Ein Kriterium für topologische Ternärkörper (Q1083692)

The authors prove that a ternary field \(K\) which is a topological manifold and whose ternary operation \(\tau\) is continuous is a topological ternary field, i.e. the different inverse operations associated with \(\tau\) are automatically continuous as well. This is proved by a simple but ingenious device using Brouwer's theorem on the invariance of domain. As the authors remark, the proof is valid more generally whenever the domain invariance theorem holds; so for example it would suffice to assume that \(K\) is a finite-dimensional locally compact, locally homogeneous, separable ANR [\textit{H.-P. Seidel}, Arch. Math. 44, 79--81 (1985; Zbl 0532.54015)]. Conversely, it can be proved that a locally compact, connected, finite- dimensional topological ternary field K is always an ANR with these properties [see e.g. \S 5 in \textit{R. Löwen}, J. Reine Angew. Math 343, 108--122 (1983; Zbl 0524.57011)]. Moreover, if the topological dimension of \(K\) is 1 or 2, then \(K\) can even be shown to be a manifold, namely \(\mathbb R\) or \(\mathbb R^ 2\) respectively [\textit{H. R. Salzmann}, Adv. Math. 2, 1--60 (1967; Zbl 0153.21601); Arch. Math. 20, 551--555 (1969; Zbl 0189.20801)]. Also for higher dimensions, all known examples are manifolds. It should be noted that the ternary fields of this kind are just the coordinate structures of compact, connected topological planes of finite topological dimension (theorem of Salzmann-Skornyakov [see \textit{H. Salzmann}, loc. cit.]). Results in the same spirit as the authors' but for the special case of quasifields have been obtained by the reviewer [Arch. Math. 38, 273--279 (1982; Zbl 0485.22005)]; some of them work with weaker algebraic assumptions (e.g. loc. cit. Satz 2.4), at the price of extra topological assumptions. \textit{Th. Grundhöfer} [Abh. Math. Semin. Univ. Hamb. 57, 87--101 (1987; Zbl 0652.51017)] has studied locally compact ternary fields in general (connected or not) to obtain criteria for a ternary field with a given topology to coordinatize a compact topological plane (which then implies that it is a topological ternary field). Analogous questions for topological planes themselves without the intermediate or coordinatizing algebraic structures have been treated (in the manifold case) by \textit{R. Löwen} [Arch. Math. 46, 275--278 (1986; Zbl 0591.51022)].