On the multigraded Hilbert and Poincaré-Betti series and the Golod property of monomial rings

In this paper we study the multigraded Hilbert and Poincaré-Betti series of A=S/a, where S is the ring of polynomials in n indeterminates divided by the monomial ideal a. There is a conjecture about the multigraded Poincaré-Betti series by Charalambous and Reeves which they proved in the case where the Taylor resolution is minimal. We introduce a conjecture about the minimal A-free resolution of the residue class field and show that this conjecture implies the conjecture of Charalambous and Reeves and, in addition, gives a formula for the Hilbert series. Using Algebraic Discrete Morse theory, we prove that the homology of the Koszul complex of A with respect to x₁,…,x_n is isomorphic to a graded commutative ring of polynomials over certain sets in the Taylor resolution divided by an ideal r of relations. This leads to a proof of our conjecture for some classes of algebras A. We also give an approach for the proof of our conjecture via Algebraic Discrete Morse theory in the general case.The conjecture implies that A is Golod if and only if the product (i.e. the first Massey operation) on the Koszul homology is trivial. Under the assumption of the conjecture we finally prove that a very simple purely combinatorial condition on the minimal monomial generating system of a implies Golodness for A.     

Borel-plus-powers monomial ideals

Let S=K[x₁,…,x_n] be a standard graded polynomial ring over a field K. In this paper, we show that the lex-plus-powers ideal has the largest graded Betti numbers among all Borel-plus-powers monomial ideals with the same Hilbert function. In addition in the case of characteristic 0, by using this result, we prove the lex-plus-powers conjecture for graded ideals containing , where p is a prime number.     

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.     

The Erd?s-Ginzberg-Ziv theorem with units

Let x₁,…,x_r be a sequence of elements of Z_n, the integers modulo n. How large must r be to guarantee the existence of a subsequence x_i1,…,x_in and units α₁,…,α_n with α₁x_i1+?+α_nx_in=0? Our main aim in this paper is to show that r=n+a is large enough, where a is the sum of the exponents of primes in the prime factorisation of n. This result, which is best possible, could be viewed as a unit version of the Erd?s-Ginzberg-Ziv theorem. This proves a conjecture of Adhikari, Chen, Friedlander, Konyagin and Pappalardi.We also discuss a number of related questions, and make conjectures which would greatly extend a theorem of Gao.     

A binary linear recurrence sequence of composite numbers

Let (a,b)∈Z², where b≠0 and (a,b)≠(±2,−1). We prove that then there exist two positive relatively prime composite integers x₁, x₂ such that the sequence given by xn+1=axn+bxn−1, n=2,3,… , consists of composite terms only, i.e., |xn| is a composite integer for each n∈N. In the proof of this result we use certain covering systems, divisibility sequences and, for some special pairs (a,±1), computer calculations. The paper is motivated by a result of Graham who proved this theorem in the special case of the Fibonacci-like sequence, where (a,b)=(1,1).     

Davenport constant with weights and some related questions, II

Let G be a finite abelian group of order n and let A⊆Z be non-empty. Generalizing a well-known constant, we define the Davenport constant of G with weight A, denoted by DA(G), to be the least natural number k such that for any sequence (x₁,…,xk) with xi∈G, there exists a non-empty subsequence (xj₁,…,xjl) and a₁,…,al∈A such that . Similarly, for any such set A, EA(G) is defined to be the least t∈N such that for all sequences (x₁,…,xt) with xi∈G, there exist indices j₁,…,jn∈N,1?j₁<?<jn?t, and ?₁,…,?n∈A with . In the present paper, we establish a relation between the constants DA(G) and EA(G) under certain conditions. Our definitions are compatible with the previous generalizations for the particular group G=Z/nZ and the relation we establish had been conjectured in that particular case.     

Interval partitions and Stanley depth

In this paper, we answer a question posed by Herzog, Vladoiu, and Zheng. Their motivation involves a 1982 conjecture of Richard Stanley concerning what is now called the Stanley depth of a module. The question of Herzog et al., concerns partitions of the non-empty subsets of {1,2,…,n} into intervals. Specifically, given a positive integer n, they asked whether there exists a partition P(n) of the non-empty subsets of {1,2,…,n} into intervals, so that |B|?n/2 for each interval [A,B] in P(n). We answer this question in the affirmative by first embedding it in a stronger result. We then provide two alternative proofs of this second result. The two proofs use entirely different methods and yield non-isomorphic partitions. As a consequence, we establish that the Stanley depth of the ideal (x₁,…,xn)⊆K[x₁,…,xn] (K a field) is ⌈n/2⌉.     

On the complexity of constrained VC-classes

Sauer's lemma is extended to classes H_N of binary-valued functions h on [n]={1,…,n} which have a margin less than or equal to N on all x∈[n] with h(x)=1, where the margin μ_h(x) of h at x∈[n] is defined as the largest non-negative integer a such that h is constant on the interval I_a(x)=[x-a,x+a]⊆[n]. Estimates are obtained for the cardinality of classes of binary-valued functions with a margin of at least N on a positive sample S⊆[n].     

Walking in circles

Consider the unit circle S¹ with distance function d measured along the circle. We show that for every selection of 2n points x₁,…,x_n,y₁,…,y_n∈S¹ there exists i∈{1,…,n} such that . We also discuss a game theoretic interpretation of this result.     

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.     

Extremal Betti numbers of graded ideals

The possible extremal Betti numbers of graded ideals in the polynomial ring K[x₁,…,x_n] in n variables with coefficients in a field K are studied, completing our results in [7]. In case char(K) = 0 we determine, given any integers r < n, the conditions under which there exists a graded ideal I ? K[x₁,…, x_n] with extremal Betti numbers $\beta_{k_{i}k_{i}+\ell_{i}}\ {\rm for}\ i=1,\cdots,r$ . We also treat a similar problem for squarefree lexsegment ideals.     

Nonsingularity of least common multiple matrices on gcd-closed sets

Let n be a positive integer. Let S={x₁,…,x_n} be a set of n distinct positive integers. The least common multiple (LCM) matrix on S, denoted by [S], is defined to be the n×n matrix whose (i,j)-entry is the least common multiple [x_i,x_j] of x_i and x_j. The set S is said to be gcd-closed if for any x_i,x_j∈S,(x_i,x_j)∈S. For an integer m>1, let ω(m) denote the number of distinct prime factors of m. Define ω(1)=0. In 1997, Qi Sun conjectured that if S is a gcd-closed set satisfying max_x∈S{ω(x)}?2, then the LCM matrix [S] is nonsingular. In this paper, we settle completely Sun's conjecture. We show the following result: (i). If S is a gcd-closed set satisfying max_x∈S{ω(x)}?2, then the LCM matrix [S] is nonsingular. Namely, Sun's conjecture is true; (ii). For each integer r?3, there exists a gcd-closed set S satisfying max_x∈S{ω(x)}=r, such that the LCM matrix [S] is singular.     

A note on properties of locally finitely convergent sequences with respect to median filter

Let F_k be a mapping from R^Z to R^Z, satisfying that for x∈R^Z and n∈Z, F_k(x)(n) is the (k+1)th largest value (median value) of the 2k+1 numbers x(n−k),…,x(n),…,x(n+k). In [3] [W.Z. Ye, L. Wang, L.G. Xu, Properties of locally convergent sequences with respect to median filter, Discrete Mathematics 309 (2009) 2775–2781], we conjectured that for k∈{2,3}, if there exists n₀∈Z such that x is locally finitely convergent with respect to F_k on {n₀,…,n₀+k−1}, then x is finitely convergent with respect to F_k. In this paper, we obtain some sufficient conditions for a sequence finitely converging with respect to median filters. Based on these results, we prove that the conjecture is true.     

Note on bounds for multiplicities

Let S=K[x₁,…,x_n] be a polynomial ring and R=S/I be a graded K-algebra where I⊂S is a graded ideal. Herzog, Huneke and Srinivasan have conjectured that the multiplicity of R is bounded above by a function of the maximal shifts in the minimal graded free resolution of R over S. We prove the conjecture in the case that codim(R)=2 which generalizes results in (J. Pure Appl. Algebra 182 (2003) 201; Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 350 (1998) 2879). We also give a proof for the bound in the case in which I is componentwise linear. For example, stable and squarefree stable ideals belong to this class of ideals.     

Hilbert schemes and maximal Betti numbers over veronese rings

Macaulay??s Theorem (Macaulay in Proc. Lond Math Soc 26:531?C555, 1927) characterizes the Hilbert functions of graded ideals in a polynomial ring over a field. We characterize the Hilbert functions of graded ideals in a Veronese ring R (the coordinate ring of a Veronese embedding of P ^r-1). We also prove that the Hilbert scheme, which parametrizes all graded ideals in R with a fixed Hilbert function, is connected; this is an analogue of Hartshorne??s Theorem (Hartshorne in Math. IHES 29:5?C48, 1966) that Hilbert schemes over a polynomial ring are connected. Furthermore, we prove that each lex ideal in R has the greatest Betti numbers among all graded ideals with the same Hilbert function.     

Perfect Skolem sets

A Skolem sequence is a sequence s₁,s₂,…,s_2n (where s_i∈A={1,…,n}), each s_i occurs exactly twice in the sequence and the two occurrences are exactly s_i positions apart. A set A that can be used to construct Skolem sequences is called a Skolem set. The problem of deciding which sets of the form A={1,…,n} are Skolem sets was solved by Thoralf Skolem in the late 1950s. We study the natural generalization where A is allowed to be any set of n positive integers. We give necessary conditions for the existence of Skolem sets of this generalized form. We conjecture these necessary conditions to be sufficient, and give computational evidence in favor of our conjecture. We investigate special cases of the conjecture and prove that the conjecture holds for some of them. We also study enumerative questions and show that this problem has strong connections with problems related to permutation displacements.     

On the arithmetic of tame monoids with applications to Krull monoids and Mori domains

Let H be an atomic monoid (e.g., the multiplicative monoid of a noetherian domain). For an element b∈H, let ω(H,b) be the smallest  N∈N₀∪{∞} having the following property: if  n∈N and  a₁,…,a_n∈H are such that b divides  a₁⋅…⋅a_n, then b already divides a subproduct of a₁⋅…⋅a_n consisting of at most N factors. The monoid H is called tame if . This is a well-studied property in factorization theory, and for various classes of domains there are explicit criteria for being tame. In the present paper, we show that, for a large class of Krull monoids (including all Krull domains), the monoid is tame if and only if the associated Davenport constant is finite. Furthermore, we show that tame monoids satisfy the Structure Theorem for Sets of Lengths. That is, we prove that in a tame monoid there is a constant M such that the set of lengths of any element is an almost arithmetical multiprogression with bound M.     

Representations of positive polynomials on noncompact semialgebraic sets via KKT ideals

This paper studies the representation of a positive polynomial f(x) on a noncompact semialgebraic set S={x∈Rⁿ:g₁(x)≥0,…,g_s(x)≥0} modulo its KKT (Karush-Kuhn-Tucker) ideal. Under the assumption that the minimum value of f(x) on S is attained at some KKT point, we show that f(x) can be represented as sum of squares (SOS) of polynomials modulo the KKT ideal if f(x)>0 on S; furthermore, when the KKT ideal is radical, we argue that f(x) can be represented as a sum of squares (SOS) of polynomials modulo the KKT ideal if f(x)≥0 on S. This is a generalization of results in [J. Nie, J. Demmel, B. Sturmfels, Minimizing polynomials via sum of squares over the gradient ideal, Mathematical Programming (in press)], which discusses the SOS representations of nonnegative polynomials over gradient ideals.     

Oscillations of the system of linear nonautonomous difference equations

We consider the linear nonautonomous system of difference equations x_n+1−x_n+P(n)x_n−k=0, n=0,1,2,… , where k∈Z, P(n)∈R^rxr. We obtain sufficient conditions for the system to be oscillatory. The conditions based on the eigenvalues of the matrix coefficients of the system.