Universal denominators of Hilbert series

Abstract

The denominator of the Hilbert series of a finitely generated R-module M does not always divide the denominator of the Hilbert series of R. For this reason, we define the universal denominator. The universal denominator of a module M is the least common multiple of the denominators of the Hilbert series of all submodules of M. The universal denominator behaves nicely with respect to short exact sequences and tensor products. It also has interesting geometric interpretations. Formulas are given for the universal denominator for rings of invariants. Dixmier gave a conjectural formula for the denominator of the Hilbert series of invariants of binary forms. We show that the universal denominator is actually equal to Dixmier's formula in that case.