Normalization of ideals and Briançon-Skoda numbers (Q812529)

Let \((R,\mathfrak m)\) denote an analytically unramified local Cohen-Macaulay ring with infinite residue field \(k = R/\mathfrak m.\) For an \(\mathfrak m\)-primary ideal \(I\) of \(R\) let \(R[It]\) resp. \(\overline{R[It]}\) denote the Rees ring resp. its integral closure. Let \(A, B\) denote graded \(R\)-subalgebras of \(R[t]\) such that \(R[It] \subset A \subset B \subset \overline{R[It]}.\) Let \(e_1(I), \overline{e}_1(I)\) resp. \(e_1(A)\) denote the first Hilbert coefficient of the ideal filtration \(\{I^n\}_{n \in \mathbb N}, \{\overline{I^n}\}_{n \in \mathbb N}\) resp. \(\{A_n\}_{n \in \mathbb N}\) arising from \(A.\) Because \(\overline{R[It]}\) is a finitely generated \(R[It]\) module there is an integer \(b \in \mathbb N\) such that \(\overline{I^{n+b}} \subset J^n\) for all \(n\) and every reduction \(J\) of \(I.\) The smallest one \(b(I)\) is called the Briancon-Skoda number of \(I.\) As one of the main results the following is shown: Suppose that \(A \not= B\) and \(A\) satisfies the Serre condition \(S_2.\) Then \[ 0 \leq e_1(I) \leq e_1(A) < e_1(B) \leq \overline{e}_1(I) \leq b(I) e_0(I). \] In particular, \(\overline{e}_1(I)\) bounds the length of any chain of graded \(R\)-subalgebras satisfying \(S_2\) lying strictly between \(R[It]\) and its normalization. Moreover, the ideal \(I\) is normal if and only if \(R[It]\) satisfies \(S_2\) and \(e_1(I) = \overline{e}_1(I).\) So there are integers in order to control the algorithmic process of normalization that makes use of graded extensions that satisfy \(S_2.\) Moreover the authors establish bounds for \(\overline{e}_1(I)\) that avoids any reference to the Briancon-Skoda number and instead involve only multiplicities of \(I\) and of \(I\) modulo an element of the Jacobian of \(R.\) Finally there is an extension of the results to the case of equimultiple ideals.