Questions tagged [quadratic-forms]
Algebraic and geometric theory of quadratic forms and symmetric bilinear forms, e.g., values attained by quadratic forms, isotropic subspaces, the Witt ring, invariants of quadratic forms, the discriminant and Clifford algebra of a quadratic form, Pfister forms, automorphisms of quadratic forms.
543 questions
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When do two non-degenerate quadratic forms give rise to isomorphic Lie algebras?
Let $V$ be a vector space over some number field $k$. (I'm fine with $\mathbb{Q}$.)
Let $\phi \colon V \to k$ be a non-degenerate quadratic form. Associated with $\phi$ is the orthogonal group $\...
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Realizing proper pure octonions as conjugates
Let us take the octonions as having all integer coefficients and the multiplication table at BAEZ
We have a standard conjugation operator with $\bar{1} = 1$ and $\bar{e_i}= - e_i,$ extend by ...
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Mass of spinor genus, positive integral quadratic forms
There seems to be general opinion that, for positive integral quadratic forms in at least three variables, spinor genera in the same genus all have the same mass (not representation measures of some ...
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Fricke Klein method for isotropic ternary quadratic forms
Preface: the most natural way to take one isotropic vector for an indefinite quadratic form and find others is to use stereographic projection. This gives a parametrization in the same $n$ variables ...
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Optimization problem on trace of rotated positive definite matrices
Given two $n \times n$ symmetric positive definite matrices $A$ and $B$, I am interested in solving the following optimization problem over $n \times n$ unitary matrices $R$:
$$
\mathrm{arg}\max_R \,\...
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Determining if a quadratic form is non-negative if variables are non-negative
Let $f(x_1,\dots,x_n) = \sum_{1 \le i \le j \le n} c_{i,j}x_ix_j$ be a homogeneous quadratic form. Is there a quick-ish way to determine whether $f(x_1,\dots,x_n) \ge 0$ for all $x_1,\dots,x_n \ge 0$?
...
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Weird analogy between quadratic forms and formal systems
A fundamental connection between provability and consistency for formal systems is that, if $Q$ is a formal system and $A$ is a sentence in the language of $S$, then
$Q$ proves $A$ if and only if $...
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Verifying my other example in the Geometry of Numbers and Quadratic Forms
In answer to Pete L. Clark's question Must a ring which admits a Euclidean quadratic form be Euclidean? on Euclidean quadratic forms, I also gave an example in six or fewer variables, repeated below. ...
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Invariant quadratic forms of irreducible representations
Let $G$ be a finite group, and $k$ be a field of characteristic zero (not necessarily algebraically closed!). Let $\rho : G \to \mathrm{End}_k \left(k^n\right)$ be a irreducible representation of $G$ ...
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A vanishing condition for cup products in Galois cohomology
Let $k$ be a field of characteristic $\neq 2$. For a non-zero element $a \in k^*$, let us write $[a] \in H^1(k,\mathbb{Z}/2)$ for the Galois cohomology class corresponding to the quadratic extension $...
- 9,481
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space of reduced positive definite quadratic forms
What is the highest dimension for which the space of reduced positive definite quadratic forms (or the fundamental domain of $SL_n(\mathbb{R})/SL_n(\mathbb{Z})$) has been explicitly calculated? I know ...
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Realizing root-system roots as polynomial roots without Lie theory
The vectors of a root-system were originally called "roots" because they are the zeros of a characteristic polynomial that comes from the connection of (crystallographic) root-systems to classifying ...
- 1,161
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Infimum of the Dirichlet form for a tensor product
If $Q$ is the generator of a well-behaved continuous-time Markov process on a finite state space and $p$ is the invariant distribution, the corresponding Dirichlet form is $\mathcal{D}_Q(f) := \frac{1}...
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K3 surfaces with no −2 curves
I seem to remember that a K3 surface with big Picard rank always
has smooth rational curves.
This question is equivalent to the following question about integral quadratic lattices. Let us call a ...
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the gaps between values of a positive binary quadratic form at integer points
Suppose that $s$ is a positive irrational number. Consider all possible values of the sum $x^2+sy^2$ where $x$ and $y$ are integers. These values form a set $W=\{0=w_1<w_2<\ldots\}$. Can the ...
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Question on some coverings of the euclidean space
Let $L$ be a maximal integral lattice in the euclidean $(\mathbf R^{8m},q)$ (thus the associated bilinear form $b(u,v)=q(u+v)-q(u)-q(v)$, once restricted to $L$, takes values in $2\mathbf Z$ and has ...
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Upper bound on the number of ismorphism classes of bilinear forms on $\mathbb{Z}^n$
$\DeclareMathOperator{\Hom}{Hom}$A symmetric, positive definite bilinear form on $\mathbb{Z}^n$ is any mapping $$b : \mathbb{Z}^n \times \mathbb{Z}^n \to \mathbb{Z}$$ satisfying
$b$ is bilinear,
$b(x,...
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Mock modular forms and (indefinite) quadratic forms
Define the function
$$f(q,z,y) = \sum_{n \ge 0,m,l} c(n,m,l) q^n z^m y^l$$
where $c(n,m,l)$ is defined by
$$ c(n,m,l) =
\begin{cases}
(-1)^{s+l} & \text{if } 4n - m^2 + l^2 = 2s(s+1)\\
0 & \...
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When is the set of numbers represented by certain quaternary quadratic forms completely multiplicative?
Expired by this question
A quadratic form represents all primes except for the primes 2 and 11.
I would like to know some simple sufficient conditions for when the set of numbers integrally ...
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Is the square of the covering radius of an integral lattice/quadratic form always rational?
This is one of many observations from Pete L. Clark's questions on "Euclidean" quadratic forms. I sent Pete many positive integral forms that obeyed his condition. In turn, his condition turns out to ...
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Set of quadratic forms that represents all primes
A SPECIFIC CASE:
Any prime number can be classified as either $p \equiv 1 \pmod 3$ or $p \equiv 2 \pmod 3$.
If $p = 3$ or $p = 1 \pmod 3$, then the prime $p$ can be represented by the quadratic form $ ...
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About the solutions of $ \dfrac{x^p - y^p}{x - y} = a^2+pb^2 $
I already posted this question on MSE.
Using theorem $IV$ from this article, it is possible to prove that when $p$ is a prime such that $p ≡ 3\bmod4$, $x ≢ y\bmod{p}$ and $\gcd(x,y) = 1$, then the ...
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Counting fundamental units of real quadratic fields
For a given real quadratic field $K$, the group of units of its ring of integers is $\mathcal{O}_K^{\times}\cong(\pm1)\times \mathbb{Z}$ by the Dirichlet unit theorem. For each $\mathcal{O}_K$, pick ...
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Does this quadratic form over a large field represent 1?
I have a field $K$ of transcendence degree two over $\mathbb{R}$, and elements $a_1,a_2,a_3\in K$. I would like to understand the set
$$ Q = \{ u\in K^3 : \sum_i a_iu_i^2 = 1\} $$
In particular, I ...
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Erdos Kac for imaginary class number
In answer to A coverage question Cam mentions an article by SOUND. I have been running a computer program for THIS and would like to know if there are a reasonable average and standard deviation for ...
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Representation theorem for quadratic form on Hilbert space
I think my question is more suitable for Mathematics Stack Exchange than to MathOverflow but I've already posted two related questions there and I got even more confused, so maybe I can clarify things ...
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Computing a Commutator Subgroup
$\DeclareMathOperator\SL{SL}\DeclareMathOperator\SO{SO}\DeclareMathOperator\O{O}$I’m studying the group $\O(5,5,\mathbb{Z})$, the indefinite orthogonal matrices with integer entries. In particular, I ...
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The number of quadratic forms attaining Hermite's constant
$\require{AMScd}$
I'm considering minimum values (at non-zero integer points) of real, positive-definite, quadratic forms of determinant $1$. These are functions $f:\mathbb{R}^n\to \mathbb{R}$ which ...
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The number of integral solutions to $x^2+y^2-az^2=0$
I think this must be well-known (and probably not hard to prove either), but I cannot find a reference: for a (positive) rational number $a$, the number of integral solutions to the equation
$$ x^2+y^...
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If two fields are elementarily equivalent, what can we say about their Witt rings?
The question is in the title exactly as I want to ask it, but let me provide some background and motivation.
Many of the properties of fields studied in the algebraic theory of quadratic forms are ...
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Lorentzian characterization of genus
Suppose we take the "even" indefinite lattice from page 50 in Serre A Course in Arithmetic (1973)
$$ U \; = \;
\left( \begin{array}{cc}
0 & 1 \\\
1 & 0
\end{array}
\right),$$
...
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A curious determinant of quadratic forms
In a work about the Wave Equation, I encountered the following symmetric matrix of size $1+n$, whose entries are quadratic forms. The arguments are a scalar $a$ and a vector $X\in k^n$.
$$S(a,X)=\...
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Invariant Lagrangian in the first homology of a cover of a surface
If $\tilde{S}\to S$ is a Galois cover of a surface of genus $g$ and group $G$, a well-know theorem of Chevalley-Weil tells that, as a $\mathbb{Q}[G]$-module, one has
$$H_1(\tilde{S},\mathbb{Q})=\...
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Applications of isotropic quadratic forms
I will soon be teaching an introductory course on bilinear algebra and quadratic forms. I will likely spend most of the time and effort on positive definite quadratic forms and euclidean spaces. These ...
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orthogonal group in characteristic 2
Let $O(2,\mathbb{Z}_2)$ be the orthogonal group of order two matrices. On $\mathbb{Z}_2$ there should exist just one odd quadratic form, hence the stabilizer subgroup $O^-$ of an odd quadratic for ...
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Modular forms and number of representations by binary quadratic forms
Let $Q(x,y)$ be a positive definite quadratic form of discriminant $d$. Let $r_Q(n)$ be the number of solutions of $Q(x,y)=n$. It is known that the function $f_Q(\tau)=\sum_{n=0}^{\infty}r_Q(n)q^n$ is ...
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Explicit computation of spinor norm
I've asked this on math.stackexchange, unsuccessfully. I hope this question is appropriate for mathoverflow.
Let $V$ be a finite-dimensional vector space over a field $K$ with $\operatorname{char}K\...
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Intuition behind the definition of the Siegel-Eichler transformation
Recently I am reading Wall's paper "On the Orthogonal Groups of Unimodular Quadratic Forms II". In this paper, I encountered with the map $E^1_\omega$, which now I am interested in.
Let $X$ be an ...
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Do all non-degenerate quadratic forms come from positive even lattices?
Let $(G,+)$ be a finite Abelian group. We say $q\colon G\to \mathbb{T}$ is a non-degenerated quadratic form, if $q(-a)=q(a)$ and the symmetric function
$$
b(g,h) =q(g+h)q(g)^{-1}q(h)^{-1}
$$
is a non-...
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If the discriminant of a binary quadratic form has high valuation, is the form "almost a square".
For a binary quadratic form $ax^2+bxy+cy^2$ over a field (characteristic not 2), the discriminant $b^2-4ac$ is 0 if and only if that form is the square of a linear form. I am curious about an ...
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On certain solutions of a quadratic form equation
This is a continuation of this question: A class of quadratic equations
Let $f(x,y) = ax^2 + bxy + cy^2$ be an irreducible and indefinite binary quadratic form. Consider the equation
$$\displaystyle ...
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Hasse invariant and the Clifford algbera
Let
$$q = a_1 x_1^2 + \cdots + a_n x_n^2$$
be a quadratic form over some $p$-adic field $\mathbb{Q}_p$. We thus have its Hasse invariant
$$\mathcal{h}(q) = \prod_{1 \leq i < j \leq n} (a_i,a_j)_p \...
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Constructing sums of squares identities
Recall that a sum of squares formula for $[r,s,n]$ over a field $F$ is an identity of the form
$$ ( x_{1}^{2} + \cdots + x_{r}^{2})( y_{1}^{2} + \cdots + y_{s}^{2})
= ( z_{1}^{2} + \cdots + z_{n}^{2})...
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adelic quadratic forms
The classification of quadratic forms over local and global fields is well understood. But what about quadratic forms over adele rings? Let G = GL(n,A), where A is the adele ring of a global field F....
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A possible variant of Zagier's one-sentence proof for Fermat's sum of two squares theorem?
Is it possible to modify Zagier's one-sentence proof of Fermat's sum of two squares theorem (see here) to prove certain non-trivial cases of Jacobi's four-square theorem (see here)?
Let $p$ be a prime ...
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some problems on sum of two squares
During my experiments with "Mathematica" I arrived to the following observations. My question is that are they interesting, known, solved or not. If they are known could you please give me a reference....
- 841
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Positive-definite lattice with O(n,n) Gram matrix generated by minimal vectors
Consider a positive-definite $2n$-dimensional lattice with minimum norm $\mu$. It is sometimes possible to find a generating set of minimal vectors for the lattice such that the Gram matrix takes the ...
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Bound on the determinant of a quadratic form restricted to a subspace
Let $Q\colon \mathbb{Z}^{n}\oplus\mathbb{Z}^m\to\mathbb{R}$ be a real quadratic form, which we denote $Q(x,y)$, $x\in\mathbb{Z}^n$, $y\in\mathbb{Z}^m$. Suppose:
The minimum of $Q(x,y)$ as $y$ varies ...
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Reference request: correspondence between central simple algebras and quadratic forms
Let $A$ be an algebra over $k$, $\operatorname{tr_A}(x, y):=\operatorname{tr}(m_{xy})$ be a trace form on $A$, and $V_A$ be its restriction on the orthogonal complement to $1$. I wonder why a map $A \...
- 1,980
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The statement that $A \ge B$ implies $A^{-1} \le B^{-1}$ is still true for matrices? [closed]
Problem:
Suppose we have two real, symmetric and positive definite square matrices $A$ and $B$, i.e.,
$$A_{ij}, B_{ij}\in \mathbb{R}$$
$$A^T=A$$
$$B^T=B$$
$$x^TAx>0 \forall x$$
$$x^TBx>0 \...
- 89