Related papers: On the bad points of positive semidefinite polynom…

We study the problem of representing multivariate polynomials with rational coefficients, which are nonnegative and strictly positive on finite semialgebraic sets, using rational sums of squares. We focus on the case of finite semialgebraic…

We show that every real nonnegative polynomial $f$ can be approximated as closely as desired by a sequence of polynomials $\{f_\epsilon\}$ that are sums of squares. Each $f_\epsilon$ has a simple et explicit form in terms of $f$ and…

We present a necessary and sufficient condition for a cubic polynomial to be positive for all positive reals. We identify the set where the cubic polynomial is nonnegative but not all positive for all positive reals, and explicitly give the…

We ask whether every polynomial function that is non-negative on a real algebraic curve can be expressed as a sum of squares in the coordinate ring. Scheiderer has classified all irreducible curves for which this is the case. For reducible…

We show that the set of real polynomials in two variables that are sums of three squares of rational functions is dense in the set of those that are positive semidefinite. We also prove that the set of real surfaces in P^3 whose function…

We prove that every real nonnegative ternary quartic whose complex zero set is smooth can be represented as the determinant of a symmetric matrix with quadratic entries which is everywhere positive semidefinite. We show that the…

This article deals with a quantitative aspect of Hilbert's seventeenth problem: producing a collection of real polynomials in two variables of degree 8 in one variable which are positive but are not a sum of three squares of rational…

Let $f_1,\dots,f_m$ be polynomials in $n$ variables with coefficients in a finite field $\mathbb{F}_q$. We estimate the number of points $\underline{x}$ in $\mathbb{F}_q^n$ such that each value $f_i(\underline{x})$ is a nonzero square in…

Given rational univariate polynomials f and g such that gcd(f, g) and f / gcd(f, g) are relatively prime, we show that g is non-negative on all the real roots of f if and only if g is a sum of squares of rational polynomials modulo f. We…

We show that if a polynomial $f\in \mathbb{R}[x_1,\ldots,x_n]$ is nonnegative on a closed basic semialgebraic set $X=\{x\in\mathbb{R}^n:g_1(x)\ge 0,\ldots,g_r (x)\ge 0\}$, where $g_1,\ldots,g_r\in\mathbb{R}[x_1,\ldots,x_n]$, then $f$ can be…

This paper introduces and develops the algebraic framework of moment polynomials, which are polynomial expressions in commuting variables and their formal mixed moments. Their positivity and optimization over probability measures supported…

Hilbert proved in 1888 that a positive semi-definite (PSD) homogeneous quartic polynomial of three variables always can be expressed as the sum of squares (SOS) of three quadratic polynomials, and a psd homogeneous quartic polynomial of…

In 2008, M. Marshall settled a long-standing open problem by showing that if f(x,y) is a polynomial that is non-negative on the strip [0,1] x R, then there exist sums of squares s(x,y) and t(x,y) such that f(x,y) = s(x,y) + (x - x^2)…

Artin solved Hilbert's 17th problem, proving that a real polynomial in $n$ variables that is positive semidefinite is a sum of squares of rational functions, and Pfister showed that only $2^n$ squares are needed. In this paper, we…

We study separable plus quadratic (SPQ) polynomials, i.e., polynomials that are the sum of univariate polynomials in different variables and a quadratic polynomial. Motivated by the fact that nonnegative separable and nonnegative quadratic…

We consider the problem of characterizing the extreme points of the set of analytic functions f on the bidisk with positive real part and f(0)=1. If one restricts to those f whose Cayley transform is a rational inner function, one gets a…

Let F be a homogeneous real polynomial of even degree in any number of variables. We consider the problem of giving explicit conditions on the coefficients so that F is positive definite or positive semi-definite. In this note we produce a…

We present an example of a strictly positive polynomial with rational coefficients that can be decomposed as a sum of squares of polynomials over $\R$ but not over $\Q$. This answers an open question by C. Scheiderer posed as the second…

We construct families of explicit polynomials f with rational coefficients that are sums of squares of polynomials over the real numbers, but not over the rational numbers. Whether or not such examples exist was an open question originally…

Hilbert's 17th problem asks that whether every nonnegative polynomial can be a sum of squares of rational functions. It has been answered affirmatively by Artin. However, the question as to whether a given nonnegative polynomial is a sum of…