Tropical polynomial algebras (Q395369)

The paper under review, which is a continuation of a previous paper by the author [Linear Algebra Appl. 432, No. 6, 1460--1474 (2010; Zbl 1234.15009)], is motivated by the development of tropical geometry, which appears to be the algebraic geometry of tropical algebra. The paper is devoted to the study of the algebraic tools which play a role in tropical algebra. The main objects of study are multivariate polynomial algebras over semi-fields \(K\) where all elements are idempotent with respect to addition (also called semi-fields of characteristic 1). Such a polynomial algebra \(K[X_1,\dots, X_n]\) has no zero-divisors and therefore has a semi-field of fractions \(K(X_1,\dots, X_n)\), but the natural homomorphism from \(K[X_1,\dots, X_n]\) to \(K(X_1,\dots, X_n)\) is not injective in general because cancellation does not hold in \(K[X_1,\dots, X_n]\). The author proves (Theorem 4.5) that the image \(K\{X_1,\dots, X_n\}\) of the natural homomorphism, which he calls the semi-ring of rational polynomials, is isomorphic to the semi-ring of polynomial functions \(K^n\to K\) provided that the base semi-field \(K\) is infinite and algebraically closed, e.g., \(K\) could be the usual max-plus semi-field \(\mathbb R\cup \{-\infty\}\). For the max-plus semi-field, it is shown that the algebra of polynomial functions over a tropical hypersurface associated to a polynomial \(P\) is, as in classical algebraic geometry, the quotient of the polynomial algebra by the radical of the ideal generated by \(P\). A new proof is given (at least in the case of principal ideals) of the Tropical Nullstellensatz obtained previously by \textit{Z. Izhakian} and \textit{L. Rowen} [Adv. Math. 225, No. 4, 2222--2286 (2010; Zbl 1273.14132)] and \textit{E. Shustin} and \textit{Z. Izhakian} [Proc. Am. Math. Soc. 135, No. 12, 3815--3821 (2007; Zbl 1163.12004)]. Decomposition of a tropical hypersurface into irreducible hypersurfaces is also discussed (Theorem 5.5).