Canonical subgroups of Barsotti-Tate groups

Abstract

Let $S$ be the spectrum of a complete discrete valuation ring with fraction field of characteristic 0 and perfect residue field of characteristic $p\ge 3$. Let $G$ be a truncated Barsotti-Tate group of level 1 over $S$. If ``$G$ is not too supersingular'', a condition that will be explicitly expressed in terms of the valuation of a certain determinant, we prove that we can canonically lift the kernel of the Frobenius endomorphism of its special fibre to a subgroup scheme of $G$, finite and flat over $S$. We call it the canonical subgroup of $G$.

27 pages, part of the Ph.D. thesis, to appear in Annals of Math