Decomposing the Diagonals of Invariant Fields
Abstract
This work begins the process of using the decomposition of the diagonal as a tool for studying the rationality of invariant fields of finite groups . Our ground field must be characteristic 0 because of the use we make of Bertini theorems. The steps we take are, first, defining and studying an "open" version of Chow zero. Second, we use this to translate our study to that of a Chow group of Galois extensions. We prove a "Sylow" property and thereby yield a connection between the invariants of and that of its Sylow subgroups. In particular, we show that if is a finite group with Sylow subgroup , is a faithful module, and has nontrivial unramified cohomology, then is not retract rational. Finally, we prove Sylow type theorems for decomposition of the diagonal and the centers of generic division algebras.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2508.18471,
title = {Decomposing the Diagonals of Invariant Fields},
author = {David J Saltman},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2508.18471},
year = {2025}
}
Comments
The result 6.6b) has been questioned by a very credible reader. Until this is sorted out, I am withdrawing