A sufficient criterion about group homomorphism of the first row map (Q6050187)

Let \(R\) be a commutative noetherian ring with a unit of dimension \(d \geq 2\). Consider \(\text{E}_n(R)\), the subgroup of \(\text{GL}_n(R)\) generated by elementary matrices. The author examines the set-theoretic map \(\Gamma: \text{GL}_{d+1}(R) \rightarrow \frac{\text{Um}_{d+1}(R)}{\text{E}_{d+1}(R)}\) that sends a matrix \(\sigma \in \text{GL}_{d+1}(R)\) to \([e_1\sigma]\), where \([\cdot]\) represents the class of \(\cdot\). \textit{L. N. Vaserstein} and \textit{A. A. Suslin} (for \(d=2\) in [Math. USSR, Izv. 10, 937--1001 (1978; Zbl 0379.13009)]) and \textit{W. van der Kallen} (for \(d \geq 3\) in [J. Algebra 82, 363--397 (1983; Zbl 0518.20035)]) established a group structure on the elementary orbit space of unimodular rows, \(\frac{\text{Um}_{d+1}(R)}{\text{E}_{d+1}(R)}\). Furthermore, W. van der Kallen provided an example where the first row map \(\Gamma\) is not a group homomorphism. In this article under review, the author proves that if either (1) any unimodular row of length \(d+1\) in \(R\) can be completed to the first row of an invertible matrix, or (2) for \(d \geq 3\) and any non-zero divisor \(a \in R\), any unimodular row of length \(d\) in \(R/<a>\) can be completed to the first row of an invertible matrix, then the map \(\Gamma\) is a group homomorphism.