About quasi-modular forms, differential operators and Rankin--Cohen algebras

Abstract

We establish sufficient conditions, involving Rankin--Cohen (RC) brackets, under which certain combinations of meromorphic quasi-modular forms and their derivatives yield meromorphic modular forms. To achieve this, we adopt an algebraic perspective by working within the framework of RC algebras. First, we prove that any canonical RC algebra, whose underlying graded algebra is of type $\frac{1}{N}\mathbb{Z}$ with $N\in \mathbb{N}$, is a sub-RC algebra of a standard RC algebra. We then present and prove an algebraic formulation of results stating that specific combinations of the quasi-modular form $E_2$ with either other modular forms or itself, along with their derivatives, result in modular forms. Next, we provide equivalent formulations of these results in terms of the Lie algebra $\mathfrak{sl}_2(\mathbb{C})$ and Ramanujan systems of RC type. Finally, we discuss applications not only to meromorphic quasi-modular forms but also to Calabi--Yau quasi-modular forms.