2026/07/17 by Anna Siffert
#math.DG
We prove a conjecture of Montaldo, Oniciuc and Ratto concerning the nullity of a family of proper biharmonic maps from the flat two-torus to the round two-sphere. The proof reveals an unexpected connection between spectral geometry and arithmetic geometry. We show that the vanishing of a mixed Fourier eigenvalue produces a rational point on an explicitly defined affine quartic. By constructing an explicit polynomial isomorphism with an elliptic curve over \Q, the problem is reduced to the determination of a Mordell--Weil group. This yields a complete description of the rational points on the spectral curve and shows that none satisfies the positivity conditions required for a mixed Fourier mode. As a consequence, the mixed eigenvalues never vanish, confirming the Montaldo--Oniciuc--Ratto conjecture and proving that the nullity of every map in the family is equal to 5.