The Gelfand-Kirillov dimension of the universal algebras of \(M_{a,b}(E)\otimes E\) in positive characteristic. (Q693215)

The description of the verbally prime algebras is known only over a field of characteristic 0. Recall that an algebra \(A\) is verbally prime (or T-prime) if its T-ideal is prime inside the class of all T-ideals in the free associative algebra. If the base field is of characteristic 0 then the T-ideals of the following algebras are the only non-trivial T-prime T-ideals: \(M_n(K)\), \(M_n(E)\), \(M_{ab}(E)\). Here \(K\) is the base field, \(E\) is the infinite dimensional Grassmann algebra over \(K\), \(n,a,b\geq 1\). The algebra \(M_{ab}(E)\) is a subalgebra of \(M_{a+b}(E)\), it consists of all matrices divided into blocks \(a\times a\) and \(b\times b\) on the main diagonal whose entries come from \(E_0\), the centre of \(E\), and the entries in the off-diagonal blocks come from \(E_1\), the anti-commuting part of \(E\). We recall that if \(K\) is infinite and of characteristic \(p>2\) then the above T-ideals are T-prime as well but there exist other T-prime T-ideals, and their complete description seems to be quite far. It is known that the class of the T-prime algebras is closed under tensor products (in the sense of PI equivalence). Thus for example, in characteristic 0, \(E\otimes E\) is PI equivalent to \(M_{11}(E)\), \(M_{ab}(E)\otimes E\) is PI equivalent to \(M_{a+b}(E)\), and \(M_{ab}(E)\otimes M_{cd}(E)\) is PI equivalent to \(M_{ac+bd,ad+bc}(E)\). All of these equivalences fail in positive characteristic (but are valid if one considers the multilinear parts of the corresponding T-ideals). The main result of the paper under review is the computation of the Gelfand-Kirillov dimension of the relatively free algebra of rank \(m\) in the variety determined by \(M_{ab}(E)\otimes E\), over an infinite field of characteristic \(p\neq 2\). It turns out that it differs from the GK dimension of the relatively free algebra of rank \(m\) in the variety determined by \(M_{a+b}(E)\); the latter is one less than the former. Thus the authors obtain a new proof of the fact that these two algebras are not PI equivalent in positive characteristic.