Milnor-Witt \(K\)-groups of local rings (Q890140)

Milnor-Witt \(K\)-theory of a field \(F\) is a \(\mathbb Z\)-graded ring \(K_\bullet^{\mathrm{MW}}(F)= \bigoplus_{n\in \mathbb Z}K^{\mathrm{MW}}_n(F)\) defined by an explicit presentation, due to Morel and Hopkins. Its immediate significance, as shown by \textit{F. Morel} [in: Axiomatic, enriched and motivic homotopy theory. Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute, Cambridge, UK, 2002. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers. 219--260 (2004; Zbl 1130.14019)], is that it is isomorphic to the graded ring \(\mathrm{Hom}_{SH(F)}(\mathbb{S}^0,\mathbb{G}_m^\bullet)\), where \(SH(F)\) is the stable motivic homotopy category of \(F\), at least when \(F\) is perfect of characteristic not equal to \(2\). Its precise relationship to the Milnor \(K\)-theory \(K^{\mathrm{M}}_\bullet(F)\) and the Witt ring \(W(F)\) of the field \(F\) has also been determined by \textit{F. Morel} [Comment. Math. Helv. 79, No. 4, 689--703 (2004; Zbl 1061.19001)]: There are natural surjective maps \(K_n^{\mathrm{MW}}(F)\to K_n^{\mathrm{M}}(F)\) and \(K_n^{\mathrm{MW}}(F)\to I^n(F)\) where \(I^n(F)\) is the \(n\)-th power of the fundamental ideal in \(W(F)\) (and, by definition, \(I^n(F)=W(F)\) for \(n\leq 0\)). These maps then induce an isomorphism of graded rings \(K_n^{\mathrm{MW}}(F)\cong K_n^{\mathrm{M}}(F)\times_{I^n(F)/I^{n+1}(F)}I^n(F)\). The main result of the paper under review is to extend this latter theorem from the case of fields to that of local rings \(R\) which contain an infinite field of characteristic not \(2\). The proof uses a recent result of the first author giving an explicit presentation of the powers of the fundamental ideal of such rings [``On quadratic forms over semilocal rings'', Preprint, \url{http://www.math.ualberta.ca/\(\sim\)gille/publikationen1.html}]. This result in turn is based on a recent deep theorem due to \textit{I. Panin} and \textit{K. Pimenov} [Doc. Math., J. DMV Extra Vol., 515--523 (2010; Zbl 1270.11035)]. It also depends on the proof of the Milnor conjecture [\textit{D. Orlov} et al., Ann. Math. (2) 165, No. 1, 1--13 (2007; Zbl 1124.14017)]. In the final section the authors deduce that if \(R\) is a regular local ring containing a field of characteristic not \(2\) and if \(K\) is the field of fractions of \(R\) then the map \(K_n^{\mathrm{MW}}(R)\to K_n^{\mathrm{MW}}(K)\) induces an isomorphism of \(K_n^{\mathrm{MW}}(R)\) with the unramified Milnor-Witt \(K\)-theory group \(K_{n,\mathrm{unr}}^{\mathrm{MW}}(\mathrm{Spec}(R))\) for all integers \(n\). By definition, \(K_{n,\mathrm{unr}}^{\mathrm{MW}}(\mathrm{Spec}(R))\) is the intersection of the kernels of the residue homomorphisms \(\partial_P:K_n^{\mathrm{MW}}(K)\to K_{n-1}^{\mathrm{MW}}(R_P/PR_P)\) as \(P\) runs through the height one primes of \(R\). This follows, via the authors' main theorem, from the corresponding statements for Witt rings of Balmer, Gille and Panin [\textit{P. Balmer} et al., Doc. Math., J. DMV 7, 203--217 (2002; Zbl 1015.19002)], and Milnor \(K\)-theory [\textit{M. Kerz} and \textit{S. Müller-Stach}, \(K\)-Theory 38, No. 1, 49--58 (2007; Zbl 1144.19002); \textit{M. Kerz}, Invent. Math. 175, No. 1, 1--33 (2009; Zbl 1188.19002)]. The authors point out that, due to an argument of \textit{J. L. Colliot-Thélène} [Proc. Symp. Pure Math. 58, 1--64 (1995; Zbl 0834.14009)], one consequence of this result is that the \(n\)th unramified Milnor-Witt \(K\)-theory group is a birational invariant of smooth and proper \(F\)-schemes for all integers \(n\) and infinite fields \(F\) of characteristic not \(2\). One ingredient of the authors' proof of their main theorem is the following extension to local rings of a classical result of \textit{R. Elman} and \textit{T. Y. Lam} for fields [J. Algebra 23, 181--213 (1972; Zbl 0246.15029)]: Over any local ring containing \(1/2\), two Pfister forms are isometric if and only if they are chain \(p\)-equivalent.