Determinantal rings and varieties have been a central topic of commutative algebra and algebraic geometry. Their study has attracted many prominent researchers and has motivated the creation of theories which may now be considered part of general commutative ring theory. The book gives a first coherent treatment of the structure of determinantal rings. The main approach is via the theory of algebras with straightening law. This approach suggest (and is simplified by) the simultaneous treatment of the Schubert subvarieties of Grassmannian. Other methods have not been neglected, however. Principal radical systems are discussed in detail, and one section is devoted to each of invariant and representation theory. While the book is primarily a research monograph, it serves also as a reference source and the reader requires only the basics of commutative algebra together with some supplementary material found in the appendix. The text may be useful for seminars following a course in commutative ring theory since a vast number of notions, results, and techniques can be illustrated significantly by applying them to determinantal rings.

The purpose of these notes is to explain in detail some topics on the intersection of commutative algebra, representation theory and singularity theory. They are based on lectures given in Tokyo, but also contain new research. It is the first cohesive account of the area and will provide a useful synthesis of recent research for algebraists.

This book is a comprehensive treatment of the representation theory of maximal Cohen-Macaulay (MCM) modules over local rings. This topic is at the intersection of commutative algebra, singularity theory, and representations of groups and algebras. Two introductory chapters treat the Krull-Remak-Schmidt Theorem on uniqueness of direct-sum decompositions and its failure for modules over local rings. Chapters 3-10 study the central problem of classifying the rings with only finitely many indecomposable MCM modules up to isomorphism, i.e., rings of finite CM type. The fundamental material--ADE/simple singularities, the double branched cover, Auslander-Reiten theory, and the Brauer-Thrall conjectures--is covered clearly and completely. Much of the content has never before appeared in book form. Examples include the representation theory of Artinian pairs and Burban-Drozd's related construction in dimension two, an introduction to the McKay correspondence from the point of view of maximal Cohen-Macaulay modules, Auslander-Buchweitz's MCM approximation theory, and a careful treatment of nonzero characteristic. The remaining seven chapters present results on bounded and countable CM type and on the representation theory of totally reflexive modules.

Ideal for graduate students and researchers, this book presents a unified treatment of the central notions of integral closure.