Ladder determinantal rings have rational singularities (Q1378457)

Let \(X= (X_{ij})\) be a matrix of indeterminates over a field \(K\). A subset of entries of \(X\) forms a ladder \(Y\) if whenever the main diagonal of a minor of \(X\) is contained in \(Y\), then all entries of the minor belong to \(Y\). For a ladder \(Y\) and an integer \(t>1\), let \(K[Y]\) be the polynomial ring \(K[\{X_{ij} \mid X_{ij} \in Y\}]\) and \(R_t (Y)\) the factor ring of \(K[Y]\) with respect to the ideal generated by all \(t\)-minors of \(X\) which involve only indeterminates of \(Y\). The ring \(R_t (Y)\) is called a ladder determinantal ring. We quote from the introduction: ``In this paper we use tight closure and Gröbner basis theory to prove that ladder determinantal rings have rational singularities. We show that the ladder determinantal rings of a certain class of ladders, which we call wide ladders, are \(F\)-rational. Though \(F\)-rationality is only defined in positive characteristic, recent results of \textit{K. E. Smith} [Am. J. Math. 119, No. 1, 159-180 (1997)] imply that these ladder determinantal rings are pseudorational in the sense of \textit{J. Lipman} and \textit{B. Teissier} [Mich. Math. J. 28, 97-116 (1981; Zbl 0464.13005)], and in characteristic 0 are of \(F\)-rational type which in turn implies that they have rational singularities. We will further show that an arbitrary ladder determinantal ring is an algebra retract of the determinantal ring of a wide ladder. Thus we may apply \textit{J.-F. Boutot}'s theorem [Invent. Math. 88, 65-68 (1987; Zbl 0619.14029)] to conclude that all ladder determinantal rings defined over an algebraically closed field of characteristic 0 have rational singularities''.