Splines are piecewise polynomial functions of a given order of smoothness r on a triangulated region (or polyhedrally subdivided region) of Rd. The set of splines of degree at most k forms a vector space Crk() Moreover, a nice way to study Cr k()is to embed n Rd+1, and form the cone b of with the origin. It turns out that the set of splines on b is a graded module Cr b() over the polynomial ring R[x1; : : : ; xd+1], and the dimension of Cr k() is the dimension o This dissertation follows the works of Billera and Rose, as well as Schenck and Stillman, who each approached the study of splines from the viewpoint of homological and commutative algebra. They both defined chain complexes of modules such that Cr(b) appeared as the top homology module. First, we analyze the effects of gluing planar simplicial complexes. Suppose 1, 2, and = 1 [ 2 are all planar simplicial complexes which triangulate pseudomanifolds. When 1 \ 2 is also a planar simplicial complex, we use the Mayer-Vietoris sequence to obtain a natural relationship between the spline modules Cr(b), Cr (c1), Cr(c2), and Cr( \ 1 \ 2). Next, given a simplicial complex , we study splines which also vanish on the boundary of. The set of all such splines is denoted by Cr(b). In this case, we will discover a formula relating the Hilbert polynomials of Cr(cb) and Cr (b). Finally, we consider splines which are defined on a polygonally subdivided region of the plane. By adding only edges to to form a simplicial subdivision , we will be able to find bounds for the dimensions of the vector spaces Cr k() for k 0. In particular, these bounds will be given in terms of the dimensions of the vector spaces Cr k() and geometrical data of both and . This dissertation concludes with some thoughts on future research questions and an appendix describing the Macaulay2 package SplineCode, which allows the study of the Hilbert polynomials of the spline modules.

Chapter 0 In this introductory chapter, certain notational and terminological conventions are established and a summary given of background results that are needed in subsequent chapters. Chapter 1 In this chapter, the notion of a "weak conguence formula" [Tay72], [BB75] is introduced and used to characterize both subdirectly irreducible algebras and essential extensions. Special attention is paid to the role they play in varieties with definable principal congruences. The chapter focuses on residually small varieties; several of its results take their motivation from the so-called "Quackenbush Problem" and the "RS Conjecture". One of the main results presented gives nine equivalent characterizations of a residually small variety; it is largely due to W. Taylor. It is followed by several illustrative examples of residually small varieties. The connections between residual smallness and several other (mostly categorical) properties are also considered, e.g., absolute retracts, injectivity, congruence extensibility, transferability of injections and the existence of injective hulls. A result of Taylor that establishes a bound on the size of an injective hull is included. Chapter 2 Beginning with a proof of A. Day's Mal'cev-style characterization of congruence modular varieties [Day69] (incorporating H.-P. Gumm's "Shifting Lemma"), this chapter is a self-contained development of commutator theory in such varieties. We adopt the purely algebraic approach of R. Freese and R. McKenzie [FM87] but show that, in modular varieties, their notion of the commutator [α,β] of two congruences α and β of an algebra coincides with that introduced earlier by J. Hagemann and C. Herrmann [HH79] as well as with the geometric approach proposed by Gumm [Gum80a],[Gum83]. Basic properties of the commutator are established, such as that it behaves very well with respect to homomorphisms and sufficiently well in products and subalgebras. Various characterizations of the condition "(x, y) Є [α,β]” are proved. These results will be applied in the following chapters. We show how the theory manifests itself in groups (where it gives the familiar group theoretic commutator), rings, modules and congruence distributive varieties. Chapter 3 We define Abelian congruences, and Abelian and affine algebras. Abelian algebras are algebras A in which [A2, A2] = idA (where A2 and idA are the greatest and least congruences of A). We show that an affine algebra is polynomially equivalent to a module over a ring (and is Abelian). We give a proof that an Abelian algebra in a modular variety is affine; this is Herrmann's Funda- mental Theorem of Abelian Algebras [Her79]. Herrmann and Gumm [Gum78], [Gum80a] established that any modular variety has a so-called ternary "difference term" (a key ingredient of the Fundamental Theorem's proof). We derive some properties of such a term, the most significant being that its existence characterizes modular varieties. Chapter 4 An important result in this chapter (which is due to several authors) is the description of subdirectly irreducible algebras in a congruence modular variety. In the case of congruence distributive varieties, this theorem specializes to Jόnsson's Theorem. We consider some properties of a commutator identity (Cl) which is a necessary condition for a modular variety to be residually small. In the main result of the chapter we see that for a finite algebra A in a modular variety, the variety V(A) is residually small if and only if the subalgebras of A satisfy (Cl). This theorem of Freese and McKenzie also proves that a finitely generated congruence modular residually small variety has a finite residual bound, and it describes such a bound. Thus, within modular varieties, it proves the RS Conjecture. Conclusion The conclusion is a brief survey of further important results about residually small varieties, and includes mention of the recently disproved (general) RS Conjecture. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.

In this thesis, we undertake a combinatorial study of certain aspects of triangulations of cartesian products of simplices, particularly in relation to their relevance in toric algebra and to their underlying product structure. The first chapter reports joint work with Samu Potka. The object of study is a class of homogeneous toric ideals called cut ideals of graphs, that were introduced by Sturmfels and Sullivant 2006. Apart from their inherent appeal to combinatorial commutative algebra, these ideals also generalize graph statistical models for binary data and are related to some statistical models for phylogenetic trees. Specifically, we consider minimal free resolutions for the cut ideals of trees. We propose a method to combinatorially estimate the Betti numbers of the ideals in this class. Using this method, we derive upper bounds for some of the Betti numbers, given by formulas exponential in the number of vertices of the tree. Our method is based on a common technique in commutative algebra whereby arbitrary homogeneous ideals are deformed to initial monomial ideals, which are easier to analyze while conserving some of the information of the original ideals. The cut ideal of a tree on n vertices turns out to be isomorphic to the Segre product of the cut ideals of its n-1 edges (in particular, its algebraic properties do not depend on its shape). We exploit this product structure to deform the cut ideal of a tree to an initial monomial ideal with a simple combinatorial description: it coincides with the edge ideal of the incomparability graph of the power set of the edges of the tree. The vertices of the incomparability graph are subsets of the edges of the tree, and two subsets form an edge whenever they are incomparable. In order to obtain algebraic information about these edge ideals, we apply an idea introduced by Dochtermann and Engström in 2009 that consists in regarding the edge ideal of a graph as the (monomial) Stanley-Reisner ideal of the independence complex of the graph. Using Hochster\'s formula for computting Betti numbers of Stanley-Reisner ideals by means of simplicial homology, the computation of the Betti numbers of these monomial ideals is turned to the enumeration of induced subgraphs of the incomparability graph. That the resulting values give upper bounds for the Betti numbers of the cut ideals of trees is an important well-known result in commutative algebra. In the second chapter, we focus on some combinatorial features of triangulations of the point configuration obtained as the cartesian product of two standard simplices. These were explored in collaboration with César Ceballos and Arnau Padrol, and had a two-fold motivation. On the one hand, we intended to understand the influence of the product structure on the set of triangulations of the cartesian product of two point configurations; on the other hand, the set of all triangulations of the product of two simplices is an intricate and interesting object that has attracted attention both in discrete geometry and in other fields of mathematics such as commutative algebra, algebraic geometry, enumerative geometry or tropical geometry. Our approach to both objectives is to examine the circumstances under which a triangulation of the polyhedral complex given by the the product of an (n-1)-simplex times the (k-1)-skeleton of a (d-1)-simplex extends to a triangulation of an (n-1)-simplex times a (d-1)-simplex. We refer to the former as a partial triangulation of the product of two simplices. Our main result says that if d >= k > n, a partial triangulation always extends to a uniquely determined triangulation of the product of two simplices. A somewhat unexpected interpretation of this result is as a finiteness statement: it asserts that if d is sufficiently larger than n, then all partial triangulations are uniquely determined by the (compatible) triangulations of its faces of the form “(n-1)-simplex times n-simplex”. Consequently, one can say that in this situation ‘\'triangulations of an (n-1)-simplex times a (d-1)-simplex are not much more complicated than triangulations of an (n-1)-simplex times an n-simplex\'\'. The uniqueness assertion of our main result holds already when d>=k>=n. However, the same is not true for the existence assertion; namely, there are non extendable triangulations of an (n-1)-simplex times the boundary of an n-simplex that we explicitly construct. A key ingredient towards this construction is a triangulation of the product of two (n-1)-simplices that can be seen as its ``second simplest triangulation\'\' (the simplest being its staircase triangulation). It seems to be knew, and we call it the Dyck path triangulation. This triangulation displays symmetry under the cyclic group of order n that acts by simultaneously cycling the indices of the points in both factors of the product. Next, we exhibit a natural extension of the Dyck path triangulation to a triangulation of an (n-1)-simplex times an n-simplex that, in a sense, enjoys some sort of ‘\'rigidity\'\' (it also seems new). Performing a ‘\'local modification\'\' on the restriction of this extended triangulation to the polyhedral complex given by (n-1)-simplex times the boundary of an n-simplex yields the non-extendable partial triangulation. The thesis includes two appendices on basic commutative algebra and triangulations of point configuration, included to make it slightly self-contained.

Thesis--Bonn. / Extra t.p. with thesis statement inserted. Includes bibliographical references (p. 55).

Thesis--Bonn. / Extra t.p. with thesis statement inserted. Includes bibliographical references (p. 55).

This thesis is concerned with the existence of pushouts in two different settings of algebraic geometry. At first, we study the pushouts in the cat- egory of affine algebraic sets over an infinite field. We show that this can be regarded as an instance of much general problem whether the pullback of finitely generated algebras over a commutative Noetherian ring is finitely generated. We give a partial solution to this problem and study some ex- amples. Secondly, we examine the existence of pushouts in the category of schemes with an emphasis on diagrams of affine schemes. We use the methods of Ferrand [2003] and Schwede [2004] and generalise some of their results. We conclude by giving some examples and suggest another approach to the problem.

Orientador: Trajano Pires da Nóbrega Neto / Banca: Antonio Aparecido de Andrade / Banca: Jos'e Valter Lopes Nunes / Resumo: O propósito deste trabalho é estudar alguns corpos abelianos, mais especificamente, as extensões reais maximais contidas nos corpos ciclotômicos de grau 8 e, os subcorpos dos corpos ciclotômicos Q(ζ_7) e Q(ζ_17). Em tais corpos, determinamos base integral, discriminante, grupo de Galois e construimos submódulos de posto máximo do anel dos inteiros algébricos com sua respectiva representação geométrica. Além disso, calculamos a densidade de centro destes reticulados / Abstract: The purpose of this work is to investigate some Abelian Number Fields, especifically the maximal extension contained in the cyclotomic fields of degree 8, and the subfields of the cyclotomic fields Q(ζ7) and Q(ζ17). In such fields, we compute: integral bases, discriminant, Galois group and submoduli with maximal rank in the ring of algebraic integers, its geometrical realization with the respective center density / Mestre

Orientador: Paulo Roberto Brumatti / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Matematica, Estatistica e Computação Científica / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-10T20:04:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Bianchi_AngeloCalil_M.pdf: 609753 bytes, checksum: d05b2d15e03b1e36b83018ed28d8da63 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / Resumo: O objetivo geral desse trabalho é entender a teoria das bases SAGBI num ponto de vista estrutural, buscando critérios para sua existência e resultados que comprovem sua eficácia para o estudo de certas k-subalgebras de k[x], bem como estudar a teoria geral das derivações sobre anéis de polinômios, suas localizações e quocientes, visando explorar as propriedades algébricas do núcleo destas derivações e as estruturas das k-subalgebras de k[x] que podem ser vistas como tais núcleos. O objetivo específico é estudar a teoria algébrico-geométrica para k-derivações em k[x], desenvolvida por Shigeru Kuroda, e utilizar dessa teoria para estabelecer uma condição para que o núcleo de uma tal derivação seja uma k-subalgebra finitamente gerada e outra para que este possua uma base SAGBI finita. Em cada momento ao longo do trabalho também é desejado enfatizar o comportamento das k-derivações que são localmente nilpotentes e obter uma forma algorítmica para determinar os geradores de seus núcleos, no caso particular da derivação ao possuir uma slice / Abstract: The general objective of this work is to understand the SAGBI bases theory from a structural point of view, seeking criterias for it¿s existence and results that prove it¿s effitiency in the study of certain subalgebras of k[x], as well as to study the general theory of derivations over polynomial rings, it¿s localizations and quotients, in order to explore the algebraic properties of the kernel of this derivations and the structures of the k-subalgebras of k[x] that may be seen as such kernels. The specific objective is to study the algebraic-geometric theory of k-derivations in k[x], developed by Shigeru Kuroda, and to use this theory to stabilish a condition for the kernel of one such derivation to be a finitely generated k-subalgebra and another condition for this derivation to have finite SAGBI base. Along this work we also want to emphasize the behavior of locally nilpotent k-derivations and to obtain an algorithmic way to determine the generators of it¿s kernels, in the particular case that the derivation has a slice / Mestrado / Matematica / Mestre em Matemática

Orientadores: Fernando Eduardo Torres Orihuela, Cícero Fernandes de Carvalho / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Matemática, Estatística e Computação Científica / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-19T03:11:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Peixoto_Rafael_D.pdf: 876847 bytes, checksum: ae0f5d0ea0f2c3e3d550bc60eb1ac66a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Resumo: Definidas sobre uma F-álgebra, os conceitos de função peso e função peso fraco foram introduzidos de forma a simplificar a teoria dos códigos corretores de erros que utilizam ferramentas da geometria algébrica. Porém, todos os códigos suportados por estes conceitos estão intimamente ligados à códigos provenientes de curvas algébricas, ou seja, os códigos geométricos de Goppa. Uma modificação da noção de função peso foi apresentada permitindo assim construir códigos lineares sobre variedades algébricas. Nesta tese, apresentamos uma generalização da teoria de funções pesos fracos que possibilitou a construção de códigos sobre variedades de dimensão arbitrária. Determinamos uma cota para a distância mínima destes códigos, e finalmente, apresentamos uma caracterização tanto para as álgebras munidas de funções pesos quanto para as álgebras munidas de um conjunto especial de funções pesos fracos / Abstract: Defined on a F-algebra, the concepts of weight and near weight function were introduced to simplify the theory of error correcting codes using tools from algebraic geometry. However, all codes supported by these theories are geometric Goppa codes. The concept of weight function was generalized and used to construct linear codes on algebraic varieties. In this thesis, we present a generalization of near weights theory able to construct codes on higher dimensional varieties, and we define a formula for the minimum distance of such codes. Finally, we characterize the algebras with a weight function and the algebras admitting a special set of two near weight functions / Doutorado / Matematica / Doutor em Matemática

Orientador: Paulo Roberto Brumatti / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Matematica, Estatistica e Computação Cientifica / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-04T02:10:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Veloso_MarceloOliveira_M.pdf: 605567 bytes, checksum: 5882cdcae8b9c04096f915755c89a683 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005 / Resumo: O objetivo principal deste trabalho é o estudo do número de soluções de equações polinomiais definidas sobre corpos finitos. Para isto utilizamos resultados básicos sobre a soma de Caracteres e resultados sobre o número de soluções de uma Forma Quadrática. Na nossa abordagem procuramos utilizar técnicas bem elementares, apesar disto implicar num número maior de cálculos. Contudo este método permitiu estudar e determinar fórmulas para o número de soluções de determinadas equações polinomiais muito estudadas, sem a necessidade de ferramentas mais elaboradas. Dentre as aplicações das fórmulas obtidas, temos alguns exemplos de curvas algébricas planas cujo número de pontos racionais atingem a cota de Weil, ou seja, curvas maximais que são de grande interesse em teoria dos códigos. Também conseguimos exemplos de variedades projetivas sobre corpos finitos cujo número de pontos atingem a cota de Weil-Deligne / Abstract: The main objective of this work is to study the number of solutions of polynomial equations over finite fields. For that we used basic results on Character sums and on the number of solutions of a Quadratic Form. This approach uses elementary techniques even considering the increasing on computations. Therefore this method allowed us to study and determine formulae for the number of solutions of certain polynomial equations well known, without the need of more sophisticated tools. Among the applications of the obtained formulae, we have some examples of plane algebraic curves which number of rational points achieve the Weil bound, that is, maximal curves which are of great interest in code theory. In addition, other examples were obtained of projective manifolds over finite fields which number of points achieve the Weil-Deligne bound / Mestrado / Algebra / Mestre em Matemática