A homological characterization of piecewise hereditary algebras

Let Λ be a finite dimensional algebra over a field k. We will show here that Λ is piecewise hereditary if and only if its strong global dimension is finite. Dedicated to Otto Kerner on the occasion of his 65th birthday. The second author is supported by a grant from NSA. These results were obtained during a visit of the first author at Syracuse University. He would like to thank the second author for the hospitality during his stay.