Abstract

Let F denote a field of characteristic ≠2. The Witt ring WF (i.e. the ring of similarity classes of quadratic forms with coefficients in F) will be characterized by taking the similarity classes of certain Pfister forms [2] as generators and using suitable relations among them (theorem 1). In order to characterize GF, the graded ring associated to WF, in terms of generators and relations Milnor [4] constructed a homomorphism from his ring k*F onto GF and conjectured this homomorphism to be an isomorphism. This conjecture turns out to be equivalent to a problem on ideals in a commutative ring (theorem 2).

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