On the composition of derivations (Q2266055)

The composition of a finite set of derivations is generally believed not to be a derivation since the result of Posner nearly 30 years ago. One would wonder what kind of consequences can one draw if some composition happens to be a derivation. This appears to be the motivation of the authors. The technical devise is by considering the partitions of such composition. With these notations, the authors develop a generalized Leibniz formula and a working criterion. They then apply this criterion to various special cases and draw some rather strong results. Typical of such results are: Theorem A. For a commutative domain of characteristic \(>n>1\), if the composition of n derivations is itself a derivation, then one of the derivations is 0. Theorem C. For a prime ring with nonzero center and char \(>n>1\), if the composition of n derivations is itself a derivation, then the composition is linear over the center. There are several open questions in the conclusion.