Normalization of Rings

We present a new algorithm to compute the integral closure of a reduced Noetherian ring in its total ring of fractions. A modification, applicable in positive characteristic, where actually all computations are over the original ring, is also described. The new algorithm of this paper has been implemented in Singular, for localizations of affine rings with respect to arbitrary monomial orderings. Benchmark tests show that it is in general much faster than any other implementation of normalization algorithms known to us.Comment: Final version, to be published in JSC 201

Algorithmic Algebraic Geometry and Flux Vacua

We develop a new and efficient method to systematically analyse four dimensional effective supergravities which descend from flux compactifications. The issue of finding vacua of such systems, both supersymmetric and non-supersymmetric, is mapped into a problem in computational algebraic geometry. Using recent developments in computer algebra, the problem can then be rapidly dealt with in a completely algorithmic fashion. Two main results are (1) a procedure for calculating constraints which the flux parameters must satisfy in these models if any given type of vacuum is to exist; (2) a stepwise process for finding all of the isolated vacua of such systems and their physical properties. We illustrate our discussion with several concrete examples, some of which have eluded conventional methods so far.Comment: 41 pages, 4 figure

List Decoding Algorithm based on Voting in Groebner Bases for General One-Point AG Codes

We generalize the unique decoding algorithm for one-point AG codes over the Miura-Kamiya Cab curves proposed by Lee, Bras-Amor\'os and O'Sullivan (2012) to general one-point AG codes, without any assumption. We also extend their unique decoding algorithm to list decoding, modify it so that it can be used with the Feng-Rao improved code construction, prove equality between its error correcting capability and half the minimum distance lower bound by Andersen and Geil (2008) that has not been done in the original proposal except for one-point Hermitian codes, remove the unnecessary computational steps so that it can run faster, and analyze its computational complexity in terms of multiplications and divisions in the finite field. As a unique decoding algorithm, the proposed one is empirically and theoretically as fast as the BMS algorithm for one-point Hermitian codes. As a list decoding algorithm, extensive experiments suggest that it can be much faster for many moderate size/usual inputs than the algorithm by Beelen and Brander (2010). It should be noted that as a list decoding algorithm the proposed method seems to have exponential worst-case computational complexity while the previous proposals (Beelen and Brander, 2010; Guruswami and Sudan, 1999) have polynomial ones, and that the proposed method is expected to be slower than the previous proposals for very large/special inputs.Comment: Accepted for publication in J. Symbolic Computation. LaTeX2e article.cls, 42 pages, 4 tables, no figures. Ver. 6 added an illustrative example of the algorithm executio

Computing Linear Matrix Representations of Helton-Vinnikov Curves

Helton and Vinnikov showed that every rigidly convex curve in the real plane bounds a spectrahedron. This leads to the computational problem of explicitly producing a symmetric (positive definite) linear determinantal representation for a given curve. We study three approaches to this problem: an algebraic approach via solving polynomial equations, a geometric approach via contact curves, and an analytic approach via theta functions. These are explained, compared, and tested experimentally for low degree instances.Comment: 19 pages, 3 figures, minor revisions; Mathematical Methods in Systems, Optimization and Control, Birkhauser, Base