Axioms for a theory of signature bases

Twenty years after the discovery of the F5 algorithm, Gröbner bases with signatures are still challenging to understand and to adapt to different settings. This contrasts with Buchberger’s algorithm, which we can bend in many directions keeping correctness and termination obvious. I propose an axiomatic approach to Gröbner bases with signatures with the purpose of uncoupling the theory and the algorithms, and giving general results applicable in many different settings (e.g. Gröbner for submodules, F4-style reduction, noncommutative rings, non-Noetherian settings, etc.).