The Hasse principle for bilinear symmetric forms over a ring of integers of a global function field (Q301449)

A Hasse principle is said to hold for a symmetric bilinear form over a given field with respect to a given set of over fields if the bilinear forms given by extension of scalars to these over fields classify the form. For instance, the classical Hasse-Minkowski theorem states that symmetric bilinear forms over a number field are equivalent if and only of they are equivalent over all completions of the field. In this paper, an analogous situation is considered for a particular ring of integers. Let \(C\) be a smooth, projective, geometrically connected curve defined over the field \(\mathbb{F}_q\) (\(q\) odd) and let \(K=\mathbb{F}_q(C)\). Removing a closed point gives an affine curve \(C^{\mathrm{af}}\), and one may consider the integral domain \[ \mathcal{O}_{\infty} = \mathbb{F}_q[C^{\mathrm{af}}] := \{ a\in K\mid v_{\mathfrak p}(a) \geq 0 \text{ for all }\, \mathfrak{p}\neq 0 \} \,. \] where \(v_{\mathfrak p}\) is the discrete valuation on \(K\) induced by the prime \(\mathfrak{p}\). Let \(\mathcal{O}_{\mathfrak p}\) be the discrete valuation ring of \(K\) with respect to \(v_{\mathfrak p}\), \(K_{\mathfrak p}\) be its function field, \(\hat{K}_{\mathfrak p}\) the completion of \(K_{\mathfrak p}\) and \(\hat{\mathcal{O}}_{\mathfrak p}\) its ring of integers. Let \(V\) be a \(\mathcal{O}_{\infty}\)-vector space and \(f:V\times V\rightarrow \mathcal{O}_{\infty} \) a symmetric bilinear form on \(V\). In general, the Hasse principle fails for these symmetric bilinear forms (called integral forms). That is, integral forms may be equivalent over \(\hat{\mathcal{O}}_{\mathfrak p}\) for all primes \(\mathfrak{p}\), but not over \(\mathcal{O}_{\infty}\). In this paper, it is shown that the failure of this Hasse Principle (for forms of rank greater than \(2\)) is encoded in the abelian groups \[ H^2_{\text{et}}( \mathcal{O}_{\infty}, \underline{\mu}_2)\cong \mathrm{Pic}(C^{\mathrm{af}})/2\,. \] In particular, it is an invariant of \(C^{\mathrm{af}}\). In particular, the Hasse principle holds for any such \(f\) if and only if \(| \mathrm{Pic}(C^{\mathrm{af}})|\). A classification result for the case of rank \(2\) is also given.