Upper bound of multiplicity in prime characteristic

Abstract: Let $(R, \frak m)$ be a local ring of prime characteristic $p$ of dimension $d$ with the embedding dimension $v$. Suppose the Frobenius test exponent for parameter ideals $Fte(R)$ of $R$ is finite, and let $Q = p^{Fte(R)}$. It is shown that $$e(R) \le Q^{v-d} \binom{v}{d}.$$ We also improve our bound for $F$-nilpotent rings. Our result extends the main results of Huneke and Watanabe and of Katzman and Zhang.