Eichler-Selberg relations for singular moduli

Abstract

The Eichler-Selberg trace formula expresses the trace of Hecke operators on spaces of cusp forms as weighted sums of Hurwitz-Kronecker class numbers. We extend this formula to a natural class of relations for traces of singular moduli, where one views class numbers as traces of the constant function $j_0(\tau)=1$. More generally, we consider the singular moduli for the Hecke system of modular functions \[ j_m(\tau) := mT_m \left(j(\tau)-744\right). \] For each $\nu\geq 0$ and $m\geq 1$, we obtain an Eichler-Selberg relation. For $\nu=0$ and $m\in \{1, 2\},$ these relations are Kaneko's celebrated singular moduli formulas for the coefficients of $j(\tau).$ For each $\nu\geq 1$ and $m\geq 1,$ we obtain a new Eichler-Selberg trace formula for the Hecke action on the space of weight $2\nu+2$ cusp forms, where the traces of $j_m(\tau)$ singular moduli replace Hurwitz-Kronecker class numbers. These formulas involve a new term that is assembled from values of symmetrized shifted convolution $L$-functions.