Modular invariant theory (Q621890)

During the last few decades, invariant theory of finite groups became an extensive research subject. There are several excellent references available, e.g. [\textit{D. J. Benson}, Polynomial invariants of finite groups. London Mathematical Society Lecture Note Series. 190. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (1193; Zbl 0864.13001)] and [\textit{L. Smith}, Polynomial invariants of finite groups. Research Notes in Mathematics (Boston, Mass.). 6. Wellesley, MA: A. K. Peters (1995; Zbl 0864.13002)]. In the non-modular case, that is, when the characteristic of the ground field does not divide the order of the group, there is -- for instance -- the Hochster-Eagon Theorem saying that the ring of invariants is always a Cohen-Macaulay ring. This is not true in the modular case by the famous example of \textit{M.-J. Bertin} [C. R. Acad. Sci., Paris, Sér. A 264, 653--656 (1967; Zbl 0147.29503)], which provides a presentation of \(\mathbb Z_4,\) the cyclic group of order 4, acting on a polynomial ring of four variables over a the field \(\mathbb F_2\), such that the ring of invariants is a unique factorization domain that is not a Cohen-Macaulay ring. Another example in the non-modular situation is the characterization of Sheppard and Todd which asserts that the ring of invariants \({\mathbb K}[V]^G\) of the action of a finite group \(G\) is a polynomial ring if and only if the action of \(G\) on \(V\) is generated by (pseudo)-reflections. In the modular case there is no characterization (besides of special cases) of representations of finite groups with polynomial rings of invariants. The main reason for the book under review is the authors' intention to present a broad picture of modular invariant theory of finite groups with particular focus on the big difference to the non-modular case. This is done by various techniques for determining the structure of generators for modular rings of invariants, avoiding too much overlap with existing references. In the reviewer's opinion, this is done in an excellent way. The authors start in their first section ``First steps'' with basic material on actions of groups on vector spaces and their coordinate rings, followed by illustrative examples with focus on the modular case. Then there is a short review of background material from commutative algebra and algebraic geometry, with applications to invariant theory. Modular aspects of the Noether bound, Molien's Theorem, and others are discussed. A separate chapter is devoted to examples, containing, among others, examples related to Göbel's Theorem, the ring of invariants of the regular representation of the cyclic group of order 4, and to non-Cohen-Macaulay rings of invariants. Other chapters of the book are related to computational aspects (SAGBI bases), hypersurface rings of invariants, Cohen-Macaulay invariant rings for \(p\)-groups, invariant rings via localization, etc. One chapter is devoted to the study of representations of finite groups which have polynomial rings of invariants. Note that in characteristic zero, this happens only if the group is generated by (pseudo-)reflections. The book contains an overwhelming amount of examples, discussed focusing on various aspects in order to enlighten problems specific for modular invariant theory. The authors quote 117 references, among them a lot of those covering up-to-date research on the subject. Altogether, the book is a good source for examples and inspirations in modular invariant theory. In the reviewer's opinion, it is well suited for researchers who aim to to get a feeling for recent problems in modular invariant theory and related problems. It can also be used as a companion book for a graduate course in invariant theory of finite groups with a view towards the differences to the modular case.