English

On the bad points of positive semidefinite polynomials

Algebraic Geometry 2022-05-24 v2

Abstract

A bad point of a positive semidefinite real polynomial f is a point at which a pole appears in all expressions of f as a sum of squares of rational functions. We show that quartic polynomials in three variables never have bad points. We give examples of positive semidefinite polynomials with a bad point at the origin, that are nevertheless sums of squares of formal power series, answering a question of Brumfiel. We also give an example of a positive semidefinite polynomial in three variables with a complex bad point that is not real, answering a question of Scheiderer.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2103.16134,
  title  = {On the bad points of positive semidefinite polynomials},
  author = {Olivier Benoist},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2103.16134},
  year   = {2022}
}

Comments

21 pages, final version

R2 v1 2026-06-24T00:40:52.101Z