Families of Artinian and one-dimensional algebras (Q2370143)

This paper focuses on families of Artinian or one-dimensional quotients of a polynomial ring \(R\). Let \(H\) be a Hilbert function and let GradAlg\(^H (R)\) be the scheme parametrizing all graded quotients of \(R\) with Hilbert function \(H\). Let \(B \rightarrow A\) be a graded surjection of quotients of \(R\), with Hilbert functions \(H_B\) and \(H_A\) respectively. If \(\dim A = 0\) or 1 and making some additional assumptions on both \(A\) and \(B\), the author gives close connections between GradAlg\(^{H_B}(R)\) and GradAlg\(^{H_A}(R)\). These connections involve for instance smoothness and dimension of these parameter schemes. In a more general setting he describes the dual of the tangent and obstruction space of graded deformations. He then applies this machinery to the case of level algebras of Cohen-Macaulay type 2 (this is a natural first case after the Gorenstein algebras). As a result, he proves a conjecture of Iarrobino on the existence of at least two irreducible components of GradAlg\(^H(R)\) when \(H = (1,3,6,10,14,10,6,2)\), such that the general elements of these components are level. The work is very technical, but many examples are given to illustrate the methods. Similar parameter schemes have been studied in the past, but generally those papers have considered the reduced scheme structure, while GradAlg\(^H (R)\) may be non-reduced.