Reductions of filtrations (Q1108334)

Let \(\gamma =\{\gamma (n)\}_{n\geq 0}\) be a filtration on a ring R. In this paper the concept of a reduction of \(\gamma\) is introduced. (Specifically, a filtration \(\phi =\{\phi (n)\}_{n\geq 0}\) is a reduction of \(\gamma\) in case \(\phi\) (n)\(\subseteq \gamma (n)\) for all \(n\geq 0\) and there exists a positive integer d such that \(\gamma (n)=\sum^{d}_{i=0}\phi (n-i)\gamma (i)\quad for\) all \(n\geq 1\) (with the convention that \(\phi (i)=R\) if \(i\leq 0).)\) It is then shown that many of the basic properties of reductions of ideals have a natural extension to reductions of filtrations. Among these properties is the very useful result that if \(\phi\) and \(\gamma\) are filtrations on a Noetherian ring R, then \(\phi\) is a reduction of \(\gamma\) if and only if the Rees ring of R with respect to \(\gamma\) is a finite integral extension ring of the Rees ring of R with respect to \(\phi\). It readily follows from this that if \(\phi\) is a reduction of \(\gamma\), then \(\phi\) is Noetherian if and only if \(\gamma\) is Noetherian. Also, if \(\phi\) is Noetherian, then \(\phi\) is a reduction of \(\gamma\) if and only if \(\phi\) (n)\(\leq \gamma (n)\) for all \(n\geq 0\) and \(\phi\) and \(\gamma\) determine linearly equivalent ideal topologies on R if and only if \(\gamma\) is a Noetherian filtration between \(\phi\) and \(\phi_ w\), the weak integral closure of \(\phi\), and then there exists a positive integer e such that \(\gamma (n+e)=\phi (e)\gamma (n)\) for all large n. Then it is shown that most Noetherian filtrations on a local ring do not have minimal reductions (in contradistinction to the ideal case), but they do have what are called minimal e-reductions. Finally, as an application of these results, characterizations (in terms of reductions of filtrations) are given for analytically unramified semi- local rings and for locally quasi-unmixed Noetherian rings, and filtration analogs of the theorems of Sakuma-Okuyama and Briancon-Skoda are also given.