Separately polynomial functions

Abstract

It is known that if $f\colon {\mathbb R}^2 \to {\mathbb R}$ is a polynomial in each variable, then $f$ is a polynomial. We present generalizations of this fact, when ${\mathbb R}^2$ is replaced by $G\times H$, where $G$ and $H$ are topological Abelian groups. We show, e.g., that the conclusion holds (with generalized polynomials in place of polynomials) if $G$ is a connected Baire space and $H$ has a dense subgroup of finite rank or, for continuous functions, if $G$ and $H$ are connected Baire spaces. The condition of continuity can be omitted if $G$ and $H$ are locally compact or complete metric spaces. We present several examples showing that the results are not far from being optimal.