The weak isotropy of quadratic forms over field extensions (Q403147)

Let \(q\) be a quadratic form over the field \(F\). The weak isotropy index \(wi(q)\) is defined to be the least number \(n\) such that the orthogonal sum of \(n\) copies of \(q\) is isotropic. If no such number exists, we set \(wi(q)=\infty\). For an anisotropic form \(q\) the number \(\underline{s}_q(F)=wi(q)-1\) is called the \(q\)-sublevel of \(F\). The paper under review considers the possible values of the weak isotropy index of a form as it ranges over field extensions. More preciously, the author considers the set \(\{\underline{s}_q(K)\mid K/F,q\text{ anisotropic over }K\}\). Let us state some of the main results of the paper. Let \(q\) be an anisotropic form over a formally real field \(F\) such that \(|\text{sgn}_P(q)|=\text{dim} (q)-2\) for some ordering \(P\) of \(F\). Then for \(m':=\text{min}\{\text{dim} (q)-1, \underline{s}_q(F)-1\}\) we get \(\{1,\ldots,m'\}\cup\{\underline{s}_q(F)\}\subset \{\underline{s}_q(K)\mid K/F,q\text{ anisotropic over }K\}\). The \(q\)-level of a field \(F\) is the least number \(n\) such that \(n\) orthogonal copies of \(q\) represents \(-1\) over \(F\). It is infinity, if no such number exists. Theorem 4.3 states that \(\{1,\ldots,s_q(F)\}= \{s_q(K)\mid K/F,q\text{ anisotropic over }K\}\), if \(F\) is a formally real field and \(q\) a form, such that \(\text{sgn}_P(q)=-\text{dim} (q)\) for some ordering \(P\) of \(F\). Furthermore, if \(q\) is anisotropic, then \(1,2\in \{s_q(K)\mid K/F,q\text{ anisotropic over }K\}\). The last section considers classes of forms such that the \(q\)-sublevel and the \(q\)-level coincide.