On Residual and Stable Coordinates

Abstract: In a paper, M. E. Kahoui and M. Ouali have proved that over an algebraically closed field $k$ of characteristic zero, residual coordinates in $k[X][Z_1,\dots,Z_n]$ are one-stable coordinates. In this paper we extend their result to the case of an algebraically closed field $k$ of arbitrary characteristic. In fact, we show that the result holds when $k[X]$ is replaced by any one-dimensional seminormal domain $R$ which is affine over an algebraically closed field $k$. For our proof, we extend a result of S. Maubach giving a criterion for a polynomial of the form $a(X)W+P(X,Z_1,\dots,Z_n)$ to be a coordinate in $k[X][Z_1,\dots,Z_n,W]$. Kahoui and Ouali had also shown that over a Noetherian $d$-dimensional ring $R$ containing $Q$ any residual coordinate in $R[Z_1,\dots,Z_n]$ is an $r$-stable coordinate, where $r=(2^d-1)n$. We will give a sharper bound for $r$ when $R$ is affine over an algebraically closed field of characteristic zero.