Intermediate rings between a local domain and its completion (Q1282981)

Suppose \((R,{\mathfrak m})\) is an excellent normal local domain with field of fractions \(K\) and \({\mathfrak m}\)-adic completion \(\widehat{R}\). The topic of this paper is the structure of an intermediate ring \(A\) between \(R\) and \(\widehat{R}\) of the form \(A:= K(\tau_1, \tau_2,\dots, \tau_s)\cap \widehat{R}\), where \(s\in \mathbb{N}\) and \(\tau_1, \tau_2,\dots, \tau_s\in \widehat{\mathfrak m}\) are certain algebraically independent elements over \(K\). This construction follows a tradition begun by Nagata in the 1950's. The intermediate intersection rings provide interesting examples of Noetherian and non-Noetherian, excellent and non-excellent rings. If the intersection ring \(A\) can be expressed as a directed union of localized polynomial extension rings of \(R\) the computation of \(A\) is easier. We say \(\tau_1, \tau_2,\dots, \tau_s\) are ``limit-intersecting'' if \(A\) is such a directed union. Two stronger forms of the limit-intersecting condition, ``residually limit-intersecting'' and ``primarily limit-intersecting'', are useful for constructing examples and for determining if \(A\) is Noetherian and excellent. Certain flatness criteria are shown to be equivalent to the limit-intersecting conditions. The article includes several concrete examples inspired by the construction. Note: Since completing this article, the authors have obtained additional results connecting the primarily limit intersecting condition on the \(\tau_i\)'s to the Noetherian property of \(A\); these new results will appear in `Noetherian domains inside a homomorphic image of a completion', J. Algebra 215, No. 2, 666-681 (1999).