Cohomological Invariants In Galois Cohomology

This volume is concerned with algebraic invariants, such as the Stiefel-Whitney classes of quadratic forms (with values in Galois cohomology mod 2) and the trace form of etale algebras (with values in the Witt ring). The invariants are analogues for Galois cohomology of the characteristic classes of topology. Historically, one of the first examples of cohomological invariants of the type considered here was the Hasse-Witt invariant of quadratic forms. The first part classifies such invariants in several cases. A principal tool is the notion of versal torsor, which is an analogue of the universal bundle in topology. The second part gives Rost's determination of the invariants of $G$-torsors with values in $H^3(\mathbb{Q}/\mathbb{Z}(2))$, when $G$ is a semisimple, simply connected, linear group. This part gives detailed proofs of the existence and basic properties of the Rost invariant. This is the first time that most of this material appears in print.

This volume concerns invariants of $G$-torsors with values in mod $p$ Galois cohomology--in the sense of Serre's lectures in the book Cohomological invariants in Galois cohomology--for various simple algebraic groups $G$ and primes $p$. The author determines the invariants for the exceptional groups $F_4$ mod 3, simply connected $E_6$ mod 3, $E_7$ mod 3, and $E_8$ mod 5. He also determines the invariants of $\mathrm{Spin}_n$ mod 2 for $n \leq 12$ and constructs some invariants of $\mathrm{Spin}_{14}$. Along the way, the author proves that certain maps in nonabelian cohomology are surjective. These surjectivities give as corollaries Pfister's results on 10- and 12-dimensional quadratic forms and Rost's theorem on 14-dimensional quadratic forms. This material on quadratic forms and invariants of $\mathrm{Spin}_n$ is based on unpublished work of Markus Rost. An appendix by Detlev Hoffmann proves a generalization of the Common Slot Theorem for 2-Pfister quadratic forms.

This second edition is a corrected and extended version of the first. It is a textbook for students, as well as a reference book for the working mathematician, on cohomological topics in number theory. In all it is a virtually complete treatment of a vast array of central topics in algebraic number theory. New material is introduced here on duality theorems for unramified and tamely ramified extensions as well as a careful analysis of 2-extensions of real number fields.

This is the first detailed elementary introduction to Galois cohomology and its applications. The introductory section is self-contained and provides the basic results of the theory. Assuming only a minimal background in algebra, the main purpose of this book is to prepare graduate students and researchers for more advanced study.

Developments in Mathematics is a book series devoted to all areas of mathematics, pure and applied. The series emphasizes research monographs describing the latest advances. Edited volumes that focus on areas that have seen dramatic progress, or are of special interest, are encouraged as well.

The first comprehensive modern introduction to central simple algebra starting from the basics and reaching advanced results.

This volume contains the proceedings of the 2015 Clifford Lectures on Algebraic Groups: Structures and Actions, held from March 2–5, 2015, at Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana. This volume consists of six articles on algebraic groups, including an enhanced exposition of the classical results of Chevalley and Rosenlicht on the structure of algebraic groups; an enhanced survey of the recently developed theory of pseudo-reductive groups; and an exposition of the recently developed operational -theory for singular varieties. In addition, there are three research articles containing previously unpublished foundational results on birational automorphism groups of algebraic varieties; solution of Hermite-Joubert problem over -closed fields; and cohomological invariants and applications to classifying spaces. The old and new results presented in these articles will hopefully become cornerstones for the future development of the theory of algebraic groups and applications. Graduate students and researchers working in the fields of algebraic geometry, number theory, and representation theory will benefit from this unique and broad compilation of fundamental results on algebraic group theory.

This monograph provides a systematic treatment of the Brauer group of schemes, from the foundational work of Grothendieck to recent applications in arithmetic and algebraic geometry. The importance of the cohomological Brauer group for applications to Diophantine equations and algebraic geometry was discovered soon after this group was introduced by Grothendieck. The Brauer–Manin obstruction plays a crucial role in the study of rational points on varieties over global fields. The birational invariance of the Brauer group was recently used in a novel way to establish the irrationality of many new classes of algebraic varieties. The book covers the vast theory underpinning these and other applications. Intended as an introduction to cohomological methods in algebraic geometry, most of the book is accessible to readers with a knowledge of algebra, algebraic geometry and algebraic number theory at graduate level. Much of the more advanced material is not readily available in book form elsewhere; notably, de Jong’s proof of Gabber’s theorem, the specialisation method and applications of the Brauer group to rationality questions, an in-depth study of the Brauer–Manin obstruction, and proof of the finiteness theorem for the Brauer group of abelian varieties and K3 surfaces over finitely generated fields. The book surveys recent work but also gives detailed proofs of basic theorems, maintaining a balance between general theory and concrete examples. Over half a century after Grothendieck's foundational seminars on the topic, The Brauer–Grothendieck Group is a treatise that fills a longstanding gap in the literature, providing researchers, including research students, with a valuable reference on a central object of algebraic and arithmetic geometry.