English

Computing Direct Sum Decompositions

Commutative Algebra 2026-05-28 v2 Algebraic Geometry

Abstract

We describe and prove correctness of two practical algorithms for finding indecomposable summands of finitely generated modules over a finitely generated k-algebra R. The first algorithm applies in the (multi)graded case, which enables the computation of indecomposable summands of coherent sheaves on subvarieties of toric varieties (in particular, for varieties embedded in projective space); the second algorithm applies when R is local and k is a finite field, opening the door to computing decompositions in singularity theory. We also present multiple examples, including some which present previously unknown phenomena regarding the behavior of summands of Frobenius pushforwards (including in the non-graded case) and syzygies over Artinian rings.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2412.19799,
  title  = {Computing Direct Sum Decompositions},
  author = {Devlin Mallory and Mahrud Sayrafi},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2412.19799},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

18 pages, added non-recursive characteristic-free algorithm. To appear in Journal of Symbolic Computation