Lifting and automorphy of reducible mod p Galois representations over global fields

Abstract: We extend the lifting methods of our previous paper to lift reducible odd representations $\bar{\rho}:\mathrm{Gal}(\overline{F}/F) \to G(k)$ of Galois groups of global fields $F$ valued in Chevalley groups $G(k)$. Lifting results, when combined with automorphy lifting results pioneered by Wiles in the number field case and the results on the global Langlands correspondence proved by Drinfeld and L. Lafforgue in the function field case, give the only known method to access modularity of mod $p$ Galois representations in both reducible and irreducible cases. In the reducible case this allows one to show that the actual representation, rather than just its semisimplification, arises from reduction of the geometric representation attached to a cuspidal automorphic representation on the dual group of $G$. As a particularly concrete application, we get a version of Serre's modularity conjecture for reducible, odd representations $\bar{\rho}: \mathrm{Gal}(\overline{\mathbb{Q}}/\mathbb{Q}) \to \mathrm{GL}_2(k)$. This extends earlier results of Hamblen and Ramakrishna in this classical case and proves modularity of infinitely many extensions of fixed characters that are not covered by loc. cit.