities using Hall-Littlewood polynomials to arrive at expressions of the form \[\sum_{\lambda : \lambda_1 \leq m} q^{a|\lambda|}P_{2\lambda}(1,q,q^2,\ldots ; q^{n}) = \text{"Infinite product modular function"}\] for $a = 1,2$ and any positive integers $m$ and $n$. A recent paper of Rains and Warnaar presents further Rogers-Ramanujan type identities involving sums of terms $q^{|\lambda|/2}P_{\lambda}(1,q,q^2,\ldots;q^n)$. It is natural to attempt to reformulate these various identities to match the well-known Andrews-Gordon identities they generalize. Here, we find combinatorial formulas to replace the Hall-Littlewood polynomials and arrive at such expressions.

In an important paper, Zagier proved that certain half-integral weight modular forms are generating functions for traces of polynomials in the $j$-function. It turns out that Zagier's work makes it possible to algorithmically compute Hilbert class polynomials using a canonical family of modular forms of weight $\frac{3}{2}$. We generalize these results and consider Haupmoduln for levels $1, 2, 3, 5, 7,$ and $13$. We show that traces of singular values of polynomials in Haupmoduln are again described by coefficients of half-integral weight modular forms. This realization makes it possible to algorithmically compute class polynomials.

In their work, Serre and Swinnerton-Dyer study the congruence properties of the Fourier coefficients of modular forms. We examine similar congruence properties, but for the coefficients of a modified Taylor expansion about a CM point $\tau$. These coefficients can be shown to be the product of a power of a constant transcendental factor and an algebraic integer. In our work, we give conditions on $\tau$ and a prime number $p$ that, if satisfied, imply that $p^m$ divides the algebraic part of all the Taylor coefficients of $f$ of sufficiently high degree. We also give effective bounds on the largest $n$ such that $p^m$ does not divide the algebraic part of the $n^{\text{th}}$ Taylor coefficient of $f$ at $\tau$ that are sharp under certain additional hypotheses., Comment: 16 pages, to appear in Int. J. Number Theory