In this article, we introduce and study the notion of Goldie dimension for C*-algebras. We prove that a C*-algebra A has Goldie dimension n if and only if the dimension of the center of its local multiplier algebra is n. In this case, A has finite-dimensional center and its primitive spectrum is extremally disconnected. If moreover, A is extending, we show that it decomposes into a direct sum of n prime C*-algebras. In particular, every stably finite, exact C*-algebra with Goldie dimension, that has the projection property and a strictly full element, admits a full projection and a non-zero densely defined lower semi-continuous trace. Finally we show that certain C*-algebras with Goldie dimension (not necessarily simple, separable or nuclear) are classifiable by the Elliott invariant.

Let I be an ideal of a commutative Noetherian local ring R, and M and N two finitely generated modules. Let t be a positive integer. We mainly prove that (i) if HIi(M,N) is Artinian for all i<t, then HIi(M,N) is I-cofinite for all i<t and Hom(R/I,HIt(M,N)) is finitely generated; (ii) if d=pd(M)<∞ and dim N=n<∞, then HId+n(M,N) is I-cofinite. We also prove that if M is a nonzero cyclic R-module, then HIi(N) is finitely generated for all i<t if and only if HIi(M,N) is finitely generated for all i<t.

In an earlier work, the authors described a mechanism for lifting monomial ideals to reduced unions of linear varieties. When the monomial ideal is Cohen–Macaulay (including Artinian), the corresponding union of linear varieties is arithmetically Cohen–Macaulay. The first main result of this paper is that if the monomial ideal is Artinian then the corresponding union is in the Gorenstein linkage class of a complete intersection (glicci). This technique has some interesting consequences. For instance, given any (d + 1)-times differentiable O-sequence H, there is a nondegenerate arithmetically Cohen–Macaulay reduced union of linear varieties with Hilbert function H which is glicci. In other words, any Hilbert function that occurs for arithmetically Cohen–Macaulay schemes in fact occurs among the glicci schemes. This is not true for licci schemes. Modifying our technique, the second main result is that any Cohen–Macaulay Borel-fixed monomial ideal is glicci. As a consequence, all arithmetically Cohen–Macaulay subschemes of projective space are glicci up to flat deformation.