Sign choices in the AGM for genus two theta constants

Abstract

Existing algorithms to compute genus 2 theta constants in quasi-linear time use Borchardt sequences, an analogue of the arithmetic-geometric mean for four complex numbers. In this paper, we show that these Borchardt sequences are given by good choices of square roots only, as in the genus 1 case. This removes the sign indeterminacies in the algorithm without relying on numerical integration.