A criterion for sequential Cohen-Macaulayness (Q6586475)

\textit{R. P. Stanley} introduced the concept of sequentially Cohen-Macaulay modules, for graded modules over polynomial rings with coefficients in a field, in [Combinatorics and commutative algebra. Boston-Basel-Stuttgart: Birkhäuser (1983; Zbl 0537.13009)]. In [Lect. Notes Pure Appl. Math. 206, 245--264 (1999; Zbl 0942.13015)], \textit{P. Schenzel} extended this notion to a more general setting, which coincides with Stanley's definition in the graded case.\N\NLet \(k\) be a field and \(S=k[x_1,\dots, x_n]\) with the standard grading, and \(M \) be a finitely generated \(\mathbb{Z}\)-graded \(S\)-module of Krull dimension \(d\). This paper provides a criterion for \(M\) to be sequentially Cohen-Macaulay using the concept of arithmetic degree.\N\NThe graded \(S\)-module \(M\) is called \textit{sequentially Cohen-Macaulay} if it satisfies any of the following equivalent conditions:\N\begin{itemize}\N\item[(i)] There exists a filtration \(0=M_0\subsetneqq M_1\subsetneqq \dots \subsetneqq M_t=M\) with \(M_i/M_{i-1}\) Cohen-Macaulay graded \(S\)-module of dimension \(d_i\) satisfying \(d_i>d_{i-1}\) for every \(i=1,\dots , t\).\N\item[(ii)] If \(\delta_i(M)\) denotes the largest submodule of \(M\) of dimension less than or equal to \(i\), then the filtration \(0\subseteq \delta_0(M)\subseteq \dots \subseteq \delta_d(M)=M\) is such that \(\delta_i(M)/\delta_{i-1}(M)\) is either zero or Cohen-Macaulay for every \(i=1,\dots ,d\).\N\item[(iii)] The \(S\)-module \(\text{Ext}_S^{n-i}(M,S)\) is either zero or Cohen-Macaulay of dimension \(i\) for every \(i=1,\dots, n\).\N\end{itemize}\N\NLet \(e(M)\) denote the multiplicity of \(M\), and for any integer \(r\geq d\), let \N\[\Ne_r(M)= \begin{cases} e(M) \hspace{.5cm} \text{if} \hspace{.5cm} r=d, \\\N0 \hspace{1.2cm} \text{if} \hspace{.5cm} r>d. \end{cases} \N\]\NThe \textit{arithmetic degree} of \(M\) is defined as \N\[\N\text{adeg}(M)= \sum\limits_{r=0}^ne_r(\text{Ext}_S^{n-r}(M,S)).\N\]\N(Note that for any \(0\leq r\leq n\), \(\text{Ext}_S^{n-r}(M,S)\) is a finitely generated \(\mathbb{Z}\)-graded \(S\)-module and \(\dim_S(\text{Ext}_S^{n-r}(M,S))\leq r\).)\N\NThere exist a finitely generated graded free \(S\)-module \(F\) and a graded submodule \(U\) of \(F\) such that \(M\cong F/U\). The main result of this paper asserts that \(M\) is sequentially Cohen-Macaulay module if and only if \(\text{adeg}(M)=\text{adeg}(F/\text{gin}_{\text{revlex}}(U))\). (Here, \(\text{gin}_{\text{revlex}}(U)\) denotes the generic initial module of \(U\) with respect to reverse lexicographic order.)