This book discusses regular powers and symbolic powers of ideals from three perspectives– algebra, combinatorics and geometry – and examines the interactions between them. It invites readers to explore the evolution of the set of associated primes of higher and higher powers of an ideal and explains the evolution of ideals associated with combinatorial objects like graphs or hypergraphs in terms of the original combinatorial objects. It also addresses similar questions concerning our understanding of the Castelnuovo-Mumford regularity of powers of combinatorially defined ideals in terms of the associated combinatorial data. From a more geometric point of view, the book considers how the relations between symbolic and regular powers can be interpreted in geometrical terms. Other topics covered include aspects of Waring type problems, symbolic powers of an ideal and their invariants (e.g., the Waldschmidt constant, the resurgence), and the persistence of associated primes.

This book demonstrates current trends in research on combinatorial and computational commutative algebra with a primary emphasis on topics related to monomial ideals. Providing a useful and quick introduction to areas of research spanning these fields, Monomial Ideals is split into three parts. Part I offers a quick introduction to the modern theory of Gröbner bases as well as the detailed study of generic initial ideals. Part II supplies Hilbert functions and resolutions and some of the combinatorics related to monomial ideals including the Kruskal—Katona theorem and algebraic aspects of Alexander duality. Part III discusses combinatorial applications of monomial ideals, providing a valuable overview of some of the central trends in algebraic combinatorics. Main subjects include edge ideals of finite graphs, powers of ideals, algebraic shifting theory and an introduction to discrete polymatroids. Theory is complemented by a number of examples and exercises throughout, bringing the reader to a deeper understanding of concepts explored within the text. Self-contained and concise, this book will appeal to a wide range of readers, including PhD students on advanced courses, experienced researchers, and combinatorialists and non-specialists with a basic knowledge of commutative algebra. Since their first meeting in 1985, Juergen Herzog (Universität Duisburg-Essen, Germany) and Takayuki Hibi (Osaka University, Japan), have worked together on a number of research projects, of which recent results are presented in this monograph.

Ideal for graduate students and researchers, this book presents a unified treatment of the central notions of integral closure.

This volume contains extended abstracts outlining selected talks and other selected presentations given by participants of the workshop "Positivity and Valuations", held at the Centre de Recerca Matemàtica (CRM) in Barcelona from February 22nd to 26th, 2016. They include brief research articles reporting new results, descriptions of preliminary work or open problems, and the outcome of work in groups initiated during the workshop. The general subject is the application of valuation theory to positivity questions in algebraic geometry. The topics covered range from purely algebraic problems like finite generation of semigroups and algebras defined by valuations, and properties of the associated Poincaré series, to more geometric questions like resolution of singularities and properties of Newton-Okounkov bodies, linked with non-archimedean geometry and tropical geometry. The book is intended for established researchers, as well as for PhD and postdoctoral students who want to learn more about the latest advances in these highly active areas of research.

This textbook on combinatorial commutative algebra focuses on properties of monomial ideals in polynomial rings and their connections with other areas of mathematics such as combinatorics, electrical engineering, topology, geometry, and homological algebra. Aimed toward advanced undergraduate students and graduate students who have taken a basic course in abstract algebra that includes polynomial rings and ideals, this book serves as a core text for a course in combinatorial commutative algebra or as preparation for more advanced courses in the area. The text contains over 600 exercises to provide readers with a hands-on experience working with the material; the exercises include computations of specific examples and proofs of general results. Readers will receive a firsthand introduction to the computer algebra system Macaulay2 with tutorials and exercises for most sections of the text, preparing them for significant computational work in the area. Connections to non-monomial areas of abstract algebra, electrical engineering, combinatorics and other areas of mathematics are provided which give the reader a sense of how these ideas reach into other areas.

Recent developments are covered Contains over 100 figures and 250 exercises Includes complete proofs