Exact and coexact matrices (Q1178861)

Let \(k\) be a subring of a commutative ring \(R\), and let \(D_ 1,\ldots,D_ n\) be a sequence of \(k\)-derivations of \(R\) with \([D_ i,D_ j]=0\) always. Given an element \(U\) of \(R^ n\), viewed as a column vector, \(D_ j(U)\) is the column \((D_ j(U_ i))\) and the Jacobian \(J(U)\) is the \(n\times n\) matrix \((D_ j(U))\). Then the matrix \(A\) with columns \(A_ 1,\ldots,A_ n\) is said to be exact if \(A=J(U)\) for some \(U\), closed if \(D_ i(A_ j)=D_ j(A_ i)\) always, and coexact if \(J(A_ i)(A_ j)-J(A_ j)(A_ i)=0\) always. The aim of this paper is to present some purely formal results and conjectures relating these concepts and the Jacobian conjecture. For example, when \(A\) is invertible, it is shown that \(A\) is closed if and only if \(A^{-1}\) is coexact. The relations with the Jacobian conjecture arise naturally by considering the Jacobian of an endomorphism of the \(n\)-fold polynomial ring over \(k\). The analytic origins of the results and conjectures are discussed in the introduction.