Degree estimates for polynomials constant on a hyperplane (Q2470258)

The authors are interested in certain degree estimates of real-valued polynomials that are defined on \(\mathbb{R}^{n}\) and are constant on a hyperplane. This issue arises as a simplified version of a question in CR-geometry: to obtain (good) bounds on the degree of a rational map \(f: \mathbb{C}^{n} \rightarrow \mathbb{C}^{N}\) that maps the unit ball in \(\mathbb{C}^{n}\) properly into the unit ball in \(\mathbb{C}^{N}\). For a real-valued polynomial \(p\) on \(\mathbb{R}^{n}\) that is constant on the hyperplane \(\sum_{j=1}^{n}x_{j} = 1\), denote by \(d\) its degree and by \(N\) the number of its distinct monomials. In general, no upper estimate of \(d\) in terms of \(N\) is possible without further assumptions. However, such degree estimates become possible (for \(n \geq 2\)) when the coefficients of \(p\) are nonnegative. Results of this type are shown in the paper under review.