Definite quadratic forms over \({\mathbb F}_q[x]\) (Q1409750): Difference between revisions

This paper addresses the problem of classifying, up to isometry, definite quadratic lattices over a polynomial ring \(\mathbb F_q[x]\) over a finite field \(\mathbb F_q\) of odd characteristic. Since all completions of the ambient space over the rational function field \(\mathbb F_q(x)\) are isotropic when the dimension \(n\) exceeds 4, such definite lattices occur only when \(n\leq 4\). In general, let \(\partial\) denote the degree function on the rational function field \(k(x)\), where \(k\) is any field of characteristic not 2. A theorem of \textit{D. Z. Djoković} [J. Algebra 43, 359--374 (1976; Zbl 0343.15006)] shows that every anisotropic \(k[x]\)-lattice has a basis that is reduced, in the sense that the associated Gram matrix \(A=(a_{ij})\) has dominant diagonal (that is, \(\partial a_{ii} > \partial a_{ij}\) whenever \(i \neq j\)) and \(\partial a_{11} \leq \ldots \leq \partial a_{nn}\). The proof of this theorem by Djoković yields a reduction algorithm that is stated here in lattice terminology. In the current setting in which the underlying field is \(\mathbb F_q\), the author proves that the ascending sequence of degrees for vectors in a reduced basis is an invariant of a definite quadratic lattice \(L\) over \(\mathbb F_q[x]\), and that the minimal vectors of \(L\) are precisely the nonzero \(\mathbb F_q\)-linear combinations of the minimal vectors in a reduced basis. The main classification theorem can be stated as follows: Let \(L\) and \(M\) be \(\mathbb F_q[x]\)-lattices on a definite quadratic \(\mathbb F_q(x)\)-space of dimension \(n\), and suppose that \(L\) and \(M\) have respective Gram matrices \(A\) and \(C\) which are reduced in the sense described above. Then \(L\) and \(M\) are isometric if and only if \(C=\,^tTAT\) for some \(T \in \text{GL}_n(\mathbb F_q)\).