Abstract
Let f(X) and g(Y) be nondegenerate quadratic forms of dimensions m and n, respectively, over K, char K ≠ 2. The problem of birational composition of f(X) and g(Y) is considered: When is the product f(X) · g(Y) birationally equivalent over K to a quadratic form h(Z) over K of dimension m + n? The solution of the birational composition problem for anisotropic quadratic forms over K in the case of m = n = 2 is given. The main result of the paper is the complete solution of the birational composition problem for forms f(X) and g(Y) over a local field P, char P ≠ 2.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
A. Hurwitz, “Über die Komposition der quadratischen Formen,” Math. Ann. 88(1–2), 1–25 (1922).
J. Radon, “Lineare Scharen orthogonalen Matrizen,” Abh. Math. Sem. Univ. Humburg 1(1), 1–14 (1922).
K. Y. Lam, “Topological methods for studying the composition of quadratic forms,” in Quadratic and Hermitian Forms, CMS Conf. Proc., Hamilton, Ont., 1983 (Amer. Math. Soc., Providence, RI, 1984), Vol. 4, pp. 173–192.
A. Pfister, “Multiplikative quadratische Formen,” Arch.Math. (Basel) 16(1), 363–370 (1965).
V. P. Platonov and V. I. Chernousov, “On the rationality of canonical Spin varieties,” Dokl. Akad. Nauk SSSR 252(4), 796–800 (1980) [SovietMath. Dokl. 21 (3), 830–834 (1980) (1981)].
A. A. Bondarenko, “Birational composition of quadratic forms,” Proc. of the Natl. Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Ser. Phys.-Math. Sci. No. 4, 56–61 (2007) [in Russian].
M. Knebusch and W. Scharlau, Algebraic Theory of Quadratic Forms, in DMV Sem., Generic methods and Pfister forms. Notes taken by Heisook Lee (Birkhäuser, Boston,Mass., 1980), Vol. 1.
J.-P. Serre, Cours d’arithmétique (Presses Universitaires de France, Paris, 1970; Mir, Moscow, 1972; Springer-Verlag, New York-Heidelberg, 1973).
O. T. O’Meara, Introduction to Quadratic Forms, in Grundlehren Math. Wiss. (Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1971), Vol. 117.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Original Russian Text © A. A. Bondarenko, 2009, published in Matematicheskie Zametki, 2009, Vol. 85, No. 5, pp. 661–670.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bondarenko, A.A. Birational composition of quadratic forms over a local field. Math Notes 85, 638–646 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001434609050046
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001434609050046