On some Hasse principles for homogeneous spaces of algebraic groups over global fields of positive characteristic (Q2631148): Difference between revisions

The paper under review extends some Hasse principle results previously proven by Borovoi for number fields to global fields of positive characteristic. To give a more precise statement of the main theorem, let us first recall Borovoi's result. Consider a semisimple simply connected group \(G\) defined over a field \(k\) of characteristic zero. Let \(X\) be a \(G\)-homogeneous space such that for some point \(x\in X(\bar k)\) (\(\bar k\) being a separable closure of \(k\)), the stabilizer \(\bar H=\mathrm{Stab}(x)\) is connected. Then \textit{M. V. Borovoi} [Duke Math. J. 72, No. 1, 217--239 (1993; Zbl 0849.12011)] introduced the notion of a \textit{\(k\)-band} (or \textit{\(k\)-kernel}) associated to the homogeneous space \(X\), which in particular determines a \(k\)-form \(T=H^{\mathrm{tor}}\) of the torus quotient \(\bar H^{\mathrm{tor}}\) of \(\bar H\). It is shown in Theorems 7.2 and 7.3 of [loc. cit.] that if the structure of the \(k\)-torus \(T=H^{\mathrm{tor}}\) is nice (e.g., \(T=1\)), then for \(k\) a non-Archimedean local field \(X\) must have a \(k\)-rational point and for \(k\) a number field the rational points of \(X\) satisfy the Hasse principle. In the present paper, the authors prove in their main theorem (Theorem 4.2) similar results in positive characteristic. It should be mentioned that the authors do not assume \(G\) to be semisimple simply connected but only smooth connected and reductive. However, they require instead the geometric stabilizer \(\bar H\) to be reductive (and connected). In Borovoi's work the construction of the \(k\)-band and the torus \(T\) is based on a Galois-theoretic cocycle approach, which as remarked in this paper, does not apply directly to the case of positive characteristic. The authors use instead the more general framework of Giraud's gerbe theory [\textit{J. Giraud}, Non-abelian cohomology. (French) Berlin etc.: Springer-Verlag (1971; Zbl 0226.14011)] to construct the \(k\)-band and the torus \(T\) in need. As a corollary (Corollary 4.4), the authors obtained that over a global function field \(k\), when \(G\) is (smooth connected) reductive and \(X\) has connected reductive geometric stabilizers, then \(X\) must have a \(k\)-rational point. Another application of the authors' main theorem is a new proof of a local-global principle concerning a field embedding problem for central simple algebras over global fields, which was first obtained by \textit{S.-C. Shih} et al. [Asian J. Math. 18, No. 2, 365--386 (2014; Zbl 1316.11107)].