Pure states, nonnegative polynomials and sums of squares (Q662442)

In real algebra and geometry it is an important problem to recognize whether an element \(f\in R\), where \(R\subseteq\mathbb{R}^A\) is a subring of a ring of functions defined on some set \(A\), is nonnegative or positive on a subset \(Z\subseteq A\). Important instances are semi-algebraic subsets \(A\subseteq\mathbb{R}^n\) and basic closed sets \(Z\subseteq A\). Positivstellensätze give an algebraic answer to this question. The ring \(R\) is equipped with an Archimedean semiring \(S\subset R\) (generalizing the notion of an Archimedean partial order) and with an \(S\)-module \(M\). The module defines the set \(Z_M= \{x\in A\mid\forall f\in M: f(x)\geq 0\}\). The elements of \(M\) are nonnegative on \(Z_M\), but frequently there are also other functions that are nonnegtive on \(Z_M\). Typically, a Positivstellensatz says that a function \(g\) satisfying certain conditions belongs to \(M\), hence is nonnegative on \(Z_M\), or can be expressed in terms of the elements of \(M\) in a way which makes it obvious that \(g\) is nonnegative on \(Z_M\). There exists a large amount of literature about Positivstellensätze. The authors adapt tools from functional analysis (i.e., states) to the study of positivity in real algebra. Using these techniques they reprove several known Positivstellensätze and discover near ones with applications in semi-algebraic geometry.