Prime ideals of \(q\)-commutative power series rings. (Q763385)

Let \(k\) be a field, and let \(q=(q_{ij})\) be an \(n\times n\) matrix with \(q_{ii}=1\) and \(q_{ij}=q_{ji}^{-1}\in k^\times\). The object studied in the article under review is the \(q\)-commutative power series ring \(R=k_q[[x_1,\dots,x_n]]\), where multiplication is based on the relation \(x_ix_j=q_{ij}x_jx_i\). It is known that \(R\) is a complete, local, Auslander regular, Noetherian, and Zariskian domain whose Krull, classical Krull, and global dimensions are all equal to \(n\). By building on the prime ideal structure of \(q\)-commutative polynomial rings (also called ``quantum affine spaces'' or ``twisted polynomial algebras''), the authors provide a detailed description of the prime spectrum \(\text{Spec}(R)\) of \(R\). It is based on a careful examination of the ideal structure of the \(q\)-commutative Laurent series ring \(L=k_q[[x_1^\pm,\dots,x_n^\pm]]\), which starts by an analysis of the action of the \(n\)-torus \(H=(k^\times)^n\) on \(L\) and \(R\) and shows that \(L\) is \(H\)-simple, i.e., \(L\) has no nontrivial ideals that are stable under the action of \(H\). Consequently, when \(k\) is infinite, \(H\)-orbits of prime ideals of \(L\) are Zariski dense in \(\text{Spec}(L)\). It is shown that extension and contraction produce a homeomorphism between the prime spectrum of \(L\), equipped with the Zariski topology, and that of its center \(Z(L)\). Now, \[ \text{Spec}(R)=\bigsqcup_{\omega\in W}\text{Spec}_{\omega}(R)=\bigsqcup_{\omega\in W}\{P\in\text{Spec}(R)\mid x_i\in P\Leftrightarrow i\in\omega\}, \] where \(W\) denotes the set of all subsets of \(\{1,\dots,n\}\), and each \(\text{Spec}_\omega(R)\) is naturally homeomorphic to \(\text{Spec}(L_\omega)\), where \(L_\omega\) is a \(q\)-commutative Laurent series ring in \(n-|\omega|\) variables, for a suitable replacement of the original matrix \(q\). Consequences of the description of \(\text{Spec}(R)\) obtained by the authors include that \(R\) is normally separated and hence satisfies the strong second layer condition, and that \(R\) is catenary. Furthermore, if \(k\) is uncountable, then cliques in \(\text{Spec}(R)\) are classically localizable. Whether this holds in general appears to be an open problem.