The inverse sieve problem for algebraic varieties over global fields

Abstract

Let $K$ be a global field and let $Z$ be a geometrically irreducible algebraic variety defined over $K$. We show that if a big set $S\subseteq Z$ of rational points of bounded height occupies few residue classes modulo $\mathfrak{p}$ for many prime ideals $\mathfrak{p}$, then a positive proportion of $S$ must lie in the zero set of a polynomial of low degree that does not vanish at $Z$. This generalizes a result of Walsh who studied the case when $S\subseteq \{0,\dots ,N{\}}^d$.