In commutative algebra, the deviations of a local ring R are certain invariants εi(R) that measure how far the ring is from being regular.
The deviations εn of a local ring R with residue field k are non-negative integers defined in terms of its Poincaré series P(t) by The zeroth deviation ε0 is the embedding dimension of R (the dimension of its tangent space).
The first deviation ε1 vanishes exactly when the ring R is a regular local ring, in which case all the higher deviations also vanish.
The second deviation ε2 vanishes exactly when the ring R is a complete intersection ring, in which case all the higher deviations vanish.
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