The structure of strongly prime quadratic Jordan algebras (Q1109868)

The authors extend the structure theory for strongly prime (linear) Jordan algebras, developed by the second author, to quadratic algebras of characteristic 2. Let \(J\) be a strongly prime quadratic Jordan algebra over an arbitrary ring \(\Phi\) of scalars, \(\hat J=\Phi \cdot 1\oplus J\) be its free unital hull \(\hat J=J\) if \(1\in J)\). Then \(J\) is a Clifford, an Albert or a Hermitian form: either there is a unital-scalar extension \(\tilde J=\Omega \hat J\) for an algebraically closed field \(\Omega\) such that \(\tilde J\) is a Clifford algebra \(J(Q,1)\) of a nondegenerate quadratic form \(Q\) with basepoint 1, or a 27-dimensional split Albert algebra \(H_ 3(\mathbb O(\Omega))\) of \(3\times 3\) Hermitian matrices over an 8-dimensional split octonion algebra \(\mathbb O(\Omega)\); or else \(J\) consists of Hermitian elements \(H_ 0(A,{}^*)\triangleleft J\subseteq H(Q(A),{}^*)\) lying between an ample subspace of Hermitian elements in a \(^*\)-prime associative \(\Phi\)-algebra \(A\) and those in its Martindale ring of quotients \(Q(A)\). Here, the ample subspace means any subspace \(H_ 0\subset H(A,*)\) such that \(aH_ 0a^*\subset H_ 0\) for all \(a\in A\), and all traces \(a+a^*\) and norms \(aa^*\) lie in \(H_ 0\). As a consequence, the simple quadratic Jordan algebras are either Hermitian \(H_ 0(A,{}^*)\) for \(^*\)-simple \(A\), or Clifford forms in \(J(Q,1)\), or are Albert algebras.