Zeros of certain combinations of Eisenstein series

Abstract

We prove that if $k$ and $\ell$ are sufficiently large, then all the zeros of the weight $k+\ell$ cusp form $E_k(z) E_{\ell}(z) - E_{k+\ell}(z)$ in the standard fundamental domain lie on the boundary. We moreover find formulas for the number of zeros on the bottom arc with $|z|=1$, and those on the sides with $x = \pm 1/2$. One important ingredient of the proof is an approximation of the Eisenstein series in terms of the Jacobi theta function.