Finite equational bases for congruence modular varieties (Q1104959)

In the paper the finite axiomatizability of a congruence modular variety \({\mathcal V}\) of a finite type is studied. Two theorems are obtained as principal results. One is that \({\mathcal V}\) has a finite equational basis provided that \({\mathcal V}\) is generated by a finite algebra and is residually small. This result is a generalization of K. A. Baker's finite basis theorem. As the other one it is proved that every finite algebra in \({\mathcal V}\) belongs to a finitely axiomatizable locally finite variety provided that a certain relation defined by using commutators of principal congruences is first order definable uniformly in all algebras of \({\mathcal V}\). This hypothesis is satisfied by finite groups and rings.