Sum-of-squares results for polynomials related to the Bessis-Moussa-Villani conjecture (Q977196)

Let \(S_{m,k}(A,B)\) denote the sum of all words of length \(m\) in A and B having \(k\) letters equal to B and \(m-k\) equal to A. Then the coefficient of \(t^k\) in the polynomial \(p(t)= \text{Tr}((A+tB)^m)\) is equal to the trace of \(S_{m,k}(A,B)\), and the Lieb-Seirenger reformulation of the Bessis-Moussa-Villani conjecture is that this trace is always nonnegative. The authors show that the polynomial \(S_{m,k}(A,B)\), that is, the sum of all words in noncommuting variables A and B, is not equal to a sum of commutators and Hermitian squares in the algebra \(R\langle X,Y\rangle \), where \(X^2=A\) and \(Y^2=B\), for all even values of \(m\) and \(k\) with \(6\leq k\leq m-10,\) and also for \((m,k)=(12,6)\). This leaves only the case \((m,k)=(16,8)\) open. These results eliminate the possibility of using ``descent+sum-of-squares'' to prove the Bessis-Moussa-Villani conjecture.