Valuations of semirings (Q1742998)

The reader is assumed to be familiar with the field \(\mathbb F_1\) with one element, the projective line \(\mathbb P_{\mathbb F_1}^1\) and algebraic geometry, in particular tropical geometry. The notions of valuations introduced in this paper can be defined easily. The definition of a semiring differs from the the definition of a ring with identity element because we only require that the addition induces a structure of monoid with \(0\) instead of a structure of group. Now, a semifield is a semiring where the multiplication is commutative and every nonzero element has a multiplicative inverse. The semifield \(\mathbb Q_{\max}\) is the ordered set \(\mathbb Q\cup\{-\infty\}\) together with operations \(\oplus\), \(\odot\) defined as follows. For \(x\), \(y\) in \(\mathbb Q\cup \{-\infty\}\), \(x\oplus y=\max (x,y)\) and, for \(x\), \(y\) in \(\mathbb Q\), \(x\odot y=x+y\). We extend \(\odot\) to \(\mathbb Q\cup \{-\infty\}\) by assuming that \(-\infty\) is an absorbing element. Note that the zero element is \(-\infty\), and \(0\) is the identity element. First, the author defines classical and strict valuations on \(\mathbb Q_{\max}\), which are functions from \(\mathbb Q_{\max}\) to \(\mathbb R\cup\{-\infty\}\). Both of them satisfiy the rules \(\nu(\mathbb Q_{\max})\neq \{-\infty\}\), \(\nu(-\infty)=-\infty\), \(\nu(x\odot y)=\nu(x)+\nu(y)\), \(\nu(x\oplus y)\leq \max(\nu(x),\nu(y))\). The strict valuation satisfies in addition \(\nu(x\oplus y)= \max( \nu(x),\nu(y))\). For defining the third notion of valuation we need to introduce the tropical hyperfield \(\mathbb T\). It consists of the set \(\mathbb R\cup \{-\infty\}\), together with operations \(\boxplus\) and \(\boxdot\). The operation \(\boxdot\) is defined in the same way as \(\odot\) in \(\mathbb Q_{\max}\). Now, for \(x\), \(y\) in \(\mathbb R\cup\{-\infty\}\), \(x\boxplus y\) is a nonempty subset of \(\mathbb R\cup \{-\infty\}\) which is defined as follows. If \(x\neq y\), then \(x\oplus y=\{\max(x,y)\}\), otherwise \(x\boxplus y=[-\infty,x]\). Now, an hyperfield valuation on \(\mathbb Q_{\max}\) is a mapping \(\nu\) from \(\mathbb Q_{\max}\) to \(\mathbb T\) such that \(\nu(\mathbb Q_{\max})\neq \{-\infty\}\), \(\nu(-\infty)=-\infty\) and, for every \(x\), \(y\in\mathbb Q_{\max}\), \(\nu(x\oplus y)\in \nu(x)\boxplus\nu(y)\), \(\nu(x\odot y)=\nu(x)\boxdot\nu(y)\). Any two classical (resp. strict, resp. hyperfield) valuations \(\nu_1\) and \(\nu_2\) are equivalent if there exists a positive real number \(\rho\) such that, for every \(x\), \(\nu_2(x)=\rho\nu_1(x)\). Now, we can quote the first theorem which is proved in this paper. Up to equivalence, there are exactly three classical valuations, two strict valuations, and two hyperfield valuations on \(\mathbb Q_{\max}\). Next, let \(T\) be a variable. We define the ring \(\mathbb Q_{\max}[T]\) of polynomials, by extending \(\oplus\) and \(\odot\) in the usual way. Since \((\mathbb Q_{\max}[T],\odot)\) is a not a group, \(\mathbb Q_{\max}[T]\) is not a semifield. So, the author defines an equivalence relation \(\sim\) on \(\mathbb Q_{\max}[T]\) by setting, for every \(f(T\)), \(g(T)\) in \(\mathbb Q_{\max}[T]\), \(f(T)\sim g(T) \Leftrightarrow \forall x\in \mathbb Q_{\max}\) \(f(x)=g(x)\). One can prove that \(\sim\) is compatible with \(\oplus\) and \(\odot\). Therefore, one can define the quotient structure \(\mathbb Q_{\max}[T]/\sim\), which is a semiring. Then, the author lets \(\mathbb Q_{\max}(T)\) be the quotient field of this semiring. Next, he considers the valuations on \(\mathbb Q_{\max}[T]\) which are trivial on \(\mathbb Q_{\max}\), and he proves that there is, up to equivalence, exactly two non-trivial strict valuations on \(\mathbb Q_{\max}[T]\). Furthermore, he establishes a one-to-one correspondence between the set of equivalence classes of non-trivial hyperfield valuations on \(\mathbb Q_{\max}[T]\), and the set \(\mathbb Q_{\max}\cup \{\infty\}\). Turning to geometric aspects, the abstract curve associated to \(\mathbb Q_{\max}[T]\) over \(\mathbb Q_{\max}\) is a topological space which as underlying set the set of the two equivalence classes of non-trivial strict valuations of \(\mathbb Q_{\max}[T]\) which are trivial on \(\mathbb Q_{\max}\), together with the cofinite topology. The author proves that it is homeomorphic to the subspace of \(\mathbb P_{\mathbb F_1}^1\) which consist of all closed points. Regarding hyperfield valuations, he constructs in an similar way the abstract nonsingular curve \(C_K\) associated to \(\mathbb Q_{\max}\). He shows that there is a canonical bijection between this curve and the set of closed points of the tropical projective line \(\mathbb P_{\mathbb Q_{\max}}^1\) over \(\mathbb Q_{\max}\). Furthermore, the semiring of global sections \(\mathcal O_{C_K}(C_K)\) is isomorphic to \(\mathbb Q_{\max}\), and \(\mathcal O_{C_K}(C_K\setminus \{\infty\})\) is isomorphic to \(\mathbb Q_{\max}[T]/\sim\).