Bounds for the representation of quadratic forms. (Q1409749)

Let \(G=\langle G, \equiv_G, -1\rangle\) be a special group in the meaning of [Special groups: Boolean-theoretic methods in the theory of quadratic forms, Mem. Am. Math. Soc. 689 (2000; Zbl 1052.11027)]. For a form \(\varphi\in I^n(G)\), the Pfister index \(I(n,\varphi,G)\) of \(\varphi\) at level \(n\) over \(G\) is the least integer \(k\) such that \(\varphi\) is Witt-equivalent to a linear combination, with coefficients in \(G\), of \(k\) Pfister forms of degree \(n\). For an integer \(m\geq1\), \(I(n,m,G)\in\mathbb N\cup\{\infty\}\) is the supremum of \(I(n,\varphi,G)\) over all forms \(\varphi\in I^n(G)\) of dimension \(m\). Marshall's signature conjecture at level \(n\) is the statement (MC\(_n\)):= ''For every quadratic form \(\varphi\) over \(G\) the congruence \(\text{sgn}_\sigma(\varphi)\equiv 0\pmod {2^n},\) for all \(\sigma\in X_G\) implies \(\varphi\in I^n(G)".\) The authors prove the following theorem: If \(n\geq1\) and \(C\) is a class of reduced special groups closed under ultraproducts and such that (MC\(_n\)) is true for all \(G\in C\), then for \(n, m\geq1\) the map \(G\rightarrow I(n,m,G)\) is uniformly bounded on \(C\). As a consequence they get a uniform bound for the Pfister index at level \(n\) for all Pythagorean fields, all formally real fields with Pythagoras number \(\leq p, \; p\) a fixed number \(\geq1,\) and special groups \(G_T(F)\) for all preordered fields \((F,T).\) Next the authors discuss the behaviour of the Pfister index and the validity of Marshall's Conjecture under operations on special groups like inductive limits, products, projective limits and extensions. The results they get lead to consider inductively defined classes RSG\(_k\) for which an interesting result is proved: There is a double sequence \(c_{n,k}\) of rational numbers such that for every \(G\in\text{RSG}_k\) and all integers \(n\geq2, m\geq2^n\) we have \(I(n,m,G)\leq[c_{n,k}\cdot m^{n-1}].\) It is worth noticing that the class \(\bigcup _{k\geq0}\text{RSG}_k\) is quite extensive and includes all special groups of finite type, all uniformly locally finite reduced special groups and all profinite reduced special groups of finite stability index. In the final section the authors relate the Pfister index and other structural invariants of reduced special groups. Among others they yield an explicit upper bound of \(I(n,m,G)\) in terms of the stability index.