# Fitting ideals for finitely presented algebraic dynamical systems

## 1. Introduction

A natural family of measure–preserving $`Z^d`$–actions are provided by commuting automorphisms of compact abelian groups. Such actions are amenable to analysis using methods from commutative algebra and commutative harmonic analysis. The resulting theory, described in the papers , , , , , and the monograph  associates to such a dynamical system a module over the ring of Laurent polynomials in $`d`$ variables with integer coefficients, and then relates various dynamical properties of the action to algebraic or geometric properties of the corresponding module. This singles out for attention the class of systems corresponding to Neotherian modules (the systems satisfying the Descending Chain Condition of Kitchens and Schmidt, ) and raises the problem of computing the set of associated primes of such modules.

Our purpose here is to exploit standard methods from commutative algebra to study the dynamical systems corresponding to Noetherian modules described via a finite presentation. Before describing this we recall the algebraic description of such actions in . Let $`R=Z[u_1^{\pm 1},\mathrm{},u_d^{\pm 1}]`$ be the ring of Laurent polynomials with integral coefficients in the commuting variables $`u_1,\mathrm{},u_d`$. If $`\alpha `$ is a $`Z^d`$–action by automorphisms of the compact, abelian group $`X`$, then the dual (character) group $`M=\widehat{X}`$ of $`X`$ is an $`R`$-module under the dual $`R`$–action

$$fa=\underset{𝕞Z^d}{}c_f(𝕞)\beta _𝕞(a)$$

for all $`aM`$ and $`f=_{𝕞Z^d}c_f(𝕞)u^𝕞R`$, where $`u^𝕟=u_1^{n_1}\mathrm{}u_d^{n_d}`$ for every $`𝕟=(n_1,\mathrm{},n_d)Z^d`$, and where $`\beta _𝕟=\widehat{\alpha _𝕟}`$ is the automorphism of $`M=\widehat{X}`$ dual to $`\alpha _𝕟`$. In particular,

$$\widehat{\alpha _𝕟}(a)=\beta _𝕟(a)=u^𝕟a$$

for all $`𝕟Z^d`$ and $`aM`$. Conversely, if $`M`$ is an $`R`$-module, and

$$\beta _𝕟^M(a)=u^𝕟a$$

for every $`𝕟Z^d`$ and $`aM`$, then we obtain a $`Z^d`$-action

$$\alpha ^M:𝕟\alpha _𝕟^M=\widehat{\beta _𝕟^M}$$

on the compact, abelian group

$$X^M=\widehat{M}$$

dual to the $`Z^d`$-action $`\beta ^M:𝕟\beta _𝕟^M`$ on $`M`$.

The dynamical system $`\alpha ^M`$ on $`X_M`$ satisfies the Descending Chain Condition (any decreasing sequence of closed $`\alpha ^M`$–invariant subgroups of $`X_M`$ stabilizes) if and only if the $`R`$–module is Noetherian by Theorem 11.4 in . We assume from now on that $`M`$ is a Noetherian module, in which case it has a finite presentation of the form

(1) 
$$M=M_AR^k/AR^n,$$

where $`M_A`$ is generated as an $`R`$–module by a subset with $`k`$ elements and the $`k\times n`$ matrix $`A`$ defines the various relations in $`M_A`$. Since free modules are not very interesting, we assume that the rank of $`A`$ is $`k`$. If this is not the case, then $`M_A`$ has a free submodule $`L`$ with the property that $`M_A/L`$ has a finite presentation in the form (1) with $`\mathrm{rank}(A)=k`$.

In accordance with the spirit of the monograph , we would like then to be able to describe the dynamical properties of the $`Z^d`$–action $`\alpha ^{M_A}`$ in terms of the matrix $`A`$. Roughly speaking, we are able to (describe how to) compute all the associated primes of $`M_A`$ from $`A`$ using Auslander–Buchsbaum theory. This is enough to describe – in principle – the dynamical properties of $`\alpha ^{M_A}`$. For the special case $`k=n`$, or more generally, of principal associated primes, we are also able to find the multiplicities of the various associated primes, which allows the entropy of $`\alpha ^{M_A}`$ to be computed. This means in particular that the entropy of $`\alpha ^{M_A}`$ can be computed, and the expansiveness of $`\alpha ^{M_A}`$ can be decided, without computing any syzygy modules.

Methods taken from commutative algebra are standard and may all be found for example in Eisenbud’s book . We are grateful to Prof. Rodney Sharp for pointing us to the right part of .

By “entropy” we mean topological entropy, as defined in Section 13 of Schmidt’s monograph .

## 2. Language from commutative algebra

Let $`S`$ be a commutative ring (recall that $`R`$ is the ring of Laurent polynomials in $`d`$ variables with integer coefficients). The basic terminology for an $`S`$–module $`M`$ may be found in any commutative algebra book. A prime ideal $`PS`$ is associated to $`M`$ if there is an element $`mM`$ with the property that

(2) 
$$P=\mathrm{Ann}_M(m)=\{fSfm=0M\}.$$

The module $`M`$ is Noetherian if each submodule is finitely generated (the ring $`S`$ is Noetherian if it is a Noetherian $`S`$–module), and this holds for Noetherian rings if and only if $`M`$ has a finite presentation (1). The set $`\mathrm{Ass}(M)`$ of associated primes of a Noetherian module is finite (see Theorem 6.5 in ). A Noetherian module is free if it has a presentation (1) in which the matrix $`A`$ comprises zeros, and is cyclic if it has a presentation (1) with $`k=1`$. A finite free resolution of a Noetherian module $`M`$ is an exact sequence of $`S`$–modules and $`S`$–module homomorphisms

(3) 
$$0F_n\stackrel{\varphi _n}{}\mathrm{}\stackrel{\varphi _2}{}F_1\stackrel{\varphi _1}{}F_0M0$$

in which each $`F_i`$ is a free $`S`$–module.

A subset $`U`$ in $`S`$ is multiplicative if it is closed under multiplication. Each multiplicative subset $`US`$ defines a localization

(4) 
$$S^U=\{\frac{s}{u}sS,uU\},$$

where two fractions $`\frac{s}{u}`$ and $`\frac{s^{}}{u^{}}`$ are identified if there is an element $`u^{\prime \prime }U`$ with $`u^{\prime \prime }(u^{}sus^{})=0`$. The notation is altered for one special case: if $`P`$ is a prime ideal in $`S`$, then write $`S^{(P)}`$ for $`S^{S\backslash P}`$, called the localization at the prime $`P`$. For a module $`M`$, the same definition as (4) works and defines a localized module $`M^S`$ or $`M^P`$. If the ideal $`P=\pi `$ is principal, write $`M^{(\pi )}=M^P`$. The dimension $`dim(S)`$ of $`S`$ is the supremum of the length of chains of distinct prime ideals in $`S`$, and this coincides with the supremum of $`dim(S^P)`$ over all prime ideals $`P`$. The dimension of a localization $`S^P`$ is also known as the codimension of $`P`$, and coincides with the supremum of lengths of chains of prime ideals descending from $`P`$.

A ring is Noetherian if every ascending chain of ideals stabilizes, is a local ring if it has just one maximal ideal, and is regular if it is Noetherian and the localization at every prime ideal is a regular local ring. A local ring is a regular local ring if the maximal ideal is generated by exactly $`d`$ elements where $`d`$ is the dimension of the local ring. It is clear that $`R`$ is a regular ring, and it follows (see Chapter 19 of ) that any Noetherian $`R`$–module has a finite free resolution (3). Notice that the presentation (1) is itself the start of a finite free resolution of $`M_A`$:

$$\mathrm{}R^n\stackrel{𝐴}{}R^kM_A0.$$

If $`M`$ is a Noetherian $`R`$–module with associated primes $`\mathrm{Ass}(M)=\{P_1,\mathrm{},P_r\}`$, then there is a prime filtration of $`M`$,

(5) 
$$M=M_{\mathrm{}}M_\mathrm{}1\mathrm{}M_1M_0=\{0\},$$

in which each quotient $`M_j/M_{j1}R/Q_j`$ for some prime $`Q_jP_i`$ for some $`i`$ (see for example Corollary 2.2 in ). The number of times a given prime $`P_i`$ appears (that is, the number of $`j`$ for which $`Q_j=P_i`$) is the multiplicity of $`P_i`$ in the filtration (5). If the prime ideal in question is principal and the module $`M`$ has no free submodules, then the multiplicity with which $`P_i`$ appears is independent of the filtration, and we will therefore speak of the multiplicity of $`P_i`$ in $`M`$ (see Proposition 6.10 in ).

## 3. Dynamical properties

Let $`M`$ be any countable $`R`$–module, with associated $`Z^d`$–action $`\alpha ^M`$ on $`X_M=\widehat{M}`$. The following result shows how the dynamical properties of $`\alpha ^M`$ may be deduced from the associated primes $`\mathrm{Ass}(M)`$ of $`M`$. All these results are in ; we state them here for completeness. A generalized cyclotomic polynomial is an element of $`R`$ of the form $`u_1^{n_1}\mathrm{}u_d^{n_d}c(u_1^{m_1}\mathrm{}u_d^{m_d})`$ for some cyclotomic polynomial $`c`$ and $`𝕟,𝕞Z^d`$. Write $`V(P)`$ for the set of common zeros of the elements of $`P`$ in $`C^d`$.

###### Theorem 3.1.

The dynamical system $`\alpha ^M`$ on $`X_M`$:

(a) satisfies the Descending Chain Condition on closed $`\alpha ^M`$–invariant subgroups if and only if $`M`$ is Noetherian;

(b) is ergodic if and only if $`\{\left(u_1^{n_1}\mathrm{}u_d^{n_d}\right)^k1𝕟Z^d\}P`$ for every $`k1`$ and every $`P\mathrm{Ass}(M)`$;

(c) is mixing if and only if $`u_1^{n_1}\mathrm{}u_d^{n_d}1P`$ for each $`𝕟Z^d\backslash \{0\}`$ and every $`P\mathrm{Ass}(M)`$;

(d) is mixing of all orders if and only if either $`P=pR`$ for a rational prime $`p`$, or $`PZ=\{0\}`$ and $`\alpha ^{R/P}`$ is mixing for every $`P\mathrm{Ass}(M)`$;

(e) has positive entropy if and only if there is a $`P\mathrm{Ass}(M)`$ that is principal and not generated by a generalized cyclotomic polynomial;

(f) has completely positive entropy if and only if $`\alpha ^{R/P}`$ has positive entropy for every $`P\mathrm{Ass}(M)`$;

(g) is isomorphic to a Bernoulli shift if and only if it has completely positive entropy;

(h) is expansive if and only if $`M`$ is Noetherian and $`V(P)\left(S^1\right)^d=\mathrm{}`$ for every $`P\mathrm{Ass}(M)`$;

(i) has a unique maximal measure if and only if it has finite completely positive entropy.

###### Proof.

For (a) see Theorem 11.4 in ; (b) and (c) are in Theorem 11.2 in ; (d) follows from Theorem 3.1 in  and Theorem 3.3 in ; (e), (f) and (i) are in ; (h) is Theorem 3.9 in ; (g) is Theorem 1.1 in . ∎

## 4. Principal associated primes and entropy

In this section we use localization to find the entropy of $`\alpha _A^M`$.

###### Definition 4.1.

Let $`A`$ be a $`k\times n`$ matrix of rank $`k`$ over $`R`$. The determinental ideal of $`A`$, $`J_AR`$, is the ideal

$$J_A=f_1,\mathrm{},f_{\left(\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{n}{k}\right)}$$

generated by all the $`k\times k`$ subdeterminants $`\{f_1,\mathrm{},f_{\left(\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{n}{k}\right)}\}`$ of $`A`$.

For a polynomial $`fR`$, the logarithmic Mahler measure of $`f`$ is defined to be

(6) 
$$m(f)=_0^1\mathrm{}_0^1\mathrm{log}|f(e^{2\pi is_1},\mathrm{},e^{2\pi is_d})|\text{d}s_1\mathrm{}\text{d}s_d.$$

For brevity, define $`m(0)`$ to be $`\mathrm{}`$. Recall from  that the entropy of the dynamical system given by the cyclic module $`R/P`$, where $`P`$ is a prime ideal, is given by

(7) 
$$h\left(\alpha ^{R/P}\right)=\{\begin{array}{cc}0,\hfill & \text{if }P\text{ is non–principal;}\hfill \\ m(f),\hfill & \text{if }P=f,f0\text{.}\hfill \end{array}$$

More generally, since $`R`$ is a UFD, for any ideal $`QR`$ there is a well–defined greatest common divisor, and

$$h(\alpha ^{R/Q})=h(\alpha ^{R/\mathrm{gcd}(Q)}),$$

which is zero if $`\mathrm{gcd}(Q)=1`$ and equal to $`m(f)`$ if $`\mathrm{gcd}(Q)=f`$ (see Lemma 4.5 in ).

For Noetherian modules,

(8) 
$$h(\alpha ^M)=\underset{j=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}h(\alpha ^{R/Q_j})$$

where the prime ideals $`Q_j`$ are the primes appearing in the filtration (5).

###### Theorem 4.1.

The entropy of $`\alpha ^M`$ is given by

(9) 
$$h\left(\alpha ^{M_A}\right)=m\left(\mathrm{gcd}(J_A)\right).$$

Before proving this, we indicate some examples.

###### Example 4.1.

(a) Taking $`k=n=1`$ and $`A=[f]`$ with an irreducible polynomial $`f`$, we recover the formula ( 7) in the cyclic case with a principal prime ideal.

(b) Taking $`k=1`$ and $`n1`$ we recover the general cyclic case.

(c) If $`k=n`$ then formula (9) simply reduces to $`det(A)`$, which was shown in Section 5 of .

(d) Let $`k`$ be an algebraic number field with ring of integers $`𝒪_k`$, and $`f`$ a Laurent polynomial in $`d`$ variables with coefficients in $`𝒪_k`$. The $`Z^d`$–dynamical system $`\beta `$ dual to multiplication by $`u_1,\mathrm{},u_d`$ on the $`𝒪_k[u_1^{\pm 1},\mathrm{},u_d^{\pm 1}]`$–module $`=𝒪_k[u_1^{\pm 1},\mathrm{},u_d^{\pm 1}]/f`$ is studied in . Taking an integral basis for $`𝒪_k`$ shows that $``$ as an $`R`$–module is of the form (1) with $`n=k`$, and by (c) we see that

$$h(\beta )=m(det(A))=m\left(N_{k:Q}f\right),$$

recovering Theorem 3.10 in .

###### Lemma 4.1.

Each associated prime of $`M_A`$ contains $`J_A`$.

###### Proof.

Let $`B`$ be a $`k\times k`$ subdeterminant of $`A`$. Then for any $`𝕧R^k`$, $`det(B)𝕧=BB^{\mathrm{adj}}𝕧`$. Therefore the annihilator of any element of $`M_AR^k/AR^n`$ contains $`det(B)`$ and also $`J_A`$. ∎

###### Lemma 4.2.

The principal associated primes of $`M_A`$ are generated by the irreducible factors of $`\mathrm{gcd}(J_A)`$. Moreover, the multiplicity of each principal associated prime in $`M`$ is equal to its multiplicity in $`\mathrm{gcd}(J_A)`$.

###### Proof.

It follows from Lemma 4.1 that each element of the set of principal associated primes of $`M`$ contains the $`k\times k`$ subdeterminants of $`A`$. This means that the generator of a principal associated prime divides all the subdeterminants and is therefore a factor of $`\mathrm{gcd}(J_A)`$.

Conversely, let $`\{B_i\}`$ be the set of $`k\times k`$ subdeterminants of $`A`$, and let

(10) 
$$\mathrm{gcd}(B_1,\mathrm{},B_{\left(\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{n}{k}\right)})=\pi _1^{e_1}\mathrm{}\pi _r^{e_r}$$

be a factorization into irreducibles in $`R`$. By Section 2 (5) there is a prime filtration

(11) 
$$M=M_{\mathrm{}}M_\mathrm{}1\mathrm{}M_1M_0=\{0\},$$

with $`M_j/M_{j1}R/Q_j`$ with $`Q_jP`$ for some $`P\mathrm{Ass}(M)`$. Localize (11) at the prime ideal $`\pi _1`$: the pair $`M_{j1}M_j`$ localizes to the pair $`M_{j1}^{(\pi _1)}M_j^{(\pi _1)}`$, with quotient

$$R^{(\pi _1)}/Q_j^{(\pi _1)}=\{\begin{array}{cc}R/\pi _1\hfill & \text{if }Q_j=\pi _1\text{;}\hfill \\ 0.\hfill & \text{if not.}\hfill \end{array}$$

So (11) collapses to a shortened filtration of $`R^{\pi _1}`$–modules and we see that the multiplicity of $`\pi _i`$ in $`M`$ coincides with the multiplicity of $`\pi _i`$ in $`M^{(\pi _i)}`$ for each $`i=1,\mathrm{},r`$.

We are therefore reduced to studying the local case: let $`\pi `$ be any one of the $`\pi _i`$’s, and write

$$M_A^{(\pi )}=\left(R^{(\pi )}\right)^k/A\left(R^{(\pi )}\right)^n.$$

We can change our matrix by invertible (over $`R^{(\pi )}`$) elementary row operations and this gives us an isomorphic module with the same subdeterminants. In $`R^{(\pi )}`$ define $`\mathrm{ord}(f)=\mathrm{ord}_\pi (f)`$ to be the number of times that $`\pi `$ divides into $`f`$. Write $`fg`$ if $`\mathrm{ord}(f)\mathrm{ord}(g)`$, and with respect to this partial ordering find (one of) the smallest entries in $`A`$. Permute rows and columns in $`A`$ so that $`a_{11}`$ is a smallest entry. Then $`a_{i1}a_{11}`$ for $`2ik`$ so the quotient $`a_{i1}/a_{11}`$ is an element of $`R^{(\pi )}`$ and we can subtract multiples of the first row from the others to get a matrix of the form

$$A_1=\left[\begin{array}{cccc}a_{11}& \mathrm{}& & \\ 0& \\ \mathrm{}& & \\ 0\end{array}\right]$$

Repeat with $`a_{22}`$ and so on to produce a matrix of the form

$$A_{}=\left[\begin{array}{cc}a_{11}& \mathrm{}\\ 0& a_{22}& \mathrm{}\\ \mathrm{}& 0& \\ 0& \mathrm{}& 0& a_{kk}& \mathrm{}\end{array}\right]$$

in which each $`a_{jj}`$ is in turn the smallest non–zero element of the submatrix $`(a_{st})_{s,tj}`$. Let $`\mathrm{ord}(a_{jj})=e_{jj}`$ for each $`j`$.

Now let $`𝕧=(1,0,\mathrm{},0)^t`$, so that

$$\mathrm{Ann}(𝕧+A_{}R^n)=a_{11},$$

since the other columns of the matrix have a first component which is divisible by $`a_{11}`$. The map $`ff𝕧M^{(\pi )}`$ gives a filtration

$$𝕧R^{(\pi )}\pi 𝕧R^{(\pi )}\mathrm{}\pi ^{(e_{11}2)}𝕧R^{(\pi )}\pi ^{(e_{11}1)}𝕧R^{(\pi )}0$$

of submodules of $`M_A^{(\pi )}`$. As the same argument works for the other standard basis vectors it follows that the multiplicity of $`\pi `$ in $`M_A^{(\pi )}`$ is $`e_{jj}`$. Calculating all the subdeterminants shows that the greatest common divisor is equal to the product $`_ja_{jj}=\pi ^{_je_{jj}}`$. So the multiplicity of $`\pi `$ in $`\mathrm{gcd}(J_A)`$ is equal to the multiplicity of the associated prime $`(\pi )`$ in a prime filtration of $`M_A`$. ∎

###### Proof of Theorem 4.1.

Use Lemma 4.2 and Section 2 to find the principal associated primes and their multiplicites; the result follows by (8).∎

For an ideal $`P`$ in $`R`$, recall that $`V(P)=\{𝕫C^df(𝕫)=0fP\}`$ denotes the set of common zeros of $`P`$. Write $`V(f)`$ for $`V(f)`$. By Theorem 3.1, $`\alpha ^M`$ is expansive if and only if $`V(P)(S^1)^d=\mathrm{}`$ for each associated prime $`P\mathrm{Ass}(M)`$.

###### Theorem 4.2.

Let $`M_A`$ be a finitely presented module with $`A`$ of rank $`k`$. Then $`\alpha ^{M_A}`$ is expansive if and only if

(12) 
$$(S^1)^d\left(\underset{j=1,\mathrm{},\left(\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{n}{k}\right)}{}V(det(B_j))\right)=\mathrm{},$$

where $`\{B_j\}`$ is the set of $`k\times k`$ subdeterminants of $`A`$.

###### Proof.

Assume first that

$$𝕫(S^1)^d\left(\underset{j=1,\mathrm{},\left(\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{n}{k}\right)}{}V(det(B_j))\right).$$

Assume that for every associated prime $`P`$ of $`M_A`$ there is a polynomial $`f_PP`$ for which $`f_P(𝕫)0`$. Then let $`f=_{P\mathrm{Ass}(M)}f_P`$ (so $`f(𝕫)0`$). From a prime filtration of $`M_A`$ it is clear that for some power $`m`$,

(13) 
$$f^mM=0.$$

On the other hand, since $`𝕫`$ was chosen to lie in the set of common zeros of all the subdeterminants, in the ring

$$M(𝕫)=\frac{Z[𝕫^{\pm 1}]^k}{A(𝕫)Z[𝕫^{\pm 1}]^n}$$

we have that all $`k\times k`$ subdeterminants of $`A(𝕫)`$ vanish, so $`\mathrm{rank}(A(𝕫))<k`$, and in particular $`M(𝕫)0`$, contradicting (13). It follows that if the intersection in (12) contains a point $`𝕫`$ then this point must lie in $`V(P)`$ for some associated prime $`P`$, showing that $`\alpha ^{M_A}`$ is not expansive by Theorem 3.1.

Conversely, if $`\alpha ^{M_A}`$ is not expansive, then there is an associated prime $`P\mathrm{Ass}(M_A)`$ with $`V(P)(S^1)^d𝕫`$ say. However the associated prime $`P`$ must contain all the subdeterminants by Lemma 4.1. so $`𝕫_{j=1,\mathrm{},\left(\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{n}{k}\right)}V(det(B_j)).`$

## 5. The square case

As remarked in Theorem 3.1, various dynamical properties of systems of the form $`\alpha ^M`$ are governed by properties of the set $`\mathrm{Ass}(M)`$ of associated primes of $`M`$. In this section we show that the associated primes of a finite presentation with $`k=n`$ (the “square case”) are all visible in the determinant of the matrix of relations, so the dynamics are as easy to deduce as in the case of a cyclic module with a single principal associated prime. We also calculate the periodic points because a priori one needs more information than the associated primes to calculate this (see Section 7 of ).

###### Lemma 5.1.

If the finitely–presented module $`M_A`$ has $`k=n`$ and $`A`$ has maximal rank, then the associated prime ideals of $`M`$ are all given by irreducible factors of $`det(A)`$.

###### Proof.

Let $`det(A)=\pi _1^{e_1}\mathrm{}\pi _r^{e_r}`$ be the decomposition into irreducibles. By linear algebra over the quotient field of $`R`$ we know that $`wAR^n`$ if and only if $`\frac{1}{detA}A^{\mathrm{adj}}wR^n`$. If an element $`𝕧+AR^n`$ has $`\mathrm{Ann}(𝕧+AR^n)=P`$ for some $`P\mathrm{Ass}(M_A)`$, then

$$P=\{fR\frac{f}{det(A)}A^{\mathrm{adj}}𝕧R^k\}.$$

Now in $`\frac{1}{det(A)}A^{\mathrm{adj}}v`$ after all possible cancellations there must be some $`\pi _i`$ in the denominator (since $`𝕧AR^k`$). Let this denominator be $`g`$ say; then $`g`$ must divide $`f`$ for all $`fP`$, so $`\mathrm{Ann}(𝕧+AR^n)=g`$. As $`P`$ is prime the element $`g`$ must be irreducible. It follows that all the associated primes of $`M_A`$ are principal and arise as factors of the determinant of $`A`$.

It is easy to see that the argument above also proves that each irreducible factor of $`detA`$ gives an associated prime (or use Lemma 4.2) for the reverse inclusion. ∎

###### Corollary 5.1.

The dynamical system $`\alpha ^{M_A}`$ for a square matrix $`A`$ is ergodic, mixing, mixing on a shape $`F`$, mixing of all orders, $`K`$, if and only if the corresponding cyclic system $`\alpha ^{R/det(A)}`$ has the same property.

We are also able to compute directly the periodic points in such systems. A period for a $`Z^d`$–action $`\alpha `$ on $`X`$ is a lattice $`\mathrm{\Lambda }Z^d`$ of full rank; the size of the period is the (finite) index $`|Z^d/\mathrm{\Lambda }|`$. The set of points of period $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ is

$$\mathrm{Fix}_\mathrm{\Lambda }(\alpha )=\{xX\alpha _𝕟x=x𝕟\mathrm{\Lambda }\}.$$

Since the (multiplicative) dual group of $`Z^d`$ is $`(S^1)^d`$, the annihilator $`\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}`$ of $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ is a subgroup of $`(S^1)^d`$ with cardinality $`|Z^d/\mathrm{\Lambda }|`$.

###### Lemma 5.2.

If $`A`$ is a square matrix of maximal rank, then

$$\mathrm{Fix}_\mathrm{\Lambda }\left(\alpha ^{M_A}\right)=\{\begin{array}{cc}\mathrm{}\hfill & \text{if }_{𝕫\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}}|det(A)(𝕫)|=0;\hfill \\ _{𝕫\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}}|det(A)(𝕫)|\hfill & \text{if not.}\hfill \end{array}$$

###### Proof.

For brevity we prove this for square periods $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_n=nZ^d`$; the general case is similar but notationally unpleasant. We follow the method used in , Section 7, exactly.

An element $`𝕩X=\widehat{R^k/AR^k}`$ is periodic with respect to $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_n`$ if it annihilates $`J(\mathrm{\Lambda }_n)R^k`$ where $`J(\mathrm{\Lambda }_n)=u_1^n1,\mathrm{},u_d^n1`$. So the periodic points are exactly the elements in the dual group of

(14) 
$$R^k/(AR^k+J(\mathrm{\Lambda }_n)^k).$$

Therefore the number of periodic points is equal to the number of elements in (14) whenever this quantity is finite or is infinite if not. As $`R/J(\mathrm{\Lambda }_n)`$ is isomorphic to $`Z^{n^d}`$ we see that the module (14) is isomorphic to $`(Z^F)^k/B(Z^F)^k`$ where $`F=\{1,\mathrm{},n\}^d`$ and $`B`$ is obtained from $`A`$ by interpreting the variable $`u_{\mathrm{}}`$ as the shift of the $`\mathrm{}`$-th coordinate in $`F`$. The number of periodic points in $`X`$ is now given by the determinant of $`B`$ (or is infinite if $`detB=0`$). We calculate this quantity using a suitable basis of $`(C^F)^k`$. The elements in this vector space have the form $`(w_{\left(\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{𝕖}{i}\right)})_{\left(\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{𝕖F}{i[1,k]}\right)}`$; use the basis

$$v_𝕗^j=(\delta _{ij}\omega ^{f_1e_1+\mathrm{}+f_de_d})_{\left(\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{𝕖}{i}\right)}.$$

where $`\omega `$ is a primitive $`n`$-th root. In this basis the matrix $`B`$ becomes

$$C=(a_{ij}(\omega ^{e_1},\mathrm{},\omega ^{e_d})\delta _{𝕖𝕗})_{\left(\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{𝕖}{i}\right)\left(\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{𝕗}{j}\right)}$$

because the shift of the $`\mathrm{}`$-th coordinates in $`F`$ has $`v_𝕗^j`$ as eigenvector with eigenvalue $`\omega ^f_{\mathrm{}}`$. The determinants are given by

$$det(B)=det(C)=\underset{𝕖F}{}det(A)(\omega ^{e_1},\mathrm{},\omega ^{e_d}),$$

Because the matrix $`C`$ can be viewed as being of the form

$$\left[\begin{array}{ccccc}D_1& 0& 0& \mathrm{}& 0\\ 0& D_2& 0& \mathrm{}& 0\\ \mathrm{}& & & & \mathrm{}\\ 0& & \mathrm{}& 0& D_{|F|}\end{array}\right]$$

where the submatrices $`D_j`$ are obtained from $`A`$ by evaluation at $`(\omega ^{e_1},\mathrm{},\omega ^{e_d})`$ for some $`(e_1,\mathrm{},e_d)F`$. The determinant of such a matrix is the product of the determinants of the submatrizes. ∎

For a lattice $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$, let $`g(\mathrm{\Lambda })=\mathrm{min}_{𝕟\mathrm{\Lambda }\backslash \{0\}}\{𝕟\mathrm{𝟘}\}`$. The characterization of expansiveness and Lemma 5.2 gives a very simple proof of the general result that the growth rate of periodic points coincides with the entropy for expansive algebraic $`Z^d`$–actions (see Section 7 of ) for finitely presented systems with $`k=n`$.

###### Corollary 5.2.

If $`A`$ is a square matrix of maximal rank, and $`V(det(A))(S^1)^d=\mathrm{}`$, then the growth rate of periodic points is equal to the entropy:

$$\underset{g(\mathrm{\Lambda })\mathrm{}}{lim}\frac{1}{|Z^d/\mathrm{\Lambda }|}\mathrm{log}\mathrm{Fix}(\alpha ^{M_A})=h(\alpha ^{M_A}).$$

## 6. The general case

In this section we simply describe the appropriate results from commutative algebra and indicate by examples how they may be used to compute associated primes in the general case.

Fix the finite presentation (1) of a Noetherian $`R`$–module $`M`$. For each $`R`$–module map $`\varphi :R^aR^b`$ define $`J(\varphi )`$ to be the ideal generated by the $`\mathrm{rank}(\varphi )\times \mathrm{rank}(\varphi )`$ subdeterminants of a matrix for $`\varphi `$. For maps $`\varphi `$ appearing in a finite free resolution, these ideals are the Fitting ideals of the module. By convention $`0\times 0`$ determinants give the trivial ideal $`1`$.

###### Theorem 6.1.

Let

(15) 
$$0F_n\stackrel{\varphi _n}{}\mathrm{}\stackrel{\varphi _2}{}F_1\stackrel{\varphi _1}{}F_0M_A0$$

be a finite free resolution of the $`R`$–module $`M_A`$. Let $`P`$ be a prime ideal of $`R`$ with $`dim(R^P)=\mathrm{}`$. Then $`P\mathrm{Ass}(M_A)`$ if and only if $`PJ(\varphi _{\mathrm{}}).`$

###### Proof.

This is proved in Corollary 20.14 of  with the condition $`dim(R^P)=\mathrm{}`$ replaced by $`\text{depth}(PR)=\mathrm{}`$ (see Chapter 18 of  for this notion). By Theorem 18.7 of  we have that since $`R`$ is regular (and hence Cohen–Macaulay by Section 18.5 of ), $`\text{depth}(P)=\text{height}(P):=dim(R^P)`$, so the result follows. ∎

Notice that the first Fitting ideal $`J(\varphi _1)`$ is exactly the ideal $`J_A`$ used above.

We now describe several examples to illustrate the kind of calculations involved and some of the phenomena that may arise.

###### Example 6.1.

(a) Let $`P=f`$ be a prime ideal. Then a finite free resolution of $`R/P`$ is given by

$$0R\stackrel{[f]}{}RR/P0.$$

By Theorem 6.1, we see that the associated primes of $`R/P`$ comprise exactly $`\{P\}`$.

(b) Let $`f`$ be irreducible, and let $`M=R/2f.`$ Then

$$0R\stackrel{[2f]}{}RM0.$$

is a free resolution of $`M`$. If $`dim(P)=1`$ then $`P\mathrm{Ass}(M)`$ if and only if $`PJ([2f])=2f`$, so $`P=2`$ or $`f`$. Notice that $`J(\varphi _2)=1`$ so there are no further primes, so $`\mathrm{Ass}(M)=\{2,f\}`$.

(c) The simplest setting in which a higher Fitting ideal appears is Ledrappier’s example. Let $`M=R/2,1+u_1+u_2`$. A simple syzygy calculation gives the free resolution

$$0R\stackrel{\varphi _2}{}R^2\stackrel{\varphi _1}{}RM0,$$

where $`\varphi _1=\left[\begin{array}{c}1+u_1+u_2,2\end{array}\right]`$ and $`\varphi _2=\left[\begin{array}{c}1+u_1+u_2\\ 2\end{array}\right].`$ If $`dim(P)=1`$ then $`P\mathrm{Ass}(M)`$ if and only if $`PJ([1+u_1+u_2,2])=2,1+u_1+u_2`$, so there are no primes here. If $`dim(P)=2`$ then $`P\mathrm{Ass}(M)`$ if and only if $`PJ(\left[\begin{array}{c}1+u_1+u_2\\ 2\end{array}\right])=2,1+u_1+u_2`$, giving the one associated prime $`2,1+u_1+u_2`$.

(d) Let $`A=\left[\begin{array}{ccc}2& u_2^25& 0\\ 0& u_1u_27u_1+u_2& 3\end{array}\right]`$. Then the first Fitting ideal $`J(A)`$ is generated by the set $`\{2u_1u_214u_1+2u_2,6,3u_2^215\}`$. A principal prime ideal which contains $`J(A)`$ must contain $`6`$, and must therefore be generated by $`2`$ or $`3`$: in either case it cannot contain the other two generators of $`J(A)`$. This proves that no principal ideals are associated to the module $`R^2/AR^3`$. Using the special form of the matrix we see that the kernel of $`A`$ in $`R^3`$ is generated by the vector

$$v=\left[\begin{array}{c}3u_2^215\\ 6\\ 2u_1u_214u_1+2u_2\end{array}\right].$$

The second Fitting ideal $`J(v)`$ is equal to the first. Assume $`P`$ is prime with $`dim(R^P)=2`$ and $`PJ(v)`$. Then this prime contains either $`2`$ or $`3`$. If $`3P`$ then $`P`$ lies above the prime $`3,u_1u_27u_1+2u_2`$ which is the only one with $`dim(R^P)=2`$. For the case $`2P`$ we have also $`u_2^25P`$ but this element is modulo $`2`$ congruent to $`(u_21)^2`$; this means that the only prime with the correct local dimension containing $`2`$ is $`P=2,u_21`$. The only associated primes of $`M=R^2/AR^3`$ are therefore $`P_1=3,u_1u_27u_1+2u_2`$ and $`P_2=2,u_21`$. The corresponding dynamical system is expansive and ergodic but not mixing, and has zero entropy.

(e) Let $`A=\left[\begin{array}{ccc}2& 3u_2+5& 3u_13u_2\\ u_14& u_11& 3u_16\end{array}\right]`$. Then the first Fitting ideal is generated by

$$3u_1+183u_1u_2+12u_2,$$

$$18u_1123u_1^2+3u_1u_212u_2\text{ and}$$

$$21u_2303u_1^2+18u_1+12u_1u_2.$$

The only principal ideal above $`J(A)`$ is $`3`$. With a computer algebra system one can calculate the kernel of the map $`A`$: it is generated by the vector

$$v=\left[\begin{array}{c}7u_210u_1^2+6u_1+4u_1u_2\\ 4+u_1^26u_1u_1u_2+4u_2\\ 6u_1u_2+4u_2u_1\end{array}\right].$$

The second Fitting ideal $`J(v)`$ is generated by the components of this vector and one can calculate that

$$\{u_13u_24,3u_2^2+3u_22\}$$

is also a generating set. So $`J(v)`$ is a prime with local dimension $`2`$. The only associated primes of the module $`R^2/AR^3`$ are $`3`$ and $`u_13u_24,3u_2^2+3u_22`$. The entropy of the corresponding dynamical system is $`\mathrm{log}3`$, but the system does not have completely positive entropy. The ring $`R/J(v)`$ is isomorphic to a subring of $`Q[\sqrt{\frac{11}{12}}]`$ via the map sending $`u_2`$ to $`\frac{1}{2}+\sqrt{\frac{11}{12}}`$ (a root of $`3y^2+y2=0`$), and $`u_1`$ to $`\frac{5}{2}+\sqrt{\frac{33}{4}}`$. The field-theoretic norms of those two elements are $`2`$ and $`\frac{2}{3}`$ respectively. It follows that there can be no nontrivial $`(n_1,n_2)Z^2`$ such that $`u_1^{n_1}u_2^{n_2}1J(v)`$ because this would yield $`2^{n_1}(\frac{2}{3})^{n_2}=1`$. The dynamical system is therefore mixing of all orders and ergodic.

(f) Even in the square ($`n=k`$) case the first Fitting ideal does not contain enough information to construct a prime filtration of the module. The following type of example is well–known (see for example Remark 6(5) in  or Example 5.3(2) in ). Let $`A=\left[\begin{array}{cc}4u_1& 1\\ 1& u_1\end{array}\right]`$ and $`B=\left[\begin{array}{cc}3u_1& 2\\ 2& 1u_1\end{array}\right]`$. Then $`det(A)=det(B)`$ so the systems $`\alpha ^{M_A}`$ and $`\alpha ^{M_B}`$ have the same entropy, number of periodic points, and in fact are both isomorphic to Bernoulli shifts and hence measurably isomorphic. Both modules $`M_A`$ and $`M_B`$ have similar finite free resolutions,

$$0R^2\stackrel{\mathit{\varphi }}{}R^2M0,$$

where $`\varphi =A`$ for $`M=M_A`$ and $`\varphi =B`$ for $`M=M_B`$. It is easy to check that $`M_AR/u_1^24u_11`$, so that

$$M_A0$$

is a prime filtration. On the other hand, the shortest filtration of $`M_B`$ is of the form

$$M_BN0,$$

with first quotient $`N/\{0\}R/u_1^24u_11`$, and second quotient

$$M/NR/u_1^24u_11+Q$$

for some ideal $`Qu_1^24u_11.`$

(g) Let $`f,g,h`$ be co–prime elements of $`R`$, and consider the module $`M=R/[f,g,h]R^3`$. Then a finite free resolution is given by the Koszul complex

$$0R\stackrel{\varphi _1}{}R^3\stackrel{\varphi _2}{}R^3\stackrel{\varphi _3}{}RM0,$$

in which $`\varphi _1=\left[\begin{array}{c}f\\ g\\ h\end{array}\right]`$, $`\varphi _2=\left[\begin{array}{ccc}0& h& g\\ h& 0& f\\ g& f& 0\end{array}\right]`$ and $`\varphi _3=[f,g,h]`$.

(h) An example in which the rank of the presenting matrix is too small is given by $`A=\left[\begin{array}{c}2\\ 1+u_1+u_2\end{array}\right].`$ Let $`M=M_A`$; then $`\mathrm{Ann}_M\left(\begin{array}{c}1\\ 0\end{array}\right)=0`$, so $`M`$ has a free submodule $`L=\left(\begin{array}{c}1\\ 0\end{array}\right)R`$. The corresponding dynamical system therefore has as a factor the full shift with circle alphabet, so $`h(\alpha ^M)=\mathrm{}`$. The quotient $`M/LR/1+u_1+u_2`$ is then of the form (1). Of course the free submodule sits inside $`M`$ in many different ways, so there is no “canonical” quotient $`M/L`$.

(i) The simplest examples of algebraic dynamical systems without finite presentation are certain non–expansive automorphisms of solenoids, as studied in  and . Let $`X=\widehat{Z[\frac{1}{6}]}`$, and let $`\alpha `$ be the automorphism of $`X`$ dual to $`x2x`$ on $`Z[\frac{1}{6}]`$ (here $`d=1`$). The $`R`$–module corresponding to the dynamical system then has a chain of submodules

$$Z[\frac{1}{2}]\frac{1}{3}Z[\frac{1}{2}]\frac{1}{9}Z[\frac{1}{2}]\mathrm{},$$

each of which is isomorphic as an $`R`$–module to $`R/u_12`$, that never stabilizes. It follows that the corresponding module is not Noetherian.