For each squarefree monomial ideal $I\subset S=k[x_1,...,x_n]$, we associate a simple finite graph $G_I$ by using the first linear syzygies of $I$. The nodes of $G_I$ are the generators of $I$, and two vertices $u_i$ and $u_j$ are adjacent if there exist variables $x,y$ such that $x{u}_i=y{u}_j$. In the cases, where $G_I$ is a cycle or a tree, we show that $I$ has a linear resolution if and only if $I$ has linear quotients and if and only if $I$ is variable-decomposable. In addition, with the same assumption on $G_I$, we characterize all squarefree monomial ideals with a...

Let $k$ be an algebraically closed field of characteristic $p\>0$. We study obstructions to lifting to characteristic $0$ the faithful continuous action $\phi$ of a finite group $G$ on $k\left[\right[t\left]\right]$. To each such $\phi$ a theorem of Katz and Gabber associates an action of $G$ on a smooth projective curve $Y$ over $k$. We say that the KGB obstruction of $\phi$ vanishes if $G$ acts on a smooth projective curve $X$ in characteristic $0$ in such a way that $X/H$ and $Y/H$ have the same genus for all subgroups $H\subset G$. We determine for which $G$ the KGB obstruction...

In 1950 in volume 1 of Proc. Amer. Math. Soc., B. Brown and N. McCoy showed that every (not necessarily commutative) ring $R$ has an ideal $𝔐\left(R\right)$ consisting of elements $a$ for which there is an $x$ such that $axa=a$, and maximal with respect to this property. Considering only the case when $R$ is commutative and has an identity element, it is often not easy to determine when $𝔐\left(R\right)$ is not just the zero ideal. We determine when this happens in a number of cases: Namely when at least one of $a$ or $1-a$ has a von Neumann inverse,...

Let $H$ denote a finite index subgroup of the modular group $\Gamma$ and let $\rho$ denote a finite-dimensional complex representation of $H.$ Let $M\left(\rho \right)$ denote the collection of holomorphic vector-valued modular forms for $\rho$ and let $M\left(H\right)$ denote the collection of modular forms on $H$. Then $M\left(\rho \right)$ is a $\mathbb{Z}$-graded $M\left(H\right)$-module. It has been proven that $M\left(\rho \right)$ may not be projective as a $M\left(H\right)$-module. We prove that $M\left(\rho \right)$ is Cohen-Macaulay as a $M\left(H\right)$-module. We also explain how to apply this result to prove that if $M\left(H\right)$ is a polynomial ring, then $M\left(\rho \right)$ is a free...

The moduli space of rank-$n$ commutative algebras equipped with an ordered basis is an affine scheme ${𝔅}_n$ of finite type over $\mathbb{Z}$, with geometrically connected fibers. It is smooth if and only if $n\le 3$. It is reducible if $n\ge 8$ (and the converse holds, at least if we remove the fibers above $2$ and $3$). The relative dimension of ${𝔅}_n$ is $\frac{2}{27}{n}^3+O\left(n^{8/3}\right)$. The subscheme parameterizing étale algebras is isomorphic to ${GL}_n/S_n$, which is of dimension only $n^2$. For $n\ge 8$, there exist algebras that are not limits of étale algebras. The dimension calculations...