Theo de Jong, Duco van Straten

• The notion of Q-Gorenstein smoothings has been introduced by Kollar. ([KoJ], 6.2.3). This notion is essential for formulating Kollar's conjectures on smoothing components for rational surface singularities. He conjectures, loosely speaking, that every smoothing of a rational surface singularity can be obtained by blowing down a deformation of a partial resolution, this partial resolution having the property (among others) that the singularities occuring on it all have qG-smoothings. (For more details and precise statements see [Ko], ch. 6.). It is therefore of interest to construct singularities having qG-smoothings.