No label defined (Q4938552)

After reviewing some basic algebraic and model-theoretic facts concerning fields, forking and simplicity, the author proves that a pseudo-algebraically closed field whose theory is simple, is bounded, i.e., for each positive integer \(n\) it only has finitely many Galois extensions of degree \(n\). As the author notes, if the assumption of pseudo-algebraic closure could be dropped, then a conjecture stating that all stable fields are separably closed would be proved since according to \textit{B. Poizat} [Groups stables (Nur Al-Mantiq Wal-Ma'rifah, Paris) (1987; Zbl 0633.03019)], a bounded stable field is separably closed. The paper ends with a study of forking in the case of \(\omega\)-free pseudo-algebraically closed fields. For the entire collection see [Zbl 0919.00039].