A solution of the problem of van den Essen and Shpilrain (Q1295728)

Let \(P_n=K[x_1, \dots, x_n]\) be the polynomial algebra in \(n\) indeterminates over a commutative field \(K\). \(p\in P_n\) is called a coordinate polynomial if it can be included in a generating set of \(P_n\) of cardinality \(n\). In a recent paper \textit{A. van den Essen} and \textit{V. Shpilrain} [J. Pure Appl. Algebra 119, No. 1, 47-52 (1997; Zbl 0899.13009)] have proved that for \(n=2\) every endomorphism of \(P_n\) fixing the set of coordinate polynomials is an automorphism. Using methods of algebraic geometry the author shows that this result holds for arbitrary \(n\) if \(K=\mathbb{C}\).