The largest non-vanishing degree of graded local cohomology modules (Q1295930)

Let \(S\) be a local ring not necessarily of finite length whose residue field is infinite for the sake of convenience. A finitely generated graded ring \(S= \bigoplus_{n\geq 0}S_n\) over \(S_0\) is called standard if it is generated over \(S_0\) by homogeneous elements of degree 1. A graded ideal \(Q\) contained in the ideal \(S_+\) generated by the elements of positive degree is called a reduction of \(S_+\) if \(Q_n= S_n\) for some integer \(n\). The reduction number of \(Q\) is the least integer \(n\) satisfying \(Q_{n+1}= S_{n+1}\). A sequence \({\mathbf z}= z_1,\dots, z_v\) of homogeneous elements of \(S\) is called filter-regular if \(x_i\notin P\) for every associated prime ideal \(P\supset S_+\) of \((z_1,\dots, z_{n-1})\), \(i=1,\dots, v\). For an ideal \(I\) of a local ring we call an ideal \(J\) a reduction of \(I\) if \(JI^n= I^{n+1}\) for some \(n\). The main results of the paper, theorems 2.2 and 3.6, characterize the largest non-vanishing degree of the local cohomology modules of a finitely generated standard graded ring \(S\) in terms of a reduction of \(S_+\) and of the associated graded ring of an ideal \(I\) in terms of any reduction of \(I\). As an interesting consequence, this invariant can be computed explicitly in the case of the associated graded ring of any ideal generated by a \(d\)-sequence and of ideals admitting small analytic deviation.