Cohomology for Picard-Vessiot theory

Abstract

We introduce a cohomology theory that classifies differential objects that arise from Picard-Vessiot theory, using the differential Hopf-Galois descent. To do this, we provide an explicit description of Picard-Vessiot theory in terms of differential torsors. We then use this cohomology to give a bijective correspondence between differential objects and differential torsors. As an application, we prove a universal bound for the differential splitting degree of differential central simple algebras.

19 pages; Proposition 2.7 was rewritten; Other minor changes