Commutative Algebra Seminar

Title

The arithmetic rank of residual intersections of a complete intersection ideal

Abstract

The arithmetic rank of a variety is the minimal number of equations needed to define it set-theoretically, i.e., the smallest number of polynomials generating the defining ideal upto radical. Computing this invariant is notoriously difficult: the minimal generators up to radical often bear little relation to the given ideal generators and can vary unpredictably across characteristics.

Residual intersections provide a natural extension of the classical notion of algebraic links. We establish a general upper bound for the arithmetic rank of any residual intersection of a complete intersection ideal in an arbitrary Noetherian ring, and we show that this bound is sharp under specific characteristic assumptions. This work is joint with Kesavan Mohana Sundaram, Taylor Murray, and Vaibhav Pandey.