APPLICATIONS OF CLIFFORD ALGEBRAS TO INVOLUTIONS AND QUADRATIC FORMS

ABSTRACT

Let k be a field, char k ≠ 2, F = k(x), D a biquaternion division algebra over k, and σ an orthogonal involution on D with nontrivial discriminant. We show that there exists a quadratic form ? ∈ I ²(F) such that dim ? = 8, [C(?)] = [D], and ? does not decompose into a direct sum of two forms similar to two-fold Pfister forms. This implies in particular that the field extension F(D)/F is not excellent. Also we prove that if A is a central simple K-algebra of degree 8 with an orthogonal involution σ, then σ is hyperbolic if and only if σ _K(A) is hyperbolic. Finally, let σ be a decomposable orthogonal involution on the algebra M _{2 ^m} (K). In the case m ≤ 5 we give another proof of the fact that σ is a Pfister involution. If m ≥ 2 ^n?2 ? 2 and n ≥ 5, we show that q _σ ∈ I ⁿ (K), where q _σ is a quadratic form corresponding to σ. The last statement is founded on a deep result of Orlov et al. (2000) concerning generic splittings of quadratic forms.