Polynomial automorphisms and invariants. (Q1414045)

The tame generators problem asks if the automorphism group of a polynomial ring in \(n\) variables over a field \(k\) can be generated by triangular and linear automorphisms, and this is the case for \(n=2\). After the remarkable result by \textit{I. P. Shestakov} and \textit{U. U. Umirbaev} [J. Am. Math. Soc. 17, No. 1, 181--196 (2004; Zbl 1044.17014), and 197--227 (2004; Zbl 1056.14085)] that the famous Nagata automorphism of \(k[x,y,z]\) is wild, the following question comes to mind immediately: What could possibly be a better set of candidate generators for the automorphism group of \(k[x,y,z]\) or more generally of \(k[x_1,\dots,x_n]\)? In the paper under review, the authors discuss and study such a set of automorphisms. They introduce several classes of automorphisms, among them the quasi-linear and quasi-triangular automorphisms, defined, respectively, with the property \(\phi(x_i)\in Rx_1+\cdots+Rx_n\) and \(\phi(x_i)-x_i\in R[x_{i+1},\dots,x_n]\), \(i=1,\dots,n\), where \(R=k[x_1,\dots,x_n]^{\phi}\) is the algebra of \(\phi\)-invariants. These classes are introduced also in the more general setup of polynomials over an arbitrary commutative \(\mathbb Q\)-algebra \(A\). The Nagata automorphism is of this kind: \(\sigma=(x-2\Delta y-\Delta^2z,y+\Delta z,z)\), where \(\Delta=xz+y^2\) is \(\phi\)-invariant. The authors discuss some exotic automorphisms constructed by various authors. Most probably these automorphisms are not tame but they can be written as compositions of quasi-triangular automorphisms. One of the main results of the paper states that quasi-triangular automorphisms are exponential maps, \(\phi=\exp D\), for some locally nilpotent derivation \(D\) of \(A[x_1,\dots,x_n]\). Finally, the authors study the nilpotency subgroup of the automorphism group of \(A[x_1,\dots,x_n]\) which consists of all automorphisms of the form \(F=(x_1+g_1,\dots,x_n+g_n)\), where each \(g_i\) is a nilpotent element of \(A[x_1,\dots,x_n]\). (The nilpotency group plays a central role in the study of the Jacobian conjecture.) The authors prove that such automorphisms are stably quasi-tame, i.e. adding several new variables, the automorphism \((F,x_{n+1},\dots,x_{n+m})\) is a composition of linear and quasi-triangular automorphisms of \(A[x_1,\dots,x_{n+m}]\).