THE DISTRIBUTION OF TORSION SUBSCHEMES OF ABELIAN VARIETIES

Abstract

We consider the distribution of $p$-power group schemes among the torsion of abelian varieties over finite fields of characteristic $p$, as follows. Fix natural numbers $g$ and $n$, and let ${\it\xi}$ be a non-supersingular principally quasipolarized Barsotti–Tate group of level $n$. We classify the $\mathbb{F}_{q}$-rational forms ${\it\xi}^{{\it\alpha}}$ of ${\it\xi}$. Among all principally polarized abelian varieties $X/\mathbb{F}_{q}$ of dimension $g$ with $X[p^{n}]_{\bar{\mathbb{F}}_{q}}\cong {\it\xi}_{\bar{\mathbb{F}}_{q}}$, we compute the frequency with which $X[p^{n}]\cong {\it\xi}^{{\it\alpha}}$. The error in our estimate is bounded by $D/\sqrt{q}$, where $D$ depends on $g$, $n$, and $p$, but not on ${\it\xi}$.