On connectedness and indecomposibility of local cohomology modules (Q1006880)

This work is on relations between local cohomology and connectedness phenomena, a major result is: Let \(I\) be an ideal of a local, \(n\)-dimensional, Gorenstein ring \((R,m)\), \(c:=\text{height }I\). Then \(H^c_I(R)\) is indecomposable iff \(V(I_d)\) is connected in codimension one (i.~e. remains connected after removing a variety of codimension \(\geq 2\)), where \(I_d\) is the interscetion of the highest dimensional primary components of \(I\) (one may assume that \(I\) is radical). Note that this is related to a result from [\textit{M. Hochster} and \textit{C. Huneke}, in: Commutative algebra: syzygies, multiplicities, and birational algebra: AMS-IMS-SIAM summer research conference on commutative algebra, held July 4-10, 1992, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA, USA. Providence, RI: American Mathematical Society. Contemp. Math. 159, 197--208 (1994; Zbl 0809.13003), Theorem 3.6] which says (among other things) that, for a \(d\)-dimensional, complete, local ring \((A,m)\) the module \(H^d_m(A)\) is indecomposable iff \(V(0_d)\) is connected in codimension one. Note that Schenzel's result works for general ideals \(I\) and not only for \(m\), however it is assumed that \(R\) is Gorenstein (and therefore, e.~g., \(H^n_m(R)\) is indecomposable). Another interesting result is that, in case \(\dim R/I=1\), the associative ring \(\text{End}_R(H^c_I(R))\) is commutative and local, noetherian; more precisely, there is a concrete formula where this endomorphism ring is presented as a quotient ring of the \(I\)-adic completion of \(R\). It is also shown that if \(I\) is an ideal of a local ring \((A,m)\) such that \({\lim _{{}\longleftarrow {}}}\, H^i_m(A/I^\alpha )=0\) for \(i=0,1\) then \(V(I\hat A)\setminus \{ m\} \) is connected. Applying this to a Gorenstein ring \((R,m)\) and using local duality this gives \[ H^i_I(R)=0,\;i=n-1,n\Rightarrow V(I\hat R)\setminus\{ m\} \text{ connected.} \] (note that it is not assumed that the ring is regular).