In this paper, we make the notion of approximating an Artinian local ring by a Gorenstein Artin local ring precise using the concept of Gorenstein colength. We also answer the question as to when the Gorenstein colength is at most two.
Given an Artinian local ring $R$, we define its Gorenstein colength $g(R)$ to measure how closely we can approximate $R$ by a Gorenstein Artin local ring. In this paper, we show that $R = T/I$ satisfies the inequality $g(R) leq lambda(R/soc(R))$ in the following two cases: (a) $T$ is a power series ring over a field of characteristic zero and $I$ an ideal that is the power of a system of parameters or (b) $T$ is a 2-dimensional regular local ring with infinite residue field and $I$ is primary to the maximal ideal of $T$. In the first case, we compute $g(R)$ by constructing a Gorenstein Artin local ring mapping onto $R$. We further use this construction to show that an ideal that is the $n$th power of a system of parameters is directly linked to the $(n-1)$st power via Gorenstein ideals. A similar method shows that such ideals are also directly linked to themselves via Gorenstein ideals. Keywords: Gorenstein colength; Gorenstein linkage.
We study the symmetric subquotient decomposition of the associated graded algebras $A^*$ of a non-homogeneous commutative Artinian Gorenstein (AG) algebra $A$. This decomposition arises from the stratification of $A^*$ by a sequence of ideals $A^*=C_A(0)supset C_A(1)supsetcdots$ whose successive quotients $Q(a)=C(a)/C(a+1)$ are reflexive $A^*$ modules. These were introduced by the first author, and have been used more recently by several groups, especially those interested in short Gorenstein algebras, and in the scheme length (cactus rank) of forms. For us a Gorenstein sequence is an integer sequence $H$ occurring as the Hilbert function for an AG algebra $A$, that is not necessarily homogeneous. Such a Hilbert function $H(A)$ is the sum of symmetric non-negative sequences $H_A(a)=H(Q_A(a))$, each having center of symmetry $(j-a)/2$ where $j$ is the socle degree of $A$: we call these the symmetry conditions, and the decomposition $mathcal{D}(A)=(H_A(0),H_A(1),ldots)$ the symmetric decomposition of $H(A)$. We here study which sequences may occur as the summands $H_A(a)$: in particular we construct in a systematic way examples of AG algebras $A$ for which $H_A(a)$ can have interior zeroes, as $H_A(a)=(0,s,0,ldots,0,s,0)$. We also study the symmetric decomposition sets $mathcal{D}(A)$, and in particular determine which sequences $H_A(a)$ can be non-zero when the dual generator is linear in a subset of the variables. Several groups have studied exotic summands of the Macaulay dual generator $F$. Studying these, we recall a normal form for the Macaulay dual generator of an AG algebra that has no exotic summands. We apply this to Gorenstein algebras that are connected sums. We give throughout many examples and counterexamples, and conclude with some open questions about symmetric decomposition.
A connected sum construction for local rings was introduced in a paper by H. Ananthnarayan, L. Avramov, and W.F. Moore. In the graded Artinian Gorenstein case, this can be viewed as an algebraic analogue of the topological construction of the same name. We give two alternative description of this algebraic connected sum: the first uses algebraic analogues of Thom classes of vector bundles and Gysin homomorphisms, the second is in terms of Macaulay dual generators. We also investigate the extent to which the connected sum construction preserves the weak or strong Lefschetz property, thus providing new classes of rings which satisfy these properties.
We study the problem of whether an arbitrary codimension three graded artinian Gorenstein algebra has the Weak Lefschetz Property. We reduce this problem to checking whether it holds for all compressed Gorenstein algebras of odd socle degree. In the first open case, namely Hilbert function (1,3,6,6,3,1), we give a complete answer in every characteristic by translating the problem to one of studying geometric aspects of certain morphisms from $mathbb P^2$ to $mathbb P^3$, and Hesse configurations in $mathbb P^2$.
We give a characterization of the Lefschetz elements in Artinian Gorenstein rings over a field of characteristic zero in terms of the higher Hessians. As an application, we give new examples of Artinian Gorenstein rings which do not have the strong Lefschetz property.