The ball and some Hilbert problems

by Rolf-Peter Holzapfel

The famous twelfth Hilbert problem calls for holomorphic functions in several variables with properties analogous to the exponential function and the elliptic modular function with a view to the explicit construction of (Hilbert) class fields by means of special values. The lecture notes present those functions living on the two-dimensional complex unit ball. In the course of their construction, the reader is introduced to work with complex multiplication, moduli fields, moduli space of curves, surface uniformizations, Gauss-Manin connection, Jacobian varieties, Torelli's theorem, Picard modular forms, Theta functions, class fields and transcendental values in an effective manner.