Rees algebras of sparse determinantal ideals (Q6567139)

For an ideal \(I\) of a Noetherian ring \(R\), there is an algebra associate to \(I\) known as the Rees algebra \(\mathfrak{R}(I)\). This algebra is defined as \(\mathfrak{R}(I)=:\bigoplus_{r\ge 0}I^rt^r\), a subalgebra of the polynomial ring \(R[t]\) with indeterminant \(t\). It was introduced by Rees in 1956 in order to prove what is now known as the Artin-Rees Lemma.\N\NIn this paper, the authors study an open problem, i.e., an explicit understanding of the blowup of \(\text{Spec}(R) \) along \(V (I)\), which corresponds to the Rees algebra \(\mathfrak{R}(I)\). More precisely, to express the Rees algebra and the special fiber ring as quotients of a polynomial ring, where the key is to determine the defining ideals. The authors determine the defining equations of the Rees algebra and of the special fiber ring of the ideal of maximal minors of a \(2\times n\) sparse matrix. They prove that their initial algebras are ladder determinantal rings. Based on this, they further show that the Rees algebra and the special fiber ring are Cohen-Macaulay domains, that they are Koszul, and that they have rational singularities in characteristic zero and are F-rational in positive characteristic.