A new outlook on cofiniteness (Q2216692)

Let \(R\) be a commutative Noetherian ring with identity, \(\mathfrak{a}\) be an ideal of \(R\), and \(M\) be an \(R\)-module. \textit{R. Hartshorne} [Invent. Math. 9, 145--164 (1970; Zbl 0196.24301)] introduced the \(\mathfrak{a}\)-cofinite modules as follows. An \(R\)-module \(M\) is said to be \(\mathfrak{a}\)-cofinite, if \(\mathrm{Supp}0_R(M)\subseteq\mathrm{V}(\mathfrak{a})\) and \(\mathrm{Ext}_R^i(R/\mathfrak{a}, M)\) is a finitely generated \(R\)-module for every \(i\geq0\). In the paper under review, the authors investigate the notion of cofinite modules, and they answer some well-known questions asked by Hartshorne. Recall that the cohomological dimension of \(M\) with respect to \(\mathfrak{a}\), denoted by \(\mathrm{cd}(\mathfrak{a}, M)\), is defined as the supremum of all integers \(i\) for which the local cohomology module \(H^i_{\mathfrak{a}}(M)\neq 0\). Let \(\mathcal{M}(R)\) denote the category of \(R\)-modules, and \(\mathcal{M}(R,\mathfrak{a})_{cof}\) denote the category of \(\mathfrak{a}\)-cofinite \(R\)-modules. It is proved that, if \(\mathrm{cd}(\mathfrak{a},R)\leq 1\), then \(\mathcal{M}(R,\mathfrak{a})\) is an abelian subcategory of \(\mathcal{M}(R)\). Also, by using the technique of way-out functors, it is shown that if \(\mathrm{cd}(\mathfrak{a}, R)\leq 1\), or if \(\dim(R/\mathfrak{a})\leq 1\), or if \(\dim(R)\leq 2\), then \(H^i_{\mathfrak{a}}(M)\) is \(\mathfrak{a}\)-cofinite for every \(R\)-complex \(X\) with finitely generated homology modules and every \(i\in\mathbb{Z}\).