Hilbert coefficients and depth of fiber cones (Q2570665)

Let \((R, \mathfrak m)\) denote a \(d\)-dimensional Cohen-Macaulay ring with inifinite residue field \(R/\mathfrak m.\) Let \(I \subset R\) be an \(\mathfrak m\)-primary ideal. The authors study the Cohen-Macaulay property of the fibre cone \(F(I) = \bigoplus_{n \geq 0} I^n/\mathfrak m I^n.\) In the literature there are various results concerning the Hilbert coefficients, the depth and the Cohen-Macaulayness of Rees and form rings of \(I.\) It is a surprising fact of the paper that several of them can be shown to be true in a modified manner for fibre cones. More precisely let \(H_{\mathfrak m}(I, n) = \ell(R/\mathfrak m I^n)\) denote the Hilbert function of the fibre ring. For large \(n\) it becomes a polynomial \(P_{\mathfrak m}(I,n) = \sum_{i=0}^d (-1)^i g_i(I) {{n+d-1-i} \choose {d-i}}.\) Then the authors provide a characterization of when \(F(I)\) is Cohen-Macaulay resp. of almost maximal depth in terms of the coefficient \(g_1(I).\) Moreover, it follows that \(g_1(I) = -1\) if and only if \(I\) has minimal multiplicity. As an application of these results the authors recover a result to \textit{S. Gotô} [J. Pure Appl. Algebra 152, 93--107 (2000; Zbl 0979.13021)], that if \(I\) has minimal multiplicity then \(F(I)\) is Cohen-Macaulay if and only if the form ring of \(I\) has almost maximal depth. In the most technical part of the paper the authors generalize the fundamental lemma of \textit{C. Huneke} [Mich. Math. J. 34, 293-318 (1987; Zbl 0628.13012)], for finding an explicit formula for \(g_1(I).\)