Zeta elements for $p$-ordinary modular forms over imaginary quadratic fields and applications

Let $p\ge 5$ be a prime, and let $f$ be a $p$-ordinary cuspidal newform of even weight $k=2r\ge 2$ and level $N$, with $p\nmid N$ and trivial nebentype. In this article, we prove Kato’s Iwasawa main conjecture for $f$, formulated in terms of the $p$-adic $L$-function of $f$, under the sole assumptions that the associated Galois representation of $f$ satisfies the big-image hypothesis and that its residual representation is absolutely irreducible. This generalises the main result of Burungale–Castella–Skinner, which treats elliptic curves over $\mathbb{Q}$ with good ordinary reduction at $p$. Our proof follows their general strategy. A key new ingredient is the construction, over an imaginary quadratic field in which $p$ splits, of a zeta element attached to $f$, together with a proof of its explicit reciprocity laws, generalising the corresponding work of Burungale–Skinner–Tian–Wan. These results provide the higher-weight analogue of a crucial input in the argument of Burungale–Castella–Skinner and allow their method to be carried out for higher-weight modular forms.