Evaluating modular forms on Shimura curves

Abstract

Let f be a newform, as specified by its Hecke eigenvalues, on a Shimura curve X. We describe a method for evaluating f. The most interesting case is when X arises as a compact quotient of the hyperbolic plane, so that classical q-expansions are not available. The method takes the form of an explicit, rapidly-convergent formula that is well-suited for numerical computation. We apply it to the problem of computing modular parametrizations of elliptic curves, and illustrate with some numerical examples.