Hilbert scheme strata defined by bounding cohomology (Q2459983)

Let Hilb\(^p\) be the Hilbert scheme parametrizing the closed subschemes, with fixed Hilbert polynomial \(p=p(t)\in \mathbb Q[t]\), of the projective space \(\mathbb P_K^n\) over an algebraically closed field \(K\) of characteristic \(0\). For each point \(x\in\) Hilb\(^p\), and any \(i\in \mathbb N\), consider the \(i\)-th cohomological Hilbert function \(h_x^i:\mathbb Z\to \mathbb N\), \(m \to \dim_{k(x)}H^i(\mathbb P_{k(x)}^n, \mathcal I^{(x)}(m))\), where \(k(x)\) and \(\mathcal I^{(x)}\subset \mathcal O_{\mathbb P_{k(x)}^n}\) denote the residue field and the ideal sheaf of the subscheme corresponding to \(x\). Now fix a sequence \((f_i)_{i\in\mathbb N}\) of numerical functions \(f_i:\mathbb Z\to \mathbb N\), and consider the sets \(H^{\geq}:=\{x\in\) Hilb\(^p \mid h_x^i\geq f_i \,\,\forall i\in \mathbb N\}\) and \(H^{=}:=\{x\in\) Hilb\(^p\mid h_x^0=f_0, h_x^i\geq f_i \,\,\forall i\geq 1\}\). Semicontinuity implies that \(H^{\geq}\) is closed in Hilb\(^p\), and that \(H^{=}\) is locally closed. In the case \(f_i\equiv 0\) for \(i\geq 1\), many authors gave proofs that \(H^{\geq}\) and \(H^{=}\) are connected, i.e. that the subsets of Hilb\(^p\) which are defined lower bounding the functions \(h_x^0\) are connected. For instance, \textit{R. Hartshorne} [Publ. Math. Inst. Hautes Études Sci. 29, 5--48 (1966; Zbl 0171.41502)] proved that Hilb\(^p\) is connected (see also \textit{G. Gotzmann} [Comment. Math. Helv. 63, No. 1, 114--149 (1988; Zbl 0656.14004)], \textit{D. Mall} [J. Pure Appl. Algebra 150, No. 2, 175--205 (2000; Zbl 0986.14002)], \textit{I. Peeva} and \textit{M. Stillman} [J. Algebr. Geom. 14, No. 2, 193--211 (2005; Zbl 1078.14007)]). Without assumption on the lower bounding functions \(f_i\), in the paper under review the author proves that \(H^{\geq}\) and \(H^{=}\) are connected. The line of the proof is the following. Let \(S:= K[X_0,\dots,X_n]\) be the polynomial ring, and, for any homogeneous ideal \(\mathfrak a\subset S\) and any \(i\in\mathbb N\), consider the \(i\)-th locally cohomological Hilbert function \(h_{\mathfrak a}^i:\mathbb Z\to \mathbb N\), \(m\to \dim_KH^i_{S_+}(\mathfrak a)_m\), where \(H^i_{S_+}(\mathfrak a)\) denotes the graded \(i\)-th local cohomology module of \(\mathfrak a\) with respect to the irrelevant ideal \(S_+\). And denote by \(h_{\mathfrak a}\) the Hilbert function of \(\mathfrak a\). Via Serre-Grothendieck correspondence, one sees that the set of closed points of \(H^{\geq}\) (\(H^{=}\) resp.) is equal to the set \(\mathbb I^{\geq}\) (\(\mathbb I^{=}\) resp.) of saturated homogeneous ideals \(\mathfrak a\subset S\), with Hilbert polynomial \(q(t)={\binom{t+n}{n}}-p(t)\), such that \(h_{\mathfrak a}\geq f_0\) (\(h_{\mathfrak a}= f_0\) resp.) and \(h_{\mathfrak a}^i\geq f_{i-1}\) for all \(i\geq 2\). So to prove that \(H^{\geq}\) and \(H^{=}\) are connected amounts to prove that \(\mathbb I^{\geq}\) and \(\mathbb I^{=}\) are connected. To this aim it suffices to prove that \(\mathbb I^{\geq}\) and \(\mathbb I^{=}\) are connected by Gröbner deformations, i.e. that for any two ideals \(\mathfrak a\), \(\mathfrak b\) \(\in \mathbb I^{\geq}\) (\(\mathbb I^{=}\) resp.), there exists a sequence of ideals \(\mathfrak a=\mathfrak c_1,\dots,\mathfrak c_r=\mathfrak b\) in \(\mathbb I^{\geq}\) (\(\mathbb I^{=}\) resp.) such that \(\mathfrak c_i\) is the saturation of the initial ideal or of the generic initial ideal of \(\mathfrak c_{i+1}\) with respect to some term order or vice versa for all \(i\in\{1,\dots,r-1\}\). To prove that \(\mathbb I^{\geq}\) and \(\mathbb I^{=}\) are connected by Gröbner deformations, the author makes use of certain ideals constructed by \textit{D. Mall} [loc. cit.]. The author proves that a Mall ideal \(\mathfrak c\) is sequentially Cohen-Macaulay, i.e. \(h^i_{\mathfrak c}=h^i_{\text{Gin}_{\text{rlex}}}\mathfrak c\) for all \(i\in \mathbb N\), where \(\text{Gin}_{\text{rlex}}\mathfrak c\) denotes the generic initial ideal of \(\mathfrak c\) with respect to the homogeneous reverse lexicographic order, and that \(\text{Gin}_{\text{rlex}}\mathfrak c=\text{in}_{\text{rlex}}\mathfrak c\). Combining these properties with the general fact that \(h^i_{\mathfrak a}\leq h^i_{\text{in}\mathfrak a}\) for any homogeneous ideal \(\mathfrak a\), any \(i\in \mathbb N\) and any term order, the author is able to conclude the proof of the quoted connectedness property.