On the number of generators of modules of homomorphisms (Q2370132)

The paper under review is concerned with the following Conjecture. Let \(R\) be a local Cohen-Macaulay ring. Then there exists a polynomial function \(f(x,y)\) such that for any two finitely generated \(R\)-modules \(A\) and \(B\) \[ \nu(\text{Hom}_R(A,B) \leq f(\text{hdeg}(A), \text{hdeg}(B)), \] where \(\nu\) is the minimum number of generators and \(\text{hdeg}\) is the homological degree function defined in [\textit{W. Vasconcelos}, Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 350, 1167--1179 (1998; Zbl 0903.13007)]. The author proves the conjecture for local Cohen-Macaulay rings of dimension at most two. For these rings, it is worth noting that the polynomial function is of the form \(f(x,y)=c_R xy\), where \(c_R\) is a constant. As special cases of the main conjecture, the author also proves the following: \(\bullet\) If \(R\) is a Gorenstein local ring of dimension \(d\), then the minimum number of generators of the dual \(\text{Hom}_R(A,R)\) is bounded by \((\text{hdeg}(R)+d(d-1)/2) \text{hdeg}(A)\); \(\bullet\) Let \(R\) be a Gorenstein local ring, let \(A\) be a vector bundle of finite projective dimension, and let \(B\) be a finitely generated \(R\)-module. Then \(\nu(\text{Hom}_R(A,B)) \leq c_R \text{hdeg}(A) \text{hdeg}(B)\) for some constant \(c_R\) that only depends on the ring \(R\); \(\bullet\) Let \(R\) be a Gorenstein local ring of dimension 4, let \(A\) be a torsion free \(R\)-module of finite projective dimension, and let \(B\) be a finitely generated \(R\)-module. Then \(\nu(\text{Hom}_R(A,B)) \leq c_R \text{hdeg}(A) \text{hdeg}(B)\) for some constant \(c_R\) that only depends on the ring \(R\).