Lemma 59.61.5. Let K be a field and let K^{sep} be a separable algebraic closure. Then the set of isomorphism classes of central simple algebras of degree d over K is in bijection with the non-abelian cohomology H^1(\text{Gal}(K^{sep}/K), \text{PGL}_ d(K^{sep})).
Central simple algebras are classified by Galois cohomology of PGL.
Sketch of proof.. The Skolem-Noether theorem (see Brauer Groups, Theorem 11.6.1) implies that for any field L the group \text{Aut}_{L\text{-Algebras}}(\text{Mat}_ d(L)) equals \text{PGL}_ d(L). By Theorem 59.61.1, we see that central simple algebras of degree d correspond to forms of the K-algebra \text{Mat}_ d(K). Combined we see that isomorphism classes of degree d central simple algebras correspond to elements of H^1(\text{Gal}(K^{sep}/K), \text{PGL}_ d(K^{sep})). For more details on twisting, see for example [SilvermanEllipticCurves]. \square
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