Elimination theory for the ring of algebraic integers.
We generalize a question of Büchi: Let R be an integral domain, C a subring and k ≥ 2 an integer. Is there an algorithm to decide the solvability in R of any given system of polynomial equations, each of which is linear in the kth powers of the unknowns, with coefficients in C? We state a number-theoretical problem, depending on k, a positive answer to which would imply a negative answer to the question for R = C = ℤ. We reduce a negative answer for k = 2 and for...