The F-signature of an affine semigroup ring (Q1770538)

The paper under review deals with the F-signature of an affine semigroup ring over a perfect field of positive characteristic \(p\). The notion was defined by \textit{C. Huneke} and \textit{G. J. Leuschke} [Math. Ann. 324, 391--404 (2002; Zbl 1007.13005)]. For a reduced local ring \(R\) of positive characteristic \(p\), the concept describes, asymptotically, how the rank of a maximal free direct summand of \(R^{1/p^e}\) grows with \(p^{ed}\), where \(d = \dim(R)\). The author shows that the F-signature of such a ring exists and is rational. To prove this result, the author expresses the F-signature as the difference of two Hilbert-Kunz multiplicities which are known to be rational, in this particular situation, due to results of \textit{K. Watanabe} and \textit{K. Yoshida} [Illinois. J. Math. 48, No. 1, 273--294 (2004; Zbl 1089.13007)]. \textit{I. Aberbach} and \textit{F. Enescu} have recently shown that the \(F\)-signature exists in various cases, including the case of \(\mathbb N\)-graded rings over F-finite fields [``When does the F-signature exist?'' Ann. Fac. Sci. Toulouse Math. (to appear; \texttt{http://front.math.ucdavis.edu/math.AC/0502351})]. \textit{Y. Yao} has also obtained results on the existence of F-signature in certain cases [``Observations on the F-signature of local rings of characteristic \(p\)'', J. Algebra (to appear)]. The existence of the F-signature of a ring \(R\) in general is currently an open problem.