Ubiquity of relative regular sequences and proper sequences (Q1327527)

This paper presents a very complete survey, albeit somewhat biased by the author's choice of applications, of the notion of relative regular sequences (or \(d\)-sequences) and proper sequences as well as their applications in commutative algebra and algebraic geometry. The first part is mainly devoted to a concise study of relative regular sequences (with respect to a pair of submodules), this notion extending various known generalizations of the concept of regular systems. In particular, it is shown how their study permits to recover and extend several features concerning systems of parameters for generalized Cohen- Macaulay modules. -- The second part of the paper deals with proper sequences and their connection with relative regularity. In particular, it is shown how the role of the Koszul complex associated to a sequence of elements of a ring or module in the context of regular sequences should be played by certain differential graded algebras (the so-called approximation complexes) in the study of relative regular and proper sequences. This naturally leads the authors to study construction and acyclicity problems of them, relating these to regularity and properness. -- The last part provides some extra examples and background, with particular emphasis on the study of ideals of linear and geometric linear type, and their connection to the previous concepts.