Reduction in the rationality problem for multiplicative invariant fields (Q5936150)

Let \(G\) be a finite group, \(A\) a faithful \(\mathbb{Z} G\) lattice, \(K\) a field on which \(G\) acts by field automorphisms, and \(K[A]\) a group ring of \(A\) written multiplicatively with \(K\)-basis \(\{e(a) \mid a \in A\}\). Let \(R\) be the normal subgroup of \(G\) generated by the elements of \(G\) which act trivially on \(K\) and act as reflections on \(A\). In this paper, the author proves that the rationality of the multiplicative invariant field \(K(A^G)\) over \(K(A^R)^G\) is equivalent to the rationality of \(K(A)^{\Omega_G}\) over \(K(A^R)^{\Omega_G}\), where \(\Omega_G\) is a particular subgroup of \(G\) such that \(G/R\cong \Omega_G\). This reduction result is then used to prove that \(K(A^G)\) is rational over \(K\), where \(G\) is the automorphism group of a crystallographic root system \(\Psi\), \(G\) acts trivially on \(K\) and \(A\) is any lattice on the space \(\mathbb{Q}\Psi\). The author gives an interesting brief history of the rationality problem for multiplicative invariant fields and its current status. The author gives an outline of her paper as follows: In the second section, some standard definitions and results about reflections and crystallographic root systems are given. In Section 3, a crystallographic root system is associated to a faithful \(\mathbb{Z} G\) lattice \(A\) in order to construct the subgroup \(\Omega_G\) and to prepare for Section 4 in which Farkas' results on the rationality of multiplicative invariant fields for reflection lattices and Section 5 in which the reduction result is proved. In Section 6, the author examines the action of an automorphism group \(G\) of a crystallographic root system on a full \(\mathbb{Z} G\) lattice \(A\) of the rational vector space spanned by the root system. This provides preparation for Section 7 in which the rationality of \(K(A)^G\) over \(K\) is proved, where \(G\) acts trivially on \(K\).