Centers of Endomorphism Rings and Reflexivity

Abstract

Let $R$ be a local ring and let $M$ be a finitely generated $R$-module. Appealing to the natural left module structure of $M$ over its endomorphism ring and corresponding center $Z(\operatorname{End}_R(M))$, we study when various homological properties of $M$ are sufficient to force $M$ to have a nonzero free summand. Consequences of our work include a partial converse to a well-known result of Lindo describing $Z(\operatorname{End}_R(M))$ when $M$ is faithful and reflexive, as well as some applications to the famous Huneke-Wiegand conjecture.