Level raising mod 2 and arbitrary 2-Selmer ranks

Abstract

We prove a level raising mod $\ell =2$ theorem for elliptic curves over $\mathbb{Q}$. It generalizes theorems of Ribet and Diamond-Taylor and also explains different sign phenomena compared to odd $\ell$. We use it to study the 2-Selmer groups of modular abelian varieties with common mod 2 Galois representation. As an application, we show that the 2-Selmer rank can be arbitrary in level raising families.

To appear in Compos. Math