Generic flatness of the cohomology of thickenings

Abstract

We prove a generic flatness result for the cohomology of thickenings of a projective scheme that is smooth over a Noetherian domain containing a field of characteristic zero. Our study is motivated, in part, by a classical question in algebraic geometry: Given a set of $m$ distinct points in projective space over a field, and $t$ a positive integer, determine the least degree of a hypersurface that passes through each point with multiplicity at least $t$. Related to this, it remains unresolved whether there exists a dense open set of $m$-tuples of points for which this least degree is constant for each $t\ge 1$. Investigating this connection in the case of nine points in projective plane, we construct a local cohomology module that is not generically free; moreover, we show that it has infinitely many associated prime ideals.

19 pages; comments welcome. Section 5 is new and settles, in the negative, a conjecture regarding generic freeness raised in the previous version