Cohen-Macaulay intersections (Q1024154)

Let \(S=K[x]\) be the polynomial ring in \(x=(x_1,\ldots,x_n)\) over a field \(K\) and \(I\subset S\) a squarefree monomial ideal, that is an intersection of prime ideals \(P_F\) generated by the \(x_i\) with \(i\in F\), \(F\) being a subset of \([n]\), let us say \(I=\bigcap_{i=1}^r P_{F_i}\), \(F_i\subset [n]\). Suppose \(S/I\) is Cohen-Macaulay. \textit{J. Herzog, Y. Takayama} and \textit{N. Terai} [Arch. Math. 85, No. 5, 397--408 (2005; Zbl 1112.13003)] ask for which exponents \(a_{ij}\) is \(S/J\) Cohen-Macaulay for \(J=\bigcap_{i=1}^r (x_j^{a_{ij}}:j\in F_i)\). The purpose of this paper is to give an answer to the above question for the case when \(ht\;P_{F_i}=2\), that is \(|F_i|=2\) for all \(i\). Thus we may think that \(I=\bigcap_{\{v_i,v_j\}\in E(G)}\;(x_i,x_j)\), where \(G\) is a simple graph on the vertex set \(\{v_1,\ldots,v_n\}\) and edge set \(E(G)\). The answer given here is in terms of \(G\). When \(n=4\) a closed problem was studied by \textit{S. Ahmad} and the reviewer [Bull. Math. Soc. Sci. Math. Roum., Nouv. Sér. 50(98), No. 2, 99--110 (2007; Zbl 1150.13004)].