Let $v$ be a Henselian Krull valuation of a field $K$. In this paper, the authors give some necessary and sufficient conditions for a finite simple extension of $(K,v)$ to be defectless. Various characterizations of algebraically maximal valued fields are also given which lead to a new proof of a result proved by Yu. L. Ershov.

The study carried out in this paper about some new examples of Banach spaces, consisting of certain valued fields extensions, is a typical non-archimedean feature. We determine whether these extensions are of countable type, have $t$-orthogonal bases, or are reflexive. As an application we construct, for a class of base fields, a norm $\|\cdot\|$ on $c_0$, equivalent to the canonical supremum norm, without non-zero vectors that are $\|\cdot\|$-orthogonal and such that there is a multiplication on $c_0$ making $(c_0,\|\cdot\|)$ into a valued field.

Let $p$ be a prime and $F$ a field containing a primitive $p$-th root of unity. Then for $n\in \N$, the cohomological dimension of the maximal pro-$p$-quotient $G$ of the absolute Galois group of $F$ is at most $n$ if and only if the corestriction maps $H^n(H,\Fp) \to H^n(G,\Fp)$ are surjective for all open subgroups $H$ of index $p$. Using this result, we generalize Schreier's formula for $\dim_{\Fp} H^1(H,\Fp)$ to $\dim_{\Fp} H^n(H,\Fp)$.

Let $p$ be a prime greater than or equal to 17 and congruent to 2 modulo 3. We use results of Beukers and Helou on Cauchy--Liouville--Mirimanoff polynomials to show that the intersection of the Fermat curve of degree $p$ with the line $X+Y=Z$ in the projective plane contains no algebraic points of degree $d$ with $3 \leq d \leq 11$. We prove a result on the roots of these polynomials and show that, experimentally, they seem to satisfy the conditions of a mild extension of an irreducibility theorem of P\'{o}lya and Szeg\"{o}. These conditions are \emph{conjecturally} also necessary for irreducibility.

We construct a one-parameter generic polynomial for $\PSL(2,2^n)$ over $\mathbb F_{2^n}$.

We search for theorems that, given a $C_i$-field $K$ and a subfield $k$ of $K$, allow us to conclude that $k$ is a $C_j$-field for some $j$. We give appropriate theorems in the case $K=k(t)$ and $K = k\llp t\rrp$. We then consider the more difficult case where $K/k$ is an algebraic extension. Here we are able to prove some results, and make conjectures. We also point out the connection between these questions and Lang's conjecture on nonreal function fields over a real closed field.

and fibre type for elliptic curves over discrete valued fields of equal characteristic~3. Along the same lines, partial results are obtained in equal characteristic~2.

We give an upper bound on the essential dimension of the group $\mathbb{Z}/q\rtimes(\mathbb{Z}/q)^*$ over the rational numbers, when $q$ is a prime power.

As a consequence of a theorem of Rost-Springer, we establish that the cyclicity problem for central simple algebra of degree~5 on fields containg a fifth root of unity is equivalent to the study of anisotropic elements of order 5 in the split group of type~$E_8$.

We show that the set of values of an additive polynomial in several variables with arguments in a formal Laurent series field over a finite field has the optimal approximation property: every element in the field has a (not necessarily unique) closest approximation in this set of values. The approximation is with respect to the canonical valuation on the field. This property is elementary in the language of valued rings.

We give an explicit recipe for the determination of the images associated to the Galois action on $p$-torsion points of elliptic curves. We present a table listing the image for all the elliptic curves defined over $\QQ$ without complex multiplication with conductor less than 200 and for each prime number~$p$.

A generalization of Schm\"udgen's Positivstellensatz is given which holds for any basic closed semialgebraic set in $\mathbb{R}^n$ (compact or not). The proof is an extension of W\"ormann's proof.

A preordering $T$ is constructed in the polynomial ring $A = \R [t_1,t_2, \dots]$ (countably many variables) with the following two properties: (1)~~For each $f \in A$ there exists an integer $N$ such that $-N \le f(P) \le N$ holds for all $P \in \Sper_T(A)$. (2)~~For all $f \in A$, if $N+f, N-f \in T$ for some integer $N$, then $f \in \R$. This is in sharp contrast with the Schm\"udgen-W\"ormann result that for any preordering $T$ in a finitely generated $\R$-algebra $A$, if property~(1) holds, then for any $f \in A$, $f > 0$ on $\Sper_T(A) \Rightarrow f \in T$. Also, adjoining to $A$ the square roots of the generators of $T$ yields a larger ring $C$ with these same two properties but with $\Sigma C^2$ (the set of sums of squares) as the preordering.

For two functions $f$ and $g$, define $g\ll f$ to mean that $g$ satisfies every algebraic differential equation over the constants satisfied by $f$. The order $\ll$ was introduced in one of a set of problems on algebraic differential equations given by the late Lee Rubel. Here we characterise the set of $g$ such that $g\ll f$, when $f$ is a given Liouvillian function.

{If A is a subring of a commutative ring B and if n is a positive integer, a number of sufficient conditions are given for ``A[[X]]is n-root closed in B[[X]]'' to be equivalent to ``A is n-root closed in B.'' In addition, it is shown that if S is a multiplicative submonoid of the positive integers ${\bbd P}$ which is generated by primes, then there exists a one-dimensional quasilocal integral domain A (resp., a von Neumann regular ring A) such that $S = \{ n \in {\bbd P}\mid A$ is $n$-root closed$\}$ (resp., $S = \{n \in {\bbd P}\mid A[[X]]$ is $n$-rootclosed$\}$).

Resum\'e. On caract\'erise les corps $K$ satisfaisant le th\'eor\`eme de l'axe principal \`a l'aide de propri\'et\'es des formes carac\-t\'erisation de ces m\^emes corps due \`a Waterhouse, on retrouve \`a partir de l\`a, de fa\c{c}on \'el\'ementaire, un r\'esultat de Becker selon lequel un pro-$2$-groupe qui se r\'ealise comme groupe de Galois absolu d'un tel corps $K$ est engendr\'e par des involutions. ABSTRACT. We characterize general fields $K$, satisfying the Principal Axis Theorem, by means of properties of trace forms of the finite extensions of $K$. From this and Waterhouse's characterization of the same fields, we rediscover, in quite an elementary way, a result of Becker according to which a pro-$2$-group which occurs as the absolute Galois group of such a field $K$, is generated by