Macaulay inverse systems revisited (Q2275903)

In 1916 \textit{F. S. Macaulay} introduced in his book [The algebraic theory of modular systems. Cambridge: University press (1916; JFM 46.0167.01)] the notion of an inverse system relating polynomial ideals with systems of linear partial differential equations with constant coefficients. The author proposes an extension of this theory to more general systems of partial differential equations partially motivated by applications of control theory (although these are not detailed in this article). His approach consists of a combination of classical commutative and homological algebra with the formal theory of differential equations and its key notion of involution. The first two sections provide a long introduction and motivation for the problem considered and introduce some basic notions from algebra and the formal theory. The third section discusses the concept of purity, as it represents a key assumption in the main results of the article, and relates it to involution via a partial localisation. In the fourth section inverse systems are introduced via dualisation with respect to the base (differential) field and some basic algebraic properties of them are exhibited. Section 5, entitled ``Macaulay's Secret'', contains the core of the article. The author argues that the crucial idea of Macaulay was to consider the top part of the inverse system instead of the socle of the original module, as this permits later the use of Nakayama's lemma. Finally, short conclusions are given. Throughout, many examples are provided to demonstrate the theoretical steps.