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Let $h:{ℝ}^n\to ℝ$ be a continuous, piecewise-polynomial function. The Pierce-Birkhoff conjecture (1956) is that any such $h$ is representable in the form ${sup}_i{inf}_j{f}_{ij}$, for some finite collection of polynomials $f_{ij}\in ℝ[x_1,...,x_n]$. (A simple example is $h\left(x_1\right)=\left|x_1\right|=sup\{x_1,-x_1\}$.) In 1984, L. Mahé and, independently, G. Efroymson, proved this for $n\le 2$; it remains open for $n\ge 3$. In this paper we prove an analogous result for “generalized polynomials” (also known as signomials), i.e., where the exponents are allowed to be arbitrary real numbers, and not just natural numbers;...

In this note it is presented a new rational and continuous solution for Hilbert's 17th problem, which asks if an everywhere positive polynomial can be expressed as a sum of squares of rational functions. This solution (Theorem 1) improves the results in [2] in the sense that our parametrized solution is continuous and depends in a rational way on the coefficients of the problem (what is not the case in the solution presented in [2]). Moreover our method simplifies the proof and it is easy to generalize...