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Zinovy Reichstein

Publications and source records attributed to Zinovy Reichstein.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
arXiv2020

On a rationality problem for fields of cross-ratios II

Let $k$ be a field, $x_1, \dots, x_n$ be independent variables and $L_n = k(x_1, \dots, x_n)$. The symmetric group $Σ_n$ acts on $L_n$ by permuting the variables, and the projective linear group $\text{PGL}_2$ acts by \[ \begin{pmatrix} a & b \\ c & d \end{pmatrix} \colon x_i \mapsto \frac{a x_i + b}{c x_i + d} \] for each $i = 1, \ldots, n$. The fixed field $L_n^{\text{PGL}_2}$ is called "the field of cross-ratios". Given a subgroup $S \subset Σ_n$, H. Tsunogai asked whether $L_n^S$ rational over $K_n^S$. When $n \geqslant 5$ the second author has shown that $L_n^S$ is rational over $K_n^S$ if and only if $S$ has an orbit of odd order in $\{ 1, \dots, n \}$. In this paper we answer Tsunogai's question for $n \leqslant 4$.

math.AG↗
arXiv2020

Special groups, versality and the Grothendieck-Serre conjecture

Let $k$ be a base field and $G$ be an algebraic group over $k$. J.-P. Serre defined $G$ to be special if every $G$-torsor $T \to X$ is locally trivial in the Zariski topology for every reduced algebraic variety $X$ defined over $k$. In recent papers an a priori weaker condition is used: $G$ is called special if every $G$-torsor $T \to Spec(K)$ is split for every field $K$ containing $k$. We show that these two definitions are equivalent. We also generalize this fact and propose a strengthened version of the Grothendieck-Serre conjecture based on the notion of essential dimension.

math.AG↗
arXiv2020

On the rationality problem for forms of moduli spaces of stable marked curves of positive genus

Let $M_{g, n}$ (respectively, $\overline{M_{g, n}}$) be the moduli space of smooth (respectively stable) curves of genus $g$ with $n$ marked points. Over the field of complex numbers, it is a classical problem in algebraic geometry to determine whether or not $M_{g, n}$ (or equivalently, $\overline{M_{g, n}}$) is a rational variety. Theorems of J. Harris, D. Mumford, D. Eisenbud and G. Farkas assert that $M_{g, n}$ is not unirational for any $n \geqslant 0$ if $g \geqslant 22$. Moreover, P. Belorousski and A. Logan showed that $M_{g, n}$ is unirational for only finitely many pairs $(g, n)$ with $g \geqslant 1$. Finding the precise range of pairs $(g, n)$, where $M_{g, n}$ is rational, stably rational or unirational, is a problem of ongoing interest. In this paper we address the rationality problem for twisted forms of $\overline{M_{g, n}}$ defined over an arbitrary field $F$ of characteristic $\neq 2$. We show that all $F$-forms of $\overline{M_{g, n}}$ are stably rational for $g = 1$ and $3 \leqslant n \leqslant 4$, $g = 2$ and $2 \leqslant n \leqslant 3$, $g = 3$ and $1 \leqslant n \leqslant 14$, $g = 4$ and $1 \leqslant n \leqslant 9$, $g = 5$ and $1 \leqslant n \leqslant 12$.

math.AG↗
arXiv2020

On the essential dimension of an algebraic group whose connected component is a torus

Let $p$ be a prime integer, $k$ be a $p$-closed field of characteristic $\neq p$, $T$ be a torus defined over $k$, $F$ be a finite $p$-group, and $1\to T \to G \to F \to 1$ be an exact sequence of algebraic groups. Extending earlier work of N. Karpenko and A. Merkurjev, R. Lötscher, M. MacDonald, A. Meyer, and the first author showed that \[\min\dim(V) - \min\dim(G) \leqslant \text{ed}(G; p) \leqslant \min \dim(W) - \dim(G),\] where $V$ and $W$ range over the $p$-faithful and $p$-generically free $k$-representations of $G$, respectively. They conjectured that the upper bound is, in fact, sharp. This conjecture has remained open for some time. We prove it in the case, where $F$ is diagonalizable.

math.AG↗
arXiv2019

The Noether problem for spinor groups of small rank

Building on prior work of Bogomolov, Garibaldi, Guralnick, Igusa, Kordonskii, Merkurjev and others, we show that the Noether Problem for $\operatorname{Spin}_n$ has a positive solution for every $n\leq 14$ over an arbitrary field of characteristic $\neq 2$.

math.AG↗
arXiv2019

Essential dimension of double covers of symmetric and alternating groups

I. Schur studied double covers $\widetilde{\Sym}^{\pm}_n$ and $\widetilde{\Alt}_n$ of symmetric groups $\Sym_n$ and alternating groups $\Alt_n$, respectively. Representations of these groups are closely related to projective representations of $\Sym_n$ and $\Alt_n$; there is also a close relationship between these groups and spinor groups. We study the essential dimension $\ed(\widetilde{\Sym}^{\pm}_n)$ and $\ed(\widetilde{\Alt}_n)$. We show that over a base field of characteristic $\neq 2$, $\ed(\widetilde{\Sym}^{\pm}_n)$ and $\ed(\widetilde{\Alt}_n)$ grow exponentially with $n$, similar to $\ed(\Spin_n)$. On the other case, in characteristic $2$, they grow sublinearly, similar to $\ed(\Sym_n)$ and $\ed(\Alt_n)$. We give an application of our result in good characteristic to the theory of trace forms.

math.AG↗
arXiv2018

Locally Maximally Entangled States of Multipart Quantum Systems

For a multipart quantum system, a locally maximally entangled (LME) state is one where each elementary subsystem is maximally entangled with its complement. This paper is a sequel to arXiv:1708.01645, which gives necessary and sufficient conditions for a system to admit LME states in terms of its subsystem dimensions $(d_1, d_2, \dots, d_n)$, and computes the dimension of the space ${\cal H}_{LME}/K$ of LME states up to local unitary transformations for all non-empty cases. In this paper, we provide a pedagogical overview and physical interpretation of the the underlying mathematics that leads to these results and give a large class of explicit constructions for LME states. In particular, we construct all LME states for tripartite systems with subsystem dimensions $(2,A,B)$ and give a general representation-theoretic construction for a special class of stabilizer LME states. The latter construction provides a common framework for many known LME states. Our results also give the dimension of the space of SLOCC equivalence classes for states with "generic" entanglement for all multipart systems since this space is equivalent to ${\cal H}_{LME}/K$. Finally, we give the dimension of the stabilizer subgroup $S \subset SL(d_1, \mathbb{C}) \times \cdots \times SL(d_n, \mathbb{C})$ for a generic state in an arbitrary multipart system and identify all cases where this stabilizer is trivial.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2018

Essential dimension in mixed characteristic

Suppose $G$ is a finite group and $p$ is either a prime number or $0$. For $p$ positive, we say that $G$ is weakly tame at $p$ if $G$ has no non-trivial normal $p$-subgroups. By convention we say that every finite group is weakly tame at $0$. Now suppose that $G$ is a finite group which is weakly tame at the residue characteristic of a discrete valuation ring $R$. Our main result shows that the essential dimension of $G$ over the fraction field $K$ of $R$ is at least as large as the essential dimension of $G$ over the residue field $k$. We also prove a more general statement of this type for a class of étale gerbes over $R$. As a corollary, we show that, if $G$ is weakly tame at $p$ and $k$ is any field of characteristic $p >0$ containing the algebraic closure of $\mathbb{F}_p$, then the essential dimension of $G$ over $k$ is less than or equal to the essential dimension of $G$ over any characteristic $0$ field. A conjecture of A. Ledet asserts that the essential dimension, $\mathrm{ed}_k(\mathbb{Z}/p^n\mathbb{Z})$, of the cyclic group of order $p^n$ over a field $k$ is equal to $n$ whenever $k$ is a field of characteristic $p$. We show that this conjecture implies that $\mathrm{ed}_{\mathbb{C}}(G) \geq n$ for any finite group $G$ which is weakly tame at $p$ and contains an element of order $p^n$. To the best of our knowledge, an unconditional proof of the last inequality is out of the reach of all presently known techniques.

math.AG↗
arXiv2018

Hermite's theorem via Galois cohomology

An 1861 theorem of Hermite asserts that for every field extension $E/F$ of degree $5$ there exists an element of $E$ whose minimal polynomial over $F$ is of the form $f(x) = x^5 + c_2 x^3 + c_4 x + c_5$ for some $c_2, c_4, c_5 \in F$. We give a new proof of this theorem using techniques of Galois cohomology, under a mild assumption on $F$.

math.GR↗
arXiv2018

On a rationality problem for fields of cross-ratios

Let $k$ be a field, $n \geqslant 5$ be an integer, $x_1, \dots, x_n$ be independent variables and $L_n = k(x_1, \dots, x_n)$. The symmetric group $S_n$ acts on $L_n$ by permuting the variables, and the projective linear group ${\rm PGL}_2$ acts by applying (the same) fractional linear transformation to each varaible. The fixed field $L_n^{{\rm PGL}_2}$ is called "the field of cross-ratios". Let $S \subset S_n$ be a subgroup. The Noether Problem asks whether the field extension $L_n^S/k$ is rational, and the Noether Problem for cross-ratios asks whether $K_n^S/k$ is rational. In an effort to relate these two problems, H. Tsunogai posed the following question: Is $L_n^S$ rational over $K_n^S$? He answered this question in several situations, in particular, in the case where $S = S_n$. In this paper we extend his results by recasting the problem in terms of Galois cohomology. Our main theorem asserts that the following conditions on a subgroup $S \subset S_n$ are equivalent: (a) $L_n^S$ is rational over $K_n^S$, (b) $L_n^S$ is unirational over $K_n^S$, (c) $S$ has an orbit of odd order in $\{1, \dots, n \}$.

math.AG↗
arXiv2018

Essential dimension of inseparable field extensions

Let k be a base field, K be a field containing k and L/K be a field extension of degree n. The essential dimension ed(L/K) over k is a numerical invariant measuring "the complexity" of L/K. Of particular interest is $τ$(n) = max { ed(L/K) | L/K is a separable extension of degree n}, also known as the essential dimension of the symmetric group $S_n$. The exact value of $τ$(n) is known only for n $\leq$ 7. In this paper we assume that k is a field of characteristic p > 0 and study the essential dimension of inseparable extensions L/K. Here the degree n = [L:K] is replaced by a pair (n, e) which accounts for the size of the separable and the purely inseparable parts of L/K respectively, and τ(n) is replaced by $τ$(n, e) = max { ed(L/K) | L/K is a field extension of type (n, e)}. The symmetric group $S_n$ is replaced by a certain group scheme $G_{n,e}$ over k. This group is neither finite nor smooth; nevertheless, computing its essential dimension turns out to be easier than computing the essential dimension of $S_n$. Our main result is a simple formula for τ(n, e).

math.RA↗
arXiv2017

Existence of locally maximally entangled quantum states via geometric invariant theory

We study a question which has natural interpretations in both quantum mechanics and in geometry. Let $V_1,..., V_n$ be complex vector spaces of dimension $d_1,...,d_n$ and let $G= SL_{d_1} \times \dots \times SL_{d_n}$. Geometrically, we ask given $(d_1,...,d_n)$, when is the geometric invariant theory quotient $\mathbb{P}(V_1 \otimes \dots \otimes V_n)// G$ non-empty? This is equivalent to the quantum mechanical question of whether the multipart quantum system with Hilbert space $V_1\otimes \dots \otimes V_n$ has a locally maximally entangled state, i.e. a state such that the density matrix for each elementary subsystem is a multiple of the identity. We show that the answer to this question is yes if and only if $R(d_1,...,d_n)\geqslant 0$ where \[ R(d_1,...,d_n) = \prod_i d_i +\sum_{k=1}^n (-1)^k \sum_{1\leq i_1<\dotsb <i_k\leq n} (\gcd(d_{i_1},\dotsc ,d_{i_k}) )^{2}. \] We also provide a simple recursive algorithm which determines the answer to the question, and we compute the dimension of the resulting quotient in the non-empty cases.

math.AG↗
arXiv2017

On the number of generators of a separable algebra over a finite field

Let $F$ be a field and let $E$ be an étale algebra over $F$, that is, a finite product of finite separable field extensions $E = F_1 \times \dots \times F_r$. The classical primitive element theorem asserts that if $r = 1$, then $E$ is generated by one element as an $F$-algebra. The same is true for any $r \geqslant 1$, provided that $F$ is infinite. However, if $F$ is a finite field and $r \geqslant 2$, the primitive element theorem fails in general. In this paper we give a formula for the minimal number of generators of $E$ when $F$ is finite. We also obtain upper and lower bounds on the number of generators of a (not necessarily commutative) separable algebra over a finite field.

math.NT↗
arXiv2017

The rationality problem for forms of $\overline{M_{0, n}}$

Let $X$ be a del Pezzo surface of degree $5$ defined over a field $F$. A theorem of Yu. I. Manin and P. Swinnerton-Dyer asserts that every Del Pezzo surface of degree $5$ is rational. In this paper we generalize this result as follows. Recall that del Pezzo surfaces of degree $5$ over a field $F$ are precisely the twisted $F$-forms of the moduli space $\overline{M_{0, 5}}$ of stable curves of genus $0$ with $5$ marked points. Suppose $n \geq 5$ is an integer, and $F$ is an infinite field of characteristic $\neq 2$. It is easy to see that every twisted $F$-form of $\overline{M_{0, n}}$ is unirational over $F$. We show that (a) if $n$ is odd, then every twisted $F$-form of $\overline{M_{0, n}}$ is rational over $F$. (b) If $n$ is even, there exists a field extension $F/k$ and a twisted $F$-form $X$ of $\overline{M_{0, n}}$ such that $X$ is not retract rational over $F$.

math.AG↗
arXiv2017

Fields of definition for representations of associative algebras

We examine situations, where representations of a finite-dimensional $F$-algebra $A$ defined over a separable extension field $K/F$, have a unique minimal field of definition. Here the base field $F$ is assumed to be a $C_1$-field. In particular, $F$ could be a finite field or $k(t)$ or $k((t))$,where $k$ is algebraically closed. We show that a unique minimal field of definition exists if (a) $K/F$ is an algebraic extension or (b) $A$ is of finite representation type. Moreover, in these situations the minimal field of definition is a finite extension of $F$. This is not the case if $A$ is of infinite representation type or $F$ fails to be $C_1$. As a consequence, we compute the essential dimension of the functor of representations of a finite group, generalizing a theorem of N. Karpenko, J. Pevtsova and the second author.

math.RT↗
arXiv2016

On the number of generators of an algebra

A classical theorem of Forster asserts that a finite module $M$ of rank $\leq n$ over a Noetherian ring of Krull dimension $d$ can be generated by $n + d$ elements. We prove a generalization of this result, with "module" replaced by "algebra". Here we allow arbitrary finite algebras, not necessarily unital, commutative or associative. Forster's theorem can be recovered as a special case by viewing a module as an algebra where the product of any two elements is $0$.

math.RA↗