SOME APPLICATIONS OF THE HALES-JEWETT THEOREM TO FIELD ARITHMETIC

Abstract

Let K be a field whose absolute Galois group is finitely generated. If K neither finite nor of characteristic 2, then every hyperelliptic curve over K with all of its Weierstrass points defined over K has infinitely many K-points. If, in addition, K is not an algebraic extension of a finite field, then every elliptic curve over K with all of its 2-torsion rational has infinite rank over K. These and similar results are deduced from the Hales-Jewett theorem