Generalized Alexander duality and applications

Publication date 6 November 2001

Published in Osaka Journal of Mathematics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Alexander duality Cartan complex Castelnuovo-Mumford regularity extremal Betti numbers squarefree module Stanley-Reisner ring

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

(Co)homology of commutative rings and algebras (e.g., Hochschild, André-Quillen, cyclic, dihedral, etc.) (13D03) Commutative rings defined by monomial ideals; Stanley-Reisner face rings; simplicial complexes (13F55)

Review text

Let \(\Delta\) be a simplicial complex with \(n\) vertices, \(k\) be a field, and \(S\) be the homogeneous polynomial ring \(k[x_1,\dots,x_n]\). The Stanley-Reisner ring \(k[\Delta]\) for \(\Delta\) is defined to be \(S/I_{\Delta}\), where \(I_{\Delta}\) is generated by the square-free monomials whose corresponding vertex sets do not constitute a face of \(\Delta\). One consequence of this definition is that if the monomial \(M\) is not zero in \(k[\Delta]\) and the variable \(x_i\) is a factor of \(M\), then \(x_iM\) is also not zero in \(k[\Delta]\). Yanagawa has generalized the above property of Stanley-Reisner rings. The \(\mathbb{N}^n\)-graded \(S\)-module \(N=\bigoplus_{a}N_a\) is ``squarefree if multiplication by \(x_i\) from \(N_a\) to \(N_{a+\epsilon_i}\) is a bijection for every \(i\) and for every \(n\)-tuple \(a\in \mathbb{N}^n\) whose \(i\)-th component is positive, where \(\epsilon_i=(0,\dots,0,1,0,\dots,0)\), with the \(1\) in position \(i\). The present paper studies the graded Betti numbers of squarefree \(S\)-modules. \textit{D. Bayer, H. Charalambous} and \textit{S. Popescu} [J. Algebra 221, No.~2, 497-512 (1999; Zbl 0946.13008)] have refined the notion of Castelnuovo-Mumford regularity. They called the non-zero Betti number \(\beta_{i,i+j}\) ``extremal if \(\beta_{l,l+r}=0\), for all pairs \((l,r)\) with \(i\leq l\), \(j\leq r\), and \((l,r)\neq(i,j)\). Furthermore, they proved that if \(\beta_{i,i+j}(k[\Delta])\) is an extremal Betti number of \(k[\Delta]\), then \(\beta_{j+1,i+j}(k[\Delta^*])\) is an extremal Betti number for the Stanley-Reisner ring for the Alexander dual \(\Delta^*\) of \(\Delta\). One consequence of this result is a theorem due to Terai which states that the regularity of \(I_{\Delta}\) is equal to the projective dimension of \(k[\Delta^*]\). The present paper proves that if \(N\) is a squarefree \(S\)-module and \(\beta_{i,i+j}(N)\) is an extremal Betti number of \(N\), then \(\beta_{j,i+j}(N^*)\) is an extremal Betti number of the generalized Alexander dual \(N^*\) of \(N\). The generalized Alexander dual of \(N\) is obtained by using an equivalence between the category of squarefree \(S\)-modules and the category of squarefree \(E\)-modules, where \(E\) is the exterior algebra \(\bigwedge_k^{\bullet}k^n\). First, one associates an \(E\)-module, \(N_E\), to the squarefree \(S\)-module \(N\). Then one computes the \(E\)-dual, \(\text{Hom}_E(N_E,E)\), of \(N_E\). Finally, one associates a squarefree \(S\)-module \(N^*\) to \(\text{Hom}_E(N_E,E)\). The process of associating an \(E\)-module \(N_E\) to a squarefree \(S\)-module \(N\) has been described by Aramova, Avramov, and Herzog. In this process, the Cartan complex, which is the minimal resolution of \(k\) by free \(E\)-modules, plays a role which is analogous to the Koszul complex, which is the minimal resolution of \(k\) by free \(S\)-modules.

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