Lower bounds for Auslander's representation dimension. (Q1026419)

The author presents a new method to obtain lower bounds for the representation dimension of a finite dimensional algebra \(A\) over a field. Rouquier defined the dimension of a triangulated category by the number of cones necessary to reach every object, up to translation, from a single object. The author generalizes this concept to subcategories, e.g. the Abelian subcategory \(\mathbf{mod}(A)\subset D^b(\mathbf{mod}(A))\) of finite dimensional \(A\)-modules, viewed as complexes concentrated in degree zero. This leads to an improvement of lower bounds for the representation dimension of \(A\) obtained by using the dimension of the bounded derived category \(D^b(\mathbf{mod}(A))\) of \(\mathbf{mod}(A)\). For example, the estimation of \textit{H. Krause} and \textit{D. Kussin} for the representation dimension of certain algebras [Contemp. Math. 406, 95-103 (2006; Zbl 1107.16013)] is improved by 2 which gives the exact value. Clearly, the number 2, which already played its annoying part in Auslander's original definition of representation dimension, reappears -- a number of highly symbolic value for representation theorists -- within the realm of finite dimension. The main result provides a lower estimate \(d\) of the dimension of \(\mathbf{mod}(A)\) as a subcategory of the bounded derived category in terms of a complex of injective \(A\)-modules with \(d\)-fold self-extensions in a generic sense. Applied to special cases, this yields lower bounds for the representation dimension of commutative algebras and some other interesting examples.