The Freudenthal-Springer-Tits constructions revisited

Abstract

In [3] some constructions of exceptional Jordan algebras due to H. Freudenthal, T. A. Springer, and J. Tits were carried over to quadratic Jordan algebras (as in [4]) of arbitrary characteristic. The question was left open whether the Tits Constructions yielded all exceptional finite-dimensional central simple algebras in characteristic 2 (it was known that they do for characteristics #2). In this paper we settle this question in the affirmative. This result completes the structure theory for finite-dimensional quadratic Jordan algebras. The Tits Constructions as given in [3] involve the construction of a norm form. To prove that all the exceptional algebras arise from these constructions we need to show that all such algebras have a suitable norm form. This necessitates a slight detour in ??1 and 2 to verify that Jordan algebras in characteristic 2 have generic norms with the same properties as in the other characteristics. In ?3 we define the centroid for quadratic Jordan algebras and the corresponding notion of central simple algebras. In the next section we establish certain conditions under which a central simple Jordan algebra remains simple upon extension of the base field. In ?5 we apply these results to show that every exceptional finite-dimensional central simple algebra is a form of the 27-dimensional exceptional algebra ?((i3) (i.e. becomes ( upon suitable extension of the base field). In the final section we show that the Tits Constructions yield precisely all the exceptional finite-dimensional central simple Jordan algebras. Our proofs will be valid for all characteristics.