Abstract

Let X be a projective scheme over a field K and let F be a coherent sheaf of OX-modules. We show that the cohomological postulation numbers νFi of F, e.g., the ultimate places at which the cohomological Hilbert functions n dimK (Hi (X, F(n))) =: hFi (n) start to be polynomial for n ≪ 0, are (polynomially) bounded in terms of the cohomology diagonal (hFi (-i) i=0dim(F) of F. As a consequence, we obtain that there are only finitely many different cohomological Hilbert functions hFi if F runs through all coherent sheaves of OX-modules with fixed cohomology diagonal. In order to prove these results, we extend the regularity bound of Bayer and Mumford [Computational Algebraic Geometry and Commutative Algebra, Proc. Cortona, 1991, Cambridge Univ. Press, 1993, pp. 1-48] from graded ideals to graded modules. Moreover, we prove that the Castelnuovo-Mumford regularity of the dual FV of a coherent sheaf of OℙrK, -modules F is (polynomially) bounded in terms of the cohomology diagonal of F. © 2003 Published by Elsevier Inc.