Ulrich elements in normal simplicial affine semigroups

Abstract

Let $H\subseteq \mathbb{N}^d$ be a normal affine semigroup, $R=K[H]$ its semigroup ring over the field $K$ and $\omega_R$ its canonical module. The Ulrich elements for $H$ are those $h$ in $H$ such that for the multiplication map by $\mathbf{x}^h$ from $R$ into $\omega_R$, the cokernel is an Ulrich module. We say that the ring $R$ is almost Gorenstein if Ulrich elements exist in $H$. For the class of slim semigroups that we introduce, we provide an algebraic criterion for testing the Ulrich propery. When $d=2$, all normal affine semigroups are slim. Here we have a simpler combinatorial description of the Ulrich property. We improve this result for testing the elements in $H$ which are closest to zero. In particular, we give a simple arithmetic criterion for when is $(1,1)$ an Ulrich element in $H$.