Generalized Loewy length of Cohen-Macaulay local and graded rings

Abstract: We generalize a theorem of Ding relating the generalized Loewy length $\text{g}\ell\ell(R)$ and index of a one-dimensional Cohen-Macaulay local ring $(R,\mathfrak{m},k)$. Ding proved that if $R$ is Gorenstein, the associated graded ring is Cohen-Macaulay, and $k$ is infinite, then the generalized Loewy length and index of $R$ are equal. However, if $k$ is finite, equality may not hold. We prove that if the index of a one-dimensional Cohen-Macaulay local ring is finite and the associated graded ring has a homogeneous nonzerodivisor of degree $t$, then $\text{g}\ell\ell(R) \leq \text{index}(R)+t-1$. Next we prove that if $R$ is a one-dimensional hypersurface ring with a witness to the generalized Loewy length that induces a regular initial form on the associated graded ring, then the generalized Loewy length achieves this upper bound. We then compute the generalized Loewy lengths of several families of examples of one-dimensional hypersurface rings over finite fields. Finally, we study a graded version of the generalized Loewy length and determine its value for numerical semigroup rings.