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Samuel famously produced an example of a UFD, namely $S = R_{(x,y,z)}$, where $R = K[x,y,z]/(x^2+y^3+z^7)$ and $K$ has characteristic 2, such that the power series extension $S[[ x ]]$ is not a UFD. While he gives a general method for constructing such examples, it doesn't seem to work easily in characteristic 0. So the question is: Are there any characteristic 0 UFDs $R$ such that $R[[x]]$ is not a UFD - preferably explicit ones?

Reference to Samuel's paper: On unique factorization domains.

Note: $S$ is a UFD in arbitrary characteristics by Nagata's criterion — see here: $(K[x,y,z]/(x^2+y^3+z^7))_{(x,y,z)}$ is a UFD.

Making $S[[x]]$ not a UFD is the tricky part.

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  • $\begingroup$ I know this doesn't answer your question, but I'd like to make you aware of my paper with Peter Webb, where we describe rings of polynomial invariants of finite groups that are UFDs, but when completed to rings of invariant power series, have infinite ideal class group. The easiest example is the three dimensional indecomposable for the cyclic group of order five in characteristic five (i.e., one Jordan block, length three). $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 25 at 18:35

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For any field $k$, the ring $A = k(U)[[X,Y,Z]]/(X^2+X^3+UX^6)$ is a UFD such that $A[[T]]$ is not a UFD. For a proof of this, see

Salmon, Su un problema posto da P. Samuel.

For further developments, see the first two pages of

https://www.mathnet.ru/php/archive.phtml?wshow=paper&jrnid=sm&paperid=3365&option_lang=eng

(V. I. Danilov, On a conjecture of Samuel, Mathematics of the USSR- Sbornik, 1970, Volume 10, Issue 1, 127–137 DOI: 10.1070/SM1970v010n01ABEH001590)

as well as

Lipman, Unique factorization in complete local rings.

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  • $\begingroup$ That is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks! $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 25 at 16:41

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