Factorization of complete ideals in normal birational extensions in dimension two (Q2382989)

\textit{O. Zariski} showed that every complete ideal in a two-dimensional regular local ring can be uniquely expressed as a product of irreducible complete ideals [Am. J. Math. 60, 151--204 (1938; Zbl 0018.20101)]. The author of the paper under review deals with the factorization properties of the complete ideals of two-dimensional normal local rings \(O\) that birationally dominate a two-dimensional regular local ring \((R,m_R).\) Such rings \(O\) involve singularities and are not factorial unless they are regular. Normal surface singularities of this kind are characterized as the singular points that can be obtained by blowing up a complete \(m_R\)-primary ideal in \(R\). Let \(X\) be the surface obtained by blowing up a complete \(m_R\)-primary ideal \(I\). To establish the connection, between the factorizations of complete ideals of \( R \) and \(O,\) the author uses the theory of infinitely near points and the \textit{geometry }of the base points of complete ideals to associate to each complete ideal sheaf \(\mathcal{J}\), with finite cosupport in the exceptional locus of \(X,\) a complete \(m_R\)-primary ideal \(H_{\mathcal{J}}\) in \(R\); so that \(\mathcal{J}\) can be recovered from \(H_{\mathcal{J}}\). This establishes an isomorphism between the semigroup of such ideal sheaves and the semigroup of Cartier ideals (for \(X\)) in \(R.\) This result is then used to relate the factorization of ideals in \(O\) to the factorization of complete ideals in \(R.\)