Computing in Picard groups of projective curves over finite fields

Source abstract

We give algorithms for computing with divisors on projective curves over finite fields, and with their Jacobians, using the algorithmic representation of projective curves developed by Khuri-Makdisi. We show that various desirable operations can be performed efficiently in this setting: decomposing divisors into prime divisors; computing pull-backs and push-forwards of divisors under finite morphisms, and hence Picard and Albanese maps on Jacobians; generating uniformly random divisors and points on Jacobians; computing Frobenius maps; and finding a basis for the l l -torsion of the Picard group for prime numbers l l different from the characteristic of the base field.