Joint reductions, tight closure, and the Briançon-Skoda theorem (Q1186763)

An ideal \(I\) of a noetherian ring \(R\) is said to be a reduction of an ideal \(J\) if \(I\subseteq J\) and if there is some \(\ell\geq 0\) with \(IJ^ \ell=J^{\ell+1}\). If \(I_ 1,\dots,I_ n\) are ideals of \(R\) and \(a_ i\in I\), then we call \((a_ 1,\dots,a_ n)\) a joint reduction of \((I_ 1,\dots,I_ n)\) if \(a_ 1I_ 2I_ 3\dots I_ n+a_ 2I_ 1I_ 3\dots I_ n+\cdots+a_ nI_ 1\dots I_{n-1}\) is a reduction of \(I_ 1\dots I_ n\). Rees and Sally proved that if \((R,m)\) is a regular local ring of dimension \(d\) (of arbitrary characteristic) and if \(I_ 1,\dots,I_ d\) are \(m\)-primary ideals of \(R\), then the integral closure \(\overline{I_ 1\dots I_ d}\) is contained in every joint reduction of \((I_ 1,\dots,I_ d)\), thus generalizing the classical result due to Briançon and Skoda in the ring of convergent power series in \(n\) variables over \(\mathbb{C}\) (proved using analytic methods). Hochster and Huneke generalised the Briançon-Skoda theorem to: if \(I\) is an ideal of positive height of a ring of characteristic \(p\geq 0\), then for any \(n\geq 0\) we have \(\overline{I^{\mu(I)+n}}\subseteq(I^{n+1})^*\), where \(\mu(I)\) is the minimal number of generators of \(I\) and where for any \(J\subseteq R\) we denote by \(J^*\) the so called tight closure of \(J\), i.e., the set of all \(x\in R\) such that there exists some \(c\in R\) with \(cx^ q\in\langle\{y^ q,q\in J\}\rangle\) for all \(q=p^ N\gg 0\). The author generalizes the previous results by proving that for any positive integer \(n\) and any set of ideals \(I_ 1,\dots,I_ n\) in the ring \(R\) of characteristic \(p\), one has for any \(\ell_ i\) and \(a_{ij}\in I_ i\) with \(1\leq i\leq n\) and \(1\leq j\leq\ell_ i\) and with the property that: (a) \(a_{i1}\in R^ 0\) for \(1\leq i\leq n\), and \(\text{(b)} (a_{11},\dots,a_{1\ell},a_{21},\dots,a_{2\ell},\dots,a_{n\ell})\) is a joint reduction of \((I_ 1,\dots,I_ 1,I_ 2,\dots,I_ n,\dots,I_ n)\) where \(I_ r\) is taken \(r\) times for \(1\leq r\leq n\), that \[ \overline{I_ 1^{\ell_ 1+k_ 1}\dots I_ n^{\ell_ n+k_ n}}\subseteq((a_{11},\dots,a_{1\ell_ 1})^{k_ 1+1}+\cdots+ (a_{n1},\dots,a_{n\ell_ n})^{k_ n+1})^* \] for any \(k_ i\geq 0\), with \(1\leq i\leq n\). Here, \(R^ 0\) denotes the complement of the union of the minimal primes of \(R\). --- This result is then applied to study excellent local CM rings with isolated singularity.