We introduce and investigate new invariants of pairs of modules $M$ and $N$ over quantum affine algebras $U_{q}^{\prime }(\mathfrak{g})$ by analyzing their associated $R$-matrices. Using these new invariants, we provide a criterion for a monoidal category of finite-dimensional integrable $U_{q}^{\prime }(\mathfrak{g})$-modules to become a monoidal categorification of a cluster algebra.

In this paper we study consequences of the results of Kang et al. [Monoidal categorification of cluster algebras, J. Amer. Math. Soc. 31 (2018), 349–426] on a monoidal categorification of the unipotent quantum coordinate ring $A_{q}(\mathfrak{n}(w))$ together with the Laurent phenomenon of cluster algebras. We show that if a simple module $S$ in the category ${\mathcal{C}}_{w}$ strongly commutes with all the cluster variables in a cluster $[\mathscr{C}]$, then $[S]$ is a cluster monomial in $[\mathscr{C}]$. If $S$ strongly commutes with cluster variables except for exactly one cluster variable $[M_{k}]$, then $[S]$ is either a cluster monomial in $[\mathscr{C}]$ or a cluster monomial in $\unicode[STIX]{x1D707}_{k}([\mathscr{C}])$. We give a new proof of the fact that the upper global basis is a common triangular basis (in the sense of Qin [Triangular bases in quantum cluster algebras and monoidal categorification conjectures, Duke Math. 166 (2017), 2337–2442]) of the localization $\widetilde{A}_{q}(\mathfrak{n}(w))$ of $A_{q}(\mathfrak{n}(w))$ at the frozen variables. A characterization on the commutativity of a simple module $S$ with cluster variables in a cluster $[\mathscr{C}]$ is given in terms of the denominator vector of $[S]$ with respect to the cluster $[\mathscr{C}]$.