When are the Rees algebras of parameter ideals almost Gorenstein graded rings? (Q2403969)

The concept of almost Gorenstein local ring originates in work of \textit{V. Barucci} and \textit{R. Fröberg} [J. Algebra 188, No. 2, 418--442 (1997; Zbl 0874.13018)] within the context of one dimensional analytically unramified local rings. It was later extended to more general one-dimensional local rings by Goto, Matsuoka, and Phuong [\textit{S. Goto} et al., J. Algebra 379, 355--381 (2013; Zbl 1279.13035)]. In higher dimension, the almost Gorenstein local and graded rings were defined in 2015 by Goto, Takahashi and Taniguchi [\textit{S. Goto} et al., J. Pure Appl. Algebra 219, No. 7, 2666--2712 (2015; Zbl 1319.13017)]. One result proved by Goto, Matsuoka, Taniguchi, and Yoshida [\textit{S. Goto} et al., J. Algebra 452, 263--278 (2016; Zbl 1338.13042)] showed the following: If \(A\) is a local Gorenstein ring of dimension \(d \geq 3\), and \(I=(x_1,\dots, x_r)\) (\(3 \leq r \leq d\)) is an ideal generated by a subsystem \(a_1,\dots, a_r\) of parameters, then the Rees algebra \(A[It]\) is an almost Gorenstein graded ring if and only if \(A\) is a regular local ring and \(x_1,\dots, x_r\) is part of a regular system of parameters. In this paper the authors prove the same conclusion under the weaker assumption that \(A\) is a Cohen-Macaulay ring that is a homomorphic image of a Gorenstein local ring. A question not answered through their proof and which the authors state as a conjecture is the following: if \(A\) is a Cohen-Macaulay ring that is a homomorphic image of a Gorenstein local ring, \(I\) is an \textit{arbitrary} ideal of height at least 3, and the Rees algebra \(A[It]\) is an almost Gorenstein graded ring, then \(A\) is a Gorenstein ring.