A study of the lex plus powers conjecture

An {a₁,…,a_n}-lex plus powers ideal is a monomial ideal in I⊂k[x₁,…,x_n] which minimally contains the regular sequence x₁^a₁,…,x_n^a_n and such that whenever m∈R_t is a minimal generator of I and m′∈R_t is greater than m in lex order, then m′∈I. Conjectures of Eisenbud et al. and Charalambous and Evans predict that after restricting to ideals containing a regular sequence in degrees {a₁,…,a_n}, then {a₁,…,a_n}-lex plus powers ideals have extremal properties similar to those of the lex ideal. That is, it is proposed that a lex plus powers ideal should give maximum possible Hilbert function growth (Eisenbud et al.), and, after fixing a Hilbert function, that the Betti numbers of a lex plus powers ideal should be uniquely largest (Charalambous, Evans). The first of these assertions would extend Macaulay's theorem on Hilbert function growth, while the second improves the Bigatti, Hulett, Pardue theorem that lex ideals have largest graded Betti numbers. In this paper we explore these two conjectures. First we give several equivalent forms of each statement. For example, we demonstrate that the conjecture for Hilbert functions is equivalent to the statement that for a given Hilbert function, lex plus powers ideals have the most minimal generators in each degree. We use this result to prove that it is enough to show that lex plus powers ideals have the most minimal generators in the highest possible degree. A similar result holds for the stronger conjecture. In this paper we also prove that if the weaker conjecture holds, then lex plus powers ideals are guaranteed to have largest socles. This suffices to show that the two conjectures are equivalent in dimension ?3, which proves the monomial case of the conjecture for Betti numbers in those degrees. In dimension 2, we prove both conjectures outright.     

Smooth and irreducible multigraded Hilbert schemes

The multigraded Hilbert scheme parametrizes all homogeneous ideals in a polynomial ring graded by an abelian group with a fixed Hilbert function. We prove that any multigraded Hilbert scheme is smooth and irreducible when the polynomial ring is Z[x,y], which establishes a conjecture of Haiman and Sturmfels.     

Resolutions of monomial almost complete intersections and generalizations

Let S=K[x₁,…,x_n] be a polynomial ring over a field kand let / be a monomial ideal of S. The main result of this paper is an explicit minimal resolution of kover R= S/Iwhen / is a monomial almost complete intersection ideal of S. We also compute an upper bound on the multigraded resolution of k over a generalization of monomial almost complete intersection ring.     

Taylor complexes for Koszul boundaries

For all boundary modules of the Koszul complex of a monomial sequence we construct complexes, which we call Taylor complexes. For a monomial d-sequences these complexes provide free resolutions of the boundary modules. Let M be the ideal generated by a monomial d-sequence. We use the Taylor complexes to construct minimal free resolutions of the Rees algebra and the associated graded ring of M. Received: 13 November 1997 / Revised version: 6 March 1998     

Minimal free resolution of the associated graded ring of monomial curves of generalized arithmetic sequences

Let A(C) be the coordinate ring of a monomial curve C⊆Aⁿ corresponding to the numerical semigroup S minimally generated by a sequence a₀,…,a_n. In the literature, little is known about the Betti numbers of the corresponding associated graded ring gr_m(A) with respect to the maximal ideal m of A=A(C). In this paper we characterize the numerical invariants of a minimal free resolution of gr_m(A) in the case a₀,…,a_n is a generalized arithmetic sequence.     

On the Hilbert Series of Koszul Algebras

A family of examples is obtained which shows that, generally, it is impossible to decide for known Hilbert series of a qudratic algebra and its dual algebra whether or not this algebra has the Koszul property. The simplest example is given by two finitely generated algebras concentrated at the degrees not exceeding five; one of these algebras is monomial, while the other is not a Koszul algebra. This proves the conjecture of Positselskii.     

Representations of matroids and free resolutions for multigraded modules

Let k be a field, let R=k[x₁,…,xm] be a polynomial ring with the standard Zm-grading (multigrading), let L be a Noetherian multigraded R-module, and let be a finite free multigraded presentation of L over R. Given a choice S of a multihomogeneous basis of E, we construct an explicit canonical finite free multigraded resolution T_•(Φ,S) of the R-module L. In the case of monomial ideals our construction recovers the Taylor resolution. A main ingredient of our work is a new linear algebra construction of independent interest, which produces from a representation ? over k of a matroid M a canonical finite complex of finite dimensional k-vector spaces T_•(?) that is a resolution of Ker?. We also show that the length of T_•(?) and the dimensions of its components are combinatorial invariants of the matroid M, and are independent of the representation map ?.     

Betti tables of p-Borel-fixed ideals

In this note we provide a counterexample to a conjecture of Pardue (Thesis (Ph.D.), Brandeis University, 1994), which asserts that if a monomial ideal is p-Borel-fixed, then its $\mathbb{N}$ -graded Betti table, after passing to any field, does not depend on the field. More precisely, we show that, for any monomial ideal I in a polynomial ring S over the ring $\mathbb{Z}$ of integers and for any prime number p, there is a p-Borel-fixed monomial S-ideal J such that a region of the multigraded Betti table of $J(S \otimes_{\mathbb{Z}}\ell)$ is in one-to-one correspondence with the multigraded Betti table of $I(S \otimes_{\mathbb{Z}}\ell)$ for all fields ? of arbitrary characteristic. There is no analogous statement for Borel-fixed ideals in characteristic zero. Additionally, the construction also shows that there are p-Borel-fixed ideals with noncellular minimal resolutions.     

Castelnuovo-Mumford regularity for complexes and weakly Koszul modules

Let A be a noetherian AS-regular Koszul quiver algebra (if A is commutative, it is essentially a polynomial ring), and the category of finitely generated graded left A-modules. Following Jørgensen, we define the Castelnuovo-Mumford regularity of a complex in terms of the local cohomologies or the minimal projective resolution of M^•. Let A^! be the quadratic dual ring of A. For the Koszul duality functor , we have . Using these concepts, we interpret results of Martinez-Villa and Zacharia concerning weakly Koszul modules (also called componentwise linear modules) over A^!. As an application, refining a result of Herzog and Römer, we show that if J is a monomial ideal of an exterior algebra E=?〈y₁,…,y_d〉, d≥3, then the (d−2)nd syzygy of E/J is weakly Koszul.     

The ordering of unicyclic graphs with the smallest algebraic connectivity

Fielder [M. Fielder, Algebraic connectivity of graphs, Czechoslovak Math. J. 23 (1973) 298-305] has turned out that G is connected if and only if its algebraic connectivity a(G)>0. In 1998, Fallat and Kirkland [S.M. Fallat, S. Kirkland, Extremizing algebraic connectivity subject to graph theoretic constraints, Electron. J. Linear Algebra 3 (1998) 48-74] posed a conjecture: if G is a connected graph on n vertices with girth g≥3, then a(G)≥a(C_n,g) and that equality holds if and only if G is isomorphic to C_n,g. In 2007, Guo [J.M. Guo, A conjecture on the algebraic connectivity of connected graphs with fixed girth, Discrete Math. 308 (2008) 5702-5711] gave an affirmatively answer for the conjecture. In this paper, we determine the second and the third smallest algebraic connectivity among all unicyclic graphs with vertices.     

Pelikán's conjecture and cyclotomic cosets

The following conjecture was recently made by J. Pelikán. Let a₀ ,…, a_n be an (n + 1)-tuple of 0's and 1's; let A_k = ?_i=0^n?ka_ia_i+k for k = 0,…, n. Then if n ? 4 some A_k is even.This paper shows that Pelikán's conjecture is false for infinitely many values of n. On the other hand it is also shown that the conjecture is true for most values of n, and a characterization is given of those values of n for which it fails.     

Gröbner basis and free resolution of the ideal of 2-minors of a 2 × n matrix of linear forms *

We give a Gröbner basis for the ideal of 2-minors of a 2 × n utiatrix of linear forms. The minimal free resolution of such an ideal is obtained in [4] when the corresponding Kronecker-Weierstrass normal form has no iiilpotent blocks. For the general case, using this result, the Grobner basis and the Eliahou-Kervaire resolution for stable monomial ideals, we obtain a free resolution with the expected regularity. For a specialization of the defining ideal of ordinary pinch points, as a special case of these ideals, we provide a minimal free resolution explicitly in terms of certain Koszul complex.     

Combinatorics of the Toric Hilbert Scheme

The toric Hilbert scheme is a parameter space for all ideals with the same multigraded Hilbert function as a given toric ideal. Unlike the classical Hilbert scheme, it is unknown whether toric Hilbert schemes are connected. We construct a graph on all the monomial ideals on the scheme, called the flip graph, and prove that the toric Hilbert scheme is connected if and only if the flip graph is connected. These graphs are used to exhibit curves in P ⁴ whose associated toric Hilbert schemes have arbitrary dimension. We show that the flip graph maps into the Baues graph of all triangulations of the point configuration defining the toric ideal. Inspired by the recent discovery of a disconnected Baues graph, we close with results that suggest the existence of a disconnected flip graph and hence a disconnected toric Hilbert scheme. Received May 15, 2000, and in revised form March 8, 2001. Online publication January 7, 2002.     

Bases and nonbases of square-free integers

A basis is a set A of nonnegative integers such that every sufficiently large integer n can be represented in the form n = a_i + a_j with a_i, a_i ∈ A. If A is a basis, but no proper subset of A is a basis, then A is a minimal basis. A nonbasis is a set of nonnegative integers that is not a basis, and a nonbasis A is maximal if every proper superset of A is a basis. In this paper, minimal bases consisting of square-free numbers are constructed, and also bases of square-free numbers no subset of which is minimal. Maximal nonbases of square-free numbers do not exist. However, nonbases of square-free numbers that are maximal with respect to the set of square-free numbers are constructed, and also nonbases of square-free numbers that are not contained in any nonbasis of square-free numbers maximal with respect to the square-free numbers.     

The Witten deformation for even dimensional spaces with cone-like singularities and admissible Morse functions

In this Note we generalise the Witten deformation to even dimensional Riemannian manifolds with cone-like singularities X and certain functions f, which we call admissible Morse functions. As a corollary we get Morse inequalities for the L²-Betti numbers of X. The contribution of a singular point p of X to the Morse inequalities can be expressed in terms of the intersection cohomology of the local Morse datum of f at p. The definition of the class of functions which we study here is inspired by stratified Morse theory as developed by Goresky and MacPherson. However the setting here is different since the spaces considered here are manifolds with cone-like singularities instead of Whitney stratified spaces.     

Betti numbers of lex ideals over some Macaulay-Lex rings

Let A=K[x ₁,…,x _n ] be a polynomial ring over a field K and M a monomial ideal of A. The quotient ring R=A/M is said to be Macaulay-Lex if every Hilbert function of a homogeneous ideal of R is attained by a lex ideal. In this paper, we introduce some new Macaulay-Lex rings and study the Betti numbers of lex ideals of those rings. In particular, we prove a refinement of the Frankl–Füredi–Kalai Theorem which characterizes the face vectors of colored complexes. Additionally, we disprove a conjecture of Mermin and Peeva that lex-plus-M ideals have maximal Betti numbers when A/M is Macaulay-Lex.     

Primes in the semigroup of non-negative matrices

A matrix A in the semigroup N _n of non-negative n×nmatrices is prime if A is not monomial and A=BC,B CεN _n implies that either B or C is monomial. One necessary and another sufficient condition are given for a matrix in N _n to be prime. It is proved that every prime in N _n is completely decomposable.