In 1992, Göran Björck and Ralf Fröberg completely characterized the solution set of cyclic-8. In 2001, Jean-Charles Faugère determined the solution set of cyclic-9, by computer algebra methods and Gröbner basis computation. In this paper, a new theory in matrix analysis of rank-deficient matrices together with algorithms in numerical algebraic geometry enables us to present a symbolic-numerical algorithm to derive exactly the defining polynomials of all prime ideals of positive dimension in primary decomposition of cyclic-12. Empirical evidence together with rigorous proof establishes the fact that the positive-dimensional solution variety of cyclic-12 just consists of 72 quadrics of dimension one.

Two fundamental questions in the theory of Gröbner bases are decision (‘Is a basis G of a polynomial ideal a Gröbner basis?’) and transformation (‘If it is not, how do we transform it into a Gröbner basis?’) This paper considers the first question. It is well known that G is a Gröbner basis if and only if a certain set of polynomials (the S-polynomials) satisfy a certain property. In general there are m(m−1)/2 of these, where m is the number of polynomials in G, but criteria due to Buchberger and others often allow one to consider a smaller number. This paper presents two original results. The first is a new characterization theorem for Gröbner bases that makes use of a new criterion that extends Buchberger’s criteria. The second is the identification of a class of polynomial systems G for which the new criterion has dramatic impact, reducing the worst-case scenario from m(m−1)/2 S-polynomials to m−1.

Let f be a probability density function on (a, b) ⊂ (0, ∞), and consider the class Cf of all probability density functions of the form Pf, where P is a polynomial. Assume that if X has its density in Cf then the equilibrium probability density x ↦ P(X > x) / E(X) also belongs to Cf: this happens, for instance, when f(x) = Ce−λx or f(x) = C(b − x)λ−1. We show in the present paper that these two cases are the only possibilities. This surprising result is achieved with an unusual tool in renewal theory, by using ideals of polynomials.

Natural sufficient conditions for a polynomial to have a local minimum at a point are considered. These conditions tend to hold with probability 1. It is shown that polynomials satisfying these conditions at each minimum point have nice presentations in terms of sums of squares. Applications are given to optimization on a compact set and also to global optimization. In many cases, there are degree bounds for such presentations. These bounds are of theoretical interest, but they appear to be too large to be of much practical use at present. In the final section, other more concrete degree bounds are obtained which ensure at least that the feasible set of solutions is not empty.

We describe an algorithm for computing parameter-test-ideals in certain local Cohen–Macaulay rings. The algorithm is based on the study of a Frobenius map on the injective hull of the residue field of the ring and on the application of Sharp’s notion of ‘special ideals’. Our techniques also provide an algorithm for computing indices of nilpotency of Frobenius actions on top local cohomology modules of the ring and on the injective hull of its residue field. The study of nilpotent elements on injective hulls of residue fields also yields a great simplification of the proof of the celebrated result in the article Generators of D-modules in positive characteristic (J. Alvarez-Montaner, M. Blickle and G. Lyubeznik, Math. Res. Lett. 12 (2005), 459–473).

Given polynomials a and b over an integral domain R, their tensor product (denoted a ⊗ b) is a polynomial over R of degree deg(a) deg(b) whose roots comprise all products αβ, where α is a root of a, and β is a root of b. This paper considers basic properties of ⊗ including how to factor a ⊗ b into irreducibles factors, and the direct sum decomposition of the ⊗-product of fields.