On the Pfister number of quadratic forms

Abstract

The generic quadratic form of even dimension n with trivial discriminant over an arbitrary field of characteristic different from 2 containing a square root of -1 can be written in the Witt ring as a sum of 2-fold Pfister forms using n - 2 terms and not less. The number of 2-fold Pfister forms needed to express a quadratic form of dimension 6 with trivial discriminant is determined in various cases.