Strong nonnegativity and sums of squares on real varieties (Q2376539)

The notion of strong nonnegativity is motivated by the following example: Let \(I\subset\mathbb{R}[x]\) be the ideal generated by \(x^2\). Then the real vanishing set \(V_{\mathbb{R}}(I)\) consists only of the origin. The coordinate function \(x\) is nonnegative on \(V_{\mathbb{R}}(I)\). Algebraically this is rephrased by saying that \(\varphi(x)\) is nonnegative for every \(\mathbb{R}\)-algebra homomorphism \(\varphi: A \to \mathbb{R}\) (in this example there is only one such homomorphism given by sending \(x\) to \(0\)). But \(x\) is not a sum of squares in the coordinate ring \(A := \mathbb{R}[X]/I\). The authors interpret this phenomenon geometrically in the associated scheme \(\mathrm{Spec}(A)\): The function \(x\) is not nonnegative on an `infinitesimal' neighbourhood of the origin. This can be formulated by looking at the tangent space at the origin which is algebraically described by homomorphisms \(\varphi:A \to \mathbb{R}[\epsilon]/(\epsilon^2)\) where \(\epsilon\) is infinitesimally positive. The homomorphism \(\mathbb{R}[x]/(x^2) \to \mathbb{R}[\epsilon]/(\epsilon^2)\) given by sending \(x\) to \(-\epsilon\) shows that \(x\) takes a negative value on the tangent vector in negative direction. The authors consider also higher-order infinitesimal arcs and formalize the above idea as follows. For \(m \in\mathbb{N}\) let \(\epsilon\) be infinitesimally positive in the ring \(\mathbb{R}[\epsilon]/(\epsilon^m)\). The ring \(\mathbb{R}[\epsilon]/(\epsilon^m)\) has a unique homomorphism to \(\mathbb{R}\), given by sending \(\epsilon\) to \(0\). Let \(I\) be an ideal in the polynomial ring \(\mathbb{R}[x_1,\dots, x_n]\) for some \(n \in\mathbb{N}\), let \(A := \mathbb{R}[x_1,\dots, x_n]/I\) be the coordinate ring and let \(P\) be a point in the real vanishing set \(V_{\mathbb{R}}(I)\). A homomorphism \(\varphi: A \to \mathbb{R}[\epsilon]/(\epsilon^m)\) is said to be at \(P\) if \(P\) is the (unique) point corresponding to the composed homomorphism \(A \to\mathbb{R}\). A function \(f \in A\) is called strongly nonnegative at \(P\) if \(\varphi(f)\) is nonnegative for every homomorphism \(\varphi : A \to\mathbb{R}[\epsilon]/(\epsilon^m)\) at \(P\) and every \(m \in\mathbb{N}\). The function \(f\) is called strongly nonnegative if it is strongly nonnegative at every point of \(V_{\mathbb{R}}(I)\). One observes that sums of squares a strongly nonnegative. One of the main results of the paper is the following: Let \(f \in A\) and let \(P \in V_{\mathbb{R}}(I)\) be nonsingular in the associated scheme. Then \(f\) is strongly nonnegative at \(P\) if and only if \(f\) is nonnegative in a neighbourhood of \(P\). As applications obstructions to nonnegative functions being sums of squares are studied.