The idempotency of the real spectrum implies the extension theorem for Nash functions (Q1127701)

Let \({\mathcal N} (M)\) be the ring of Nash functions on an affine Nash manifold \(M\), \(I\) an ideal of \({\mathcal N} (M)\) and \({\mathcal N}\) the sheaf of Nash functions on \(M\). We are dealing with the extension problem which asks whether the canonical morphism \(\varphi:{\mathcal N}(M) \to H^0(M, {\mathcal N}/I{\mathcal N})\) is surjective. We give an affirmative answer to this problem when \(H^0(M, {\mathcal N}/I {\mathcal N})\) is noetherian and \(\varphi\) regular, using the result of Spivakovsky-Popescu-André [cf. \textit{D. Popescu}, Nagoya Math. J. 100, 97-126 (1985; Zbl 0561.14001); see also: \textit{M. André}, ``Cinq exposés sur la désingularisation'' (preprint 1992), and \textit{M. Spirakovsky}, ``Smoothing of ring homomorphisms, approximation theorems and the Bass-Quillen conjecture'' (preprint 1992)] on approximation of regular morphisms. These hypotheses are consequences of the so-called ``idempotency of the real spectrum''; unfortunately there is a gap in its proofs given in the literature. We show that the idempotency holds under an assumption of normality.