Lectures on N_X(p)

Lectures on N_X(p) deals with the question on how N_X(p), the number of solutions of mod p congruences, varies with p when the family (X) of polynomial equations is fixed. While such a general question cannot have a complete answer, it offers a good occasion for reviewing various techniques in l-adic cohomology and group representations, presented in a context that is appealing to specialists in number theory and algebraic geometry.

Along with covering open problems, the text examines the size and congruence properties of N_X(p) and describes the ways in which it is computed, by closed formulae and/or using efficient computers.

The first four chapters cover the preliminaries and contain almost no proofs. After an overview of the main theorems on N_X(p), the book offers simple, illustrative examples and discusses the Chebotarev density theorem, which is essential in studying frobenian functio