Signature Gröbner bases in free algebras over rings

Abstract

We generalize signature Gröbner bases, previously studied in the free algebra over a field or polynomial rings over a ring, to ideals in the mixed algebra $R[x_1,...,x_k]\langle y_1,\dots,y_n \rangle$ where $R$ is a principal ideal domain. We give an algorithm for computing them, combining elements from the theory of commutative and noncommutative (signature) Gröbner bases, and prove its correctness. Applications include extensions of the free algebra with commutative variables, e.g., for homogenization purposes or for performing ideal theoretic operations such as intersections, and computations over $\mathbb{Z}$ as universal proofs over fields of arbitrary characteristic. By extending the signature cover criterion to our setting, our algorithm also lifts some technical restrictions from previous noncommutative signature-based algorithms, now allowing, e.g., elimination orderings. We provide a prototype implementation for the case when $R$ is a field, and show that our algorithm for the mixed algebra is more efficient than classical approaches using existing algorithms.