Codimension growth and minimal superalgebras

A celebrated theorem of Kemer (1978) states that any algebra satisfying a polynomial identity over a field of characteristic zero is PI-equivalent to the Grassmann envelope of a finite dimensional superalgebra . In this paper, by exploiting the basic properties of the exponent of a PI-algebra proved by Giambruno and Zaicev (1999), we define and classify the minimal superalgebras of a given exponent over a field of characteristic zero. In particular we prove that these algebras can be realized as block-triangular matrix algebras over the base field.

The importance of such algebras is readily proved: is a minimal superalgebra if and only if the ideal of identities of is a product of verbally prime T-ideals. Also, such superalgebras allow us to classify all minimal varieties of a given exponent i.e., varieties such that and for all proper subvarieties of . This proves in the positive a conjecture of Drensky (1988). As a corollary we obtain that there is only a finite number of minimal varieties for any given exponent. A classification of minimal varieties of finite basic rank was proved by the authors (2003).

As an application we give an effective way for computing the exponent of a T-ideal given by generators and we discuss the problem of what functions can appear as growth functions of varieties of algebras.