Basis Criteria for Generalized Spline Modules via Determinant

Abstract: Given a graph whose edges are labeled by ideals of a commutative ring R with identity, a generalized spline is a vertex labeling by the elements of R such that the difference of the labels on adjacent vertices lies in the ideal associated to the edge. The set of generalized splines has a ring and an R-module structure. We study the module structure of generalized splines where the base ring is a greatest common divisor domain. We give basis criteria for generalized splines on cycles, diamond graphs and trees by using determinantal techniques. In the last section of the paper, we define a graded module structure for generalized splines and give some applications of the basis criteria for cycles, diamond graphs and trees.