Betti numbers of Koszul algebras defined by four quadrics (Q2196362)

Let \(S\) be a standard graded polynomial ring over a field \(k\), \(I\) be a homogeneous ideal of \(S\) and \(R\) be the quotient ring \(R=S/I\). The ring \(R\) is a Koszul algebra if the minimal homogeneous resolution of \(k=R/\mathfrak m\) by free \(R\)-modules is linear, where \(\mathfrak m\) is the maximal homogeneous ideal of \(R\). Avramov, Conca, and Iyengar [Math. Res. Lett. 17 (2010), 197--210] asked if the \(i\)-th Betti number of \(R\) as an \(S\)-module is at most \(\binom gi\) when \(R\) is a Koszul algebra and \(I\) is minimally generated by \(g\) quadrics. The present paper establishes that the answer is yes, when \(g=4\). Indeed, the interesting case occurs when \(I\) has height two. The main theorem of the present paper is that in this case there are only four possibilities for the Betti table of \(R\) as an \(S\)-module. (The authors plan to prove a structure theorem for the defining ideals of Koszul algebras defined by four quadrics over an algebraically closed field in a future paper.) \textit{C. Huneke} et al. [J. Pure Appl. Algebra 222, No. 9, 2524--2551 (2018; Zbl 1395.13014)] have shown that the projective dimension of \(R\) is an \(S\)-module is at most six whenever R is defined by an ideal generated by four quadrics. Although six is a sharp bound for general ideals generated by quadrics, a key point is that the present paper can improve this bound to four when \(R\) is Koszul.