Can a Drinfeld module be modular?

Let $k$ be a global function field with field of constants \Fr and let $\infty$ be a fixed place of $k$. In his habilitation thesis \cite{boc2}, Gebhard B\"ockle attaches abelian Galois representations to characteristic $p$ valued cusp eigenforms and double cusp eigenforms \cite{go1} such that Hecke eigenvalues correspond to the image of Frobenius elements. In the case where k=\Fr(T) and $\infty$ corresponds to the pole of $T$, it then becomes reasonable to ask whether rank 1 Drinfeld modules over $k$ are themselves ``modular'' in that their Galois representations arise from a cusp or double cusp form. This paper gives an introduction to \cite{boc2} with an emphasis on modularity and closes with some specific questions raised by B\"ockle's work.Comment: Final corrected versio

A Riemann Hypothesis for characteristic p L-functions

We propose analogs of the classical Generalized Riemann Hypothesis and the Generalized Simplicity Conjecture for the characteristic p L-series associated to function fields over a finite field. These analogs are based on the use of absolute values. Further we use absolute values to give similar reformulations of the classical conjectures (with, perhaps, finitely many exceptional zeroes). We show how both sets of conjectures behave in remarkably similar ways.Comment: This is the final version (with new title) as it will appear in the Journal of Number Theor