English

On Landweber$'$s unique factorization problem

Commutative Algebra 2026-07-03 v1

Abstract

We solve a long-standing open problem, posed by Landweber in 1974: Let R=K[x1,x2,...]R = K[x_1, x_2, . . . ] be the ring of polynomials in countably many variables over a field KK. Is the formal power series ring R[[t]]R[[t]] a unique factorization domain? We prove that it is. The proof is based on a new general result in commutative algebra: If RR is a Krull domain, and fR[[t]]f \in R[[t]] is irreducible, then ff is irreducible modulo a finite power of tt.

Cite

@article{arxiv.2607.03475,
  title  = {On Landweber$'$s unique factorization problem},
  author = {Adam Jones and Elad Paran},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2607.03475},
  year   = {2026}
}

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24 pages