Abstract:
The Chinese remainder theorem states that given coprime integers p_1, …, p_n and integers a_1, …, a_n, we can always find an integer m such that m ~ a_i mod p_i for all i. Similarly given distinct numbers x_1,…, x_n and y_1, …, y_n we can find a polynomial f such that f(x_i)=y_i. These statements are two instances of strong approximation for the affine line (over the integers Z and the polynomials k[x] over a field k). In this talk we will consider when an analogue of this holds for special subsets of Z and k[x], such as squarefree integers or polynomials without simple roots, and different varieties. We give a precise description for which subsets this holds on a toric variety.