Linearity of free resolutions of monomial ideals (Q2146914)

In the paper under review, the authors mainly study monomial ideals with linear presentation or partially linear resolution. Let \(S = k[x_1,\ldots,x_n]\) be a polynomial ring over a field \(k\), and \(\mathfrak{m}\) be the maximal homogeneous ideal of \(S\). For a finitely generated graded \(S\)-module \(M\), set \(t_s(M)\) as \(\max\{e : \mathrm{Tor}_s^S(M,k)_e\neq 0\}\). The authors call that a homogeneous ideal \(I\) of \(S\) satisfies the condition \(N_{d,p}\) if \(t_s(I) = d + s\) for all \(s \le p-1\). Thus \(N_{d,1}\) is the condition that \(I\) is generated in degree \(d\), and \(N_{d,2}\) adds the condition that \(I\) is linearly presented. In general, \(N_{d,p}\) is the condition that \(I\) has a linear resolution for \(p-1\) steps. Clearly, an ideal \(I\) satisfying \(N_{d,q}\) has linear resolution if \(q = \operatorname{proj}\dim_S(S/I)\), and that an ideal satisfying \(N_{d,q-1}\) is described as having almost linear resolution. The work of \textit{A. Boocher} [Math. Res. Lett. 19, No. 4, 805--821 (2012; Zbl 1273.14097)] and \textit{I. Peeva} and \textit{M. Velasco} [Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 363, No. 4, 2029--2046 (2011; Zbl 1221.13024)] establishes a locality principle: The condition \(N_{d,p}\) is inherited by the ideals generated by various subsets of generators. The authors study when the converse holds. In Section 2, they provide combinatorial characterizations of linear presentation for square-free monomial ideals of degree \(3\), while sharp bounds on Castelnuovo-Mumford regularity are given in Section~3 for \(\mathfrak{m}\)-primary monomial ideals that satisfy \(N_{d,p}\). It is well known that \(\mathfrak{m}^d\) is the only \(\mathfrak{m}\)-primary ideal with linear resolution. In Section~4, the suthors give a constructive characterization of \(\mathfrak{m}\)-primary ideals with almost linear resolution, that is, satisfying \(N_{d,n-1}\). Fractal examples of almost linear primary ideals with relatively few generators related to the Sierpiński triangle are constructed in Section 5. Their results also lead to classes of highly connected simplicial complexes \(\Delta\) that cannot be extended to the complete dim\(\Delta\)-skeleton of the simplex on the same variables by shelling. In the final section, they collect some questions inspired by the literature and their own work.