The largest non-vanishing degree of graded local cohomology modules

This paper gives characterizations for the largest non-vanishing degree of the local cohomology modules of a graded ring S in terms of a reduction of S+ and of the associated graded ring of an ideal I in terms of any reduction of I As a consequence, this invariant can be computed explicitly for the associated graded ring of any ideal generated by a d-sequence and of ideals having small analytic deviation. (C) 1999 Academic Press.