Retract Rational Fields

TL;DR

This paper investigates the properties of retract rational fields, establishing key theorems on their behavior under field extensions and their relation to group structures, with implications for rationality problems in algebra.

Contribution

It proves new theorems on the retract rationality of fields, especially in relation to finite groups and their representations, extending previous results by Bogomolov and Barge.

Findings

Retract rationality is preserved under certain field extensions.

Fixed fields of specific group actions are retract rational.

Characterization of groups with cyclic Sylow subgroups via retract rationality.

Abstract

Let $k$ be an infinite field. The notion of retract $k$-rationality was introduced by Saltman in the study of Noether's problem and other rationality problems. We will investigate the retract rationality of a field in this paper. Theorem 1. Let $k\subset K\subset L$ be fields. If $K$ is retract $k$-rational and $L$ is retract $K$-rational, then $L$ is retract $k$-rational. Theorem 2. For any finite group $G$ containing an abelian normal subgroup $H$ such that $G/H$ is a cyclic group, for any complex representation $G \to GL(V)$, the fixed field $\bm{C}(V)^G$ is retract $\bm{C}$-rational. Theorem 3. If $G$ is a finite group, then all the Sylow subgroups of $G$ are cyclic if and only if $\bm{C}_{\alpha}(M)^G$ is retract $\bm{C}$-rational for all $G$-lattices $M$, for all short exact sequences $\alpha : 0 \to \bm{C}^{\times} \to M_{\alpha} \to M \to 0$. Because the unramified Brauer group of a retract $\bm{C}$-rational field is trivial, Theorem 2 and Theorem 3 generalize previous results of Bogomolov and Barge respectively (see Theorem \ref{t5.9} and Theorem \ref{t6.1}).