Burch index, summands of syzygies and linearity in resolutions (Q2685719)

Motivated by the work of the first author et al. [Algebra Number Theory 14, No. 8, 2121--2150 (2020; Zbl 1459.13010)] the authors of the present paper introduce a new invariant, the Burch index of a local ring \((R,\mathfrak{m}, k)\). It indicades that in an infinite minimal resolution of an module \(M\) the matrices contain many elements outside the square of the maximal ideal, or that the syzygies of \(M\) contain \(k\) as a direct summand. Suppose that \(R\) is of depth \(0\) and \(R = S/I\), where \((S,\mathfrak{n},k)\) is a regular local ring. In this special case the Burch index of \(R\) (relative to \(S\)) is \(\operatorname{Burch}_S R = \dim_k \mathfrak{n}/I\mathfrak{n}: (I: \mathfrak{n})\). Then the following is shown: Let \(M\) denote a finitely generated \(R\)-module that is not free. Suppose that \(\operatorname{depth} R = 0\) and \(\operatorname{Burch}_S R \geq 2\). Then the entries of each matrix in a minimal free resolution of \(\operatorname{syz}_5^R(M)\) generate \(\mathfrak{m}\). Moreover, \(k\) is a direct summand of \(\operatorname{syz}_n^R(M)\) for all \(n \geq 7\). Furthermore, the authors discuss a connection between the Burch index of an ideal \(I \subset S\) and the linear entries of matrices in its \(S\)-free resolution. They conclude with the computation of the Burch index for several classes of examples, including ideals in a regular local ring of dimension 2, ideals of general sets of points in the projective plane, ideals with almost linear resolution and ideals of certain fibre products.