Joint IAS/Princeton University Number Theory Seminar

We prove a level raising mod $p = 2$ theorem for elliptic curves over $\mathbb Q$, generalizing theorems of Ribet and Diamond-Taylor. As an application, we show that the 2-Selmer rank can be arbitrary in level raising families. We will begin by explaining our motivation from W. Zhang's approach to the $p$-part of the BSD conjecture. Explicit examples will be given to illustrate different phenomena compared to odd $p$. This is joint work with Bao V. Le Hung.