Auslander bounds and homological conjectures. (Q643327)

A conjecture of Auslander states that for every finitely generated module \(M\) over an Artin algebra \(R\) there exists an integer \(b\geq 0\) such that for every finitely generated \(R\)-module \(N\) satisfying \(\mathrm{Ext}^i_R(M,N)=0\) for \(i\gg 0\), one has \(\mathrm{Ext}^i_R(M,N)=0\) for all \(i>b\). (In the paper under review, Auslander's conjecture is phrased somewhat confusingly.) The conjecture was disproved by \textit{D. A. Jorgensen} and \textit{L. M. Şega} [Adv. Math. 188, No. 2, 470-490 (2004; Zbl 1090.13009)], and a number of papers have investigated rings for which Auslander's conjecture does hold. For an arbitrary ring \(R\), denote by \(\mathrm{mod}(R)\) the class of all (left) \(R\)-modules having a finitely generated projective resolution. The left Auslander bound, \(\mathrm{lAb}(M)\), of a module \(M\) in \(\mathrm{mod}(R)\) is the smallest integer \(m\geq 0\) with the property that one has \(\mathrm{Ext}^i_R(M,N)=0\) for all \(i>m\), for every module \(N\) in \(\mathrm{mod}(R)\) that satisfies \(\mathrm{Ext}^i_R(M,N)=0\) for \(i\gg 0\). If no such integer exists, then \(\mathrm{lAb}(M)\) is infinite. Auslander's conjecture (which is false) may now be phrased by saying that the left Auslander bound of any finitely generated module over an Artin algebra is finite. A conjecture of Auslander and Reiten states that every finitely generated module \(M\) over an Artin algebra \(R\) that satisfies \(\mathrm{Ext}^i_R(M,M\oplus R)=0\) for all \(i>0\) is projective. This conjecture is still open. A special case of a result proved by Christensen and the reviewer [\textit{L. W. Christensen} and \textit{H. Holm}, ``Algebras that satisfy Auslander's condition on vanishing of cohomology'', Math. Z. 265, No. 1, 21-40 (2010; Zbl 1252.16008)] asserts that if \(R\) is a left Noetherian ring over which every finitely generated module has finite left Auslander bound, and if \(M\) is a finitely generated \(R\)-module that satisfies \(\mathrm{Ext}^i_R(M,M\oplus R)=0\) for \(i\gg 0\), then \(M\) has finite projective dimension equal to \(\sup\{i\mid\mathrm{Ext}^i_R(M,R)\neq 0\}\). The main result in the paper under review is that if \(R\) is any ring and \(M\) is a module in \(\mathrm{mod}(R)\) that satisfies \(\mathrm{Ext}^i_R(M,M\oplus R)=0\) for \(i\gg 0\), then \(\mathrm{lAb}(M)\) (which, potentially, may be infinite) equals the projective dimension of \(M\).