Closure operations that induce big Cohen–Macaulay algebras

Abstract

We study closure operations over a local domain R that satisfy a set of axioms introduced by Geoffrey Dietz. The existence of a closure operation satisfying the axioms (called a Dietz closure) is equivalent to the existence of a big Cohen–Macaulay module for R. When R is complete and has characteristic p>0, tight closure and plus closure satisfy the axioms.We give an additional axiom (the Algebra Axiom), such that the existence of a Dietz closure satisfying this axiom is equivalent to the existence of a big Cohen–Macaulay algebra. We prove that many closure operations satisfy the Algebra Axiom, whether or not they are Dietz closures. We discuss the smallest big Cohen–Macaulay algebra closure on a given ring, and show that every Dietz closure satisfying the Algebra Axiom is contained in a big Cohen–Macaulay algebra closure. This leads to proofs that in rings of characteristic p>0, every Dietz closure satisfying the Algebra Axiom is contained in tight closure, and there exist Dietz closures that do not satisfy the Algebra Axiom.