Colliot-Thélène's conjecture and finiteness of u-invariants (Q464134)

In this paper, the authors investigate the ramification of a class \(\alpha\) in the \(p\)-torsion part of \(\mathrm{Br}(K)\), where \(p\) is a prime and \(K\) is the function field of an excellent regular integral scheme \(X\) of dimension 2. Recall that, for \(R\) an integral domain with field of fractions \(K\), a central simple algebra \(C\) over \(K\) is said to be \textit{unramified} on \(R\) if it can be obtained as \(D \otimes_R K\), where \(D\) is an Azumaya algebra over \(R\); the class \(\alpha\) is \textit{unramified} on \(R\) if it can be represented by a central simple algebra that is unramified on \(R\). The main result (Theorem 3.9) states that, under some technical assumptions on \(X\), there exist \(f,g,h \in K^*\) such that the extension of the class \(\alpha\) to the field \(K(f^{1/p},g^{1/p},h^{1/p})\) is unramified at every discrete valuation of this field whose restriction to \(K\) is centered at a point of \(X\); this implies that the index of \(\alpha\) divides \(\mathrm{period}(\alpha)^3\). Another corollary is that a conjecture of Colliot-Thélène implies that the function field of a curve over a totally imaginary number field has finite \(u\)-invariant. To prove Theorem 3.9, the authors first blow up the surface \(X\) in finitely many closed points so that the ramification locus of \(\alpha\) lies in \(C \cup E\), where \(C\) and \(E\) are two regular curves intersecting transversally. For every irreducible component \(D\) of \(C \cup E\), a suitable parameter \(\pi_D\) is chosen; then \(f\) is defined using weak approximation to be equivalent to \(\pi_D\) modulo \(K_D^{*}{}^{p}\) for every \(D\). The divisor of \(f\) can be written as \(C+D+F\); and the authors define \(g\) and \(h\) as products of some parameters at points in the various intersections of \(C\), \(D\) and \(F\).