Application of the geometric technique of calculating syzygies to Rees algebras (Q1886833)

The author applies the geometric technique of computing syzygies, going back to Kempf and Lascoux and presented in the author's book ``Cohomology of vector bundles and syzygies'' [Cambridge Tracts in Mathematics 149 (2003; Zbl 1075.13007)], to the symmetric algebra \(S(M)\) and Rees algebra \(R(M)\) of the module \(M\) of cycles in the Koszul complex resolving the the residue class field of a polynomial ring \(A=K[X_1,\dots,X_n]\) modulo the maximal ideal \((X_1,\dots,X_n)\). The main results are: (a) the algebra \(R(M)\) is Cohen-Macaulay; (b) \(X_1,\dots,X_n\) is an unconditioned \(d\)-sequence on \(S(M)\); (c) the \(A\)-torsion of \(S(M)\) occurs only in bigraded components whose bidegree is \(0\) with respect to \(A\). These results were conjectured by J. Herzog. The paper contains a short introduction to the geometric method, and a discussion of further cases where the method can be applied.