Local cohomology associated to the radical of a group action on a noetherian algebra

Abstract

An arbitrary group action on an algebra $R$ results in an ideal $\mathfrak{r}$ of $R$. This ideal $\mathfrak{r}$ fits into the classical radical theory, and will be called the radical of the group action. If $R$ is a noetherian algebra with finite GK-dimension and $G$ is a finite group, then the difference between the GK-dimensionsof $R$ and that of $R/\mathfrak{r}$ is called the pertinency of the group action. We provide some methods to find elements of the radical, which helps to calculate the pertinency of some special group actions. The $\mathfrak{r}$-adic local cohomology of $R$ is related to the singularities of the invariant subalgebra $R^G$. We establish an equivalence between the quotient category of the invariant $R^G$ and that of the skew group ring $R\ast G$ through the torsion theory associated to the radical $\mathfrak{r}$. With the help of the equivalence, we show that the invariant subalgebra $R^G$ will inherit certain Cohen-Macaulay property from $R$.

26 pages