On the structure of semi-invariant polynomials in Ore extensions

Let D be an X-outer S-derivation of a prime ring R, where S is an automorphism of R. The following is proved among other things: The degree of the minimal semi-invariant polynomial of the Ore extension RX;S,D] is ν if charR=0, and is p^kν for some k0 if charR=p2, where ν is the least integer ν1 such that S^νDS^−ν−D is X-inner. A similar result holds for cv-polynomials. These are done by introducing the new notion of k-basic polynomials for each integer k0, which enable us to analyze semi-invariant polynomials inductively.