The existence of superinvolutions. (Q934099)

The purpose of the paper under review is to obtain necessary and sufficient conditions for a finite dimensional central simple associative superalgebra over a field of characteristic different from 2 to be endowed with a superinvolution, and to study analogues in the graded setting of the classic Albert and Albert-Riehm theorems. The classical Albert theorem reads that a finite dimensional central simple algebra has an involution of the first kind if and only if the order of its class in the Brauer group is at most 2, and the Albert-Riehm theorem reads that a necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of an involution of the second kind is that the so-called corestriction is trivial in the Brauer group [\textit{A. A. Albert}, Structure of algebras. Am. Math. Soc. Colloq. Publ. 24. New York: AMS (1939; JFM 65.0094.02); \textit{C. R. Riehm}, J. Algebra 287, No. 2, 501-520 (2005; Zbl 1080.16012); \textit{W. Scharlau}, Quadratic and Hermitian forms. Grundlehren der Mathematischen Wissenschaften 270. Berlin: Springer-Verlag (1985; Zbl 0584.10010)]. The authors obtain that central simple superalgebras of odd type and central division superalgebras of even type with nontrivial odd part never have superinvolutions of the first kind. Even if the class in the Brauer-Wall group of a central simple algebra has order at most 2, the superalgebra may have no superinvolutions of the first kind. Then the natural analogue of Albert's theorem is false. However, the authors obtain a graded version of Albert's theorem where superinvolutions are substituted by superautomorphisms whose square is the grading automorphism. In the case where superinvolutions of the second kind are considered, the authors prove that the natural graded version of the classical Albert-Riehm theorem holds. Similar results have been obtained by \textit{A. Jaber}, although the approach and the proofs are different [Int. J. Math. Math. Sci. 2008, Art. ID 386468 (2008; Zbl 1178.16040); Existence of superinvolutions of the first kind, (preprint); Existence of superinvolutions of the second kind, (preprint)].