Defining relations of invariants of two \(3\times 3\) matrices. (Q2491835)

All algebras considered in the paper are over a fixed field of characteristic 0. Consider two generic \(3\times 3\) matrices. The conjugation by elements of \(\text{GL}_3\) defines an action of this group on the commutative polynomial algebra in 18 variables (the entries of the two generic matrices). Let \(C\) be the corresponding algebra of invariants. It is well known that \(C\) is generated by traces of products of the two given matrices. The main aim of the paper under review is the description of the generators of \(C\) and the relations among them. The system constructed consists of 11 elements with one relation. The system of generators is quite natural and the relation has a very simple form. It is worth mentioning that the authors do not ``hide'' anything: the last Section 2 of the paper describes the approach followed to discover the relation among the generators. The reviewer has found it quite interesting and well timed.