| Abstract: | Abstract Let d be a positive integer, and F be a field of characteristic zero. Suppose that for each positive integer n, I n, is a GL n,(F)- invariant of forms of degree d in x1, …, x n, over F. We call {I n} an additive family of invariants if I p+q (f ⊥ g) = I p(f).I q(g) whenever f; g are forms of degree d over F in x l, …, x p; …, x q respectively, and where (f ⊥ g)(x l, …, x p+q) = f(x 1, …, x p,) + g (x p+1, …, x p+q). It is well-known that the family of discriminants of the quadratic forms is additive. We prove that in odd degree d each invariant in an additive family must be a constant. We also give an example in each even degree d of a nontrivial family of invariants of the forms of degree d. The proofs depend on the symbolic method for representing invariants of a form, which we review. |
