The Waring Problem for Matrix Algebras

Abstract

If a noncommutative polynomial $f$ is neither an identity nor a central polynomial of $\mathcal A=M_n(\C)$, then every trace zero matrix in $\mathcal A$ can be written as a sum of two matrices from $f(\mathcal A)-f(\mathcal A)$. Moreover, "two" cannot be replaced by "one".