Coordinates, retracts and automorphisms
arXiv:1206.5085
Abstract
Let be a field of characteristic zero, be the polynomial ring in two variables. Let be an endomorphism of . It is proved that if maps each coordinate to a generator of some proper retract, then it is an automorphism. As a corollary, the retract preserving problem is solved for both polynomial ring over and free algebra over an arbitrary field when .
7 pages