On the Pfister-Leep conjecture on \(C_0^d\)-fields (Q2571456)

A field \(K\) is called a \(C^d_0\)-field if every system of \(r\) homogeneous forms of degree \(d\) over \(K\) in \(n\) variables (\(n>r\)) has a common nontrivial zero over \(K.\) For a prime \(p\), a field \(K\) is called a \(p\)-field if \([L:K]\) is a power of \(p\) for every finite extension \(L/K.\) \textit{A. Pfister} proved [Bull. Soc. Math. Fr. 59, 115--123 (1979; Zbl 0407.10017)] that if \(K\) is a \(p\)-field, then for any \(d\) not divisible by \(p\), \(K\) is a \(C^d_0\)-field. A special case is as follows. If \(K\) is a \(p\)-field for some prime \(p\neq 2\), then \(K\) is a \(C^2_0\)-field. He also conjectured that if \(K\) is a \(C^2_0\)-field, then \(K\) is a \(p\)-field for some prime \(p\neq 2.\) For fields of characteristic \(0\) or \(2\) this conjecture was proved by \textit{D. B. Leep} [J. Reine Angew. Math. 350, 109--116 (1984; Zbl 0531.10023)] who generalized Pfister's conjecture to higher-degree forms: for a fixed \(d\), if \(K\) is a \(C^d_0\)-field, then \(K\) is a \(p\)-field for some prime \(p\nmid d.\) The main aim of the paper is to show that the Pfister-Leep conjecture is true if \(d\) is a power of the characteristic of the field \(K.\)