\(H^3\) and generic matrices (Q1372653)

Unramified cohomology is one of few tools which can be used to show that a unirational field extension is nonrational. Particular unirational field extensions are so-called invariant fields. Let \(L/F\) be a rational field extension and let \(G\) be a group that acts on \(L\). The author is interested in nonrationality of the invariant field extension \(L^G/F\) for special kinds of actions of \(G\) on \(L.\) In his earlier paper he examined the case of ``additive'' action of \(G\subset \text{GL}_F(V)\) on the function field \(F(V)\) [Proc. Symp. Pure Math. 58, Part 1, 189-246 (1995; Zbl 0827.13003)]. In that paper he started also the study of so-called ``multiplicative'' action which he continues in the paper under review. The multiplicative invariant field is constructed in the following way. Suppose \(M\) is a free abelian group and \(G\) is a finite subgroup of \(\text{Aut}_Z(M).\) Let \(F(M)\) denote the field of fractions of the group algebra \(F[M].\) The group \(G\) acts in the natural way on \(F(M)\) and the multiplicative invariant field is just the field \(F(M)^G.\) In the first three sections the author studies among others the Brauer group of \(F(M)\) and the cohomology of \(F(M)^G\), in particular its unramified \(H^3.\) The last section contains the main result of the paper. Let \(V\) be a finite dimensional representation of \(G=\text{PGL}_n(F).\) The author proves that if \(F\) is algebraically closed of characteristic 0, then the unramified cohomology group \(H^3_u(F(V)^G,\mu)\) is trivial.