English

Class and rank of differential modules

Commutative Algebra 2009-11-11 v3 Algebraic Topology

Abstract

A differential module is a module equipped with a square-zero endomorphism. This structure underpins complexes of modules over rings, as well as differential graded modules over graded rings. We establish lower bounds on the class--a substitute for the length of a free complex--and on the rank of a differential module in terms of invariants of its homology. These results specialize to basic theorems in commutative algebra and algebraic topology. One instance is a common generalization of the equicharacteristic case of the New Intersection Theorem of Hochster, Peskine, P. Roberts, and Szpiro, concerning complexes over noetherian commutative rings, and of a theorem of G. Carlsson on differential graded modules over graded polynomial rings.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.math/0602344,
  title  = {Class and rank of differential modules},
  author = {Luchezar L. Avramov and Ragnar-Olaf Buchweitz and Srikanth Iyengar},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:math/0602344},
  year   = {2009}
}

Comments

27 pages. Minor changes; mainly stylistic. To appear in Inventiones Mathematicae

R2 v1 2026-07-22T17:31:35.689Z