Primary decomposition: Algorithms and comparisons (Q4247789)

The primary decomposition of an ideal in a polynomial ring over a field is an important tool in commutative algebra and algebraic geometry. The search for efficient algorithms for computing primary decompositions is one of the big challenges of computational algebra. This article discusses and compares four such algorithms, including those found by \textit{D. Wang} [``Characteristic sets and zero structures of polynomial sets,'' RISC-Linz (Res. Inst. Symbolic Computation, Lect. Note, Univ. Linz 1989)], \textit{P. Gianni}, \textit{B. Trager} and \textit{G. Zacharias} [J. Symb. Comput. 6, No. 2/3, 149-167 (1988; Zbl 0667.13008)], \textit{D. Eisenbud, C. Huneke} and \textit{W. Vasconcelos} [Invent. Math. 110, No. 2, 207-235 (1992; Zbl 0770.13018)], and \textit{T. Shimoyama} and \textit{K. Yokoyama} [J. Symb. Comput. 22, No. 3, 247-277 (1996; Zbl 0874.13022)]. The paper contains many subroutines in pseudo code, together with lots of examples. Most of the algorithms presented are implemented in SINGULAR. This paper represents an excellent and well-written overview of the different approaches to primary decomposition. For the entire collection see [Zbl 0903.00035].