Totally decomposable symplectic and unitary involutions (Q2364445)

\textit{E. Bayer-Fluckiger} et al. [Proc. Indian Acad. Sci., Math. Sci. 113, No. 4, 365--377 (2003; Zbl 1049.16011)] asked whether totally decomposable involutions are those involutions on algebras of two-power degree that are either anisotropic or hyperbolic after scalar extension. \textit{K. J. Becher} [Invent. Math. 173, No. 1, 1--6 (2008; Zbl 1226.11049)] showed the Pfister Factor Conjecture for characteristic not 2, that any totally decomposable orthogonal involution on a split algebra is adjoint to a Pfister form. \textit{J. Black} and \textit{A. Quéguiner-Mathieu} [Enseign. Math. (2) 60, No. 3--4, 377--395 (2014; Zbl 1336.16045)] proved that totally decomposable orthogonal involutions over a field of characteristic different from two are always either anisotropic or hyperbolic. The author's main results establish for any characteristic the following. Let \((Q,\gamma)\) be an \(F\)-quaternion algebra with canonical involution and \((A,\sigma)\) an \(F\) -algebra with symplectic involution such that \(A\) is Brauer equivalent to \(Q\) and \(A\) is degree \(2^n\), \(n\geq1\). Then, the following conditions are equivalent: {\parindent=6mm \begin{itemize}\item[(i)] \((A,\sigma)\) is totally decomposable; \item[(ii)] the \(F\)-algebra with quadratic pair \((A\otimes_F Q,\sigma\otimes\gamma, h)\) is adjoint to a Pfister form; \item[(iii)] \((A,\sigma)\simeq\mathrm{Ad}(\psi)\otimes (Q,\gamma)\) for some bilinear Pfister form \(\psi\) over \(F\); \item[(iv)] For any field extension \(K|F\), \((A,\sigma)_K\) is either anisotropic or hyperbolic. \end{itemize}} Moreover, let \((A,\sigma)\) be a split \(F\)-algebra with unitary involution with centre \(K\) of degree \(2^n\), \(n\geq1\), and let \(\tau\) be the non-trivial \(F\)-automorphism on \(K\). The following statements are equivalent: {\parindent=6mm \begin{itemize}\item[(i)] \((A, \sigma)\) is totally decomposable; \item[(ii)] \((A,\sigma)\simeq\mathrm{Ad}(\psi)\otimes(K,\tau)\) for some bilinear Pfister form \(\psi\) over \(F\); \item[(iii)] For any field extension \(L|F\), \((A, \sigma)_L\) is either anisotropic or hyperbolic. \end{itemize}}